Eating a po boy and Mother′s next to a photo of a young Riddick Bowe

How can you look at a young Riddick Bowe

Without looking deep down into your soulI always take the table next to the photo of a young Riddick Bowe

If the table at Mother's is available

I think about him digging deep against Evander Holyfield

And how he only came home with a silver at the Olympics

When he was going for the gold

And the low blows he took from Golota that retired him

I picture him in a hospital bed, laying there, healing up

Then I drifted off to other thoughts, walking down North to South Peters

You know, under the freeway, in the gentrified Arts District

Yeah, down South Peters, I cross over to Constance

And take a right on Race and sit at the cafe all alone

Checking my phone, checking in on my sister

Or texting someone or another

I only got a few friends, plus my father and my mother

So if you see me sitting there alone and you recognize me

It′s not a bother to say "hi"

But please, for no longer than five minutes, please no longer

'Cause deep down, I'm listening to myself, street roamer

It ain′t nothing personal, at heart I′m just a loner

'Cause I′m always hurting a little and doing some soul searching

If you're ain′t hurting a little bit

Then you're probably ain′t doing much soul searching

If everything in your life is okay, then thank you for sharing

But for me it's not exactly that way

If you're jumping up and down with how okay you are

I don′t buy it for a second, the world is just too fucked up

And I′m too fucking smart for you

I know better, I know better, I know better, I know better

You show me a big tough guy and I'll show you a little bedwetter

I′m watching American Bigfoot, it takes place in southeast Ohio

It was funny for 30 minutes, then you called me

You said it's raining back in San Francisco

I said: It′s raining down here in New Orleans too, you know

I looked outside and yeah, it's raining, the tourists have left

So I make a reservation at Delmonico

Honestly, there are moments when I′m totally at peace

Like right now, when I'm walking down the street

I just tune out all the bitches and the headaches that be pestering me

And now I'm walking down Magazine down to Constantinople

Looking for John Kennedy Toole′s house

I′m gonna take me a photo of his house

That's gonna be my project for the day

And send the photo to my friend who loves his book

It′s good to have a hope for the day, even in the simplest way

A lamp broke this morning, yeah, my lamp is shattered

They were coming to inspect my windows

When I wasn't expecting them and they caught me off guard

I reached for my lamp, the most beautiful lamp I ever had

I misgauged the distance and my hardwood floor

Was covered in lampshade glass and it made me so sad

And I thought of all the songs I′d written

Under the light of that art deco lamp

And all the books I've read

Under the light of that beautiful art deco lamp

And all the love I′ve made

Under the light of the art deco lamp

Shattered because they came to inspect my windows

That it turns out had already been inspected

Young, Young Riddick Bowe

Young Riddick Bowe

Young Riddick Bowe

Young Riddick Bowe

Young Riddick Bowe

Young Riddick Bowe

Young Riddick Bowe

And what can you do

Lamps break and I bitched about it long enough

I called my sister and my girl and they reminded me

How people lose their entire homes in fires and floods

They were right, it was a petty thing to complain about

In the grand scheme of things

But it was the first possession I ever put in my house in New Orleans

I remember when it was just that lamp and a mattress on the floor

And you and me and I get stuck in the mud

And get overly sentimental and feeling down about things

My girlfriend said: You need to get out of bed today and make some kind of goal

And I said: Okay, and I ate a grilled shrimp po boy

That was next to the photo of young Riddick Bowe