We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

Hastings & Main

by Bob Menzies

supported by
Kal Powell
Kal Powell thumbnail
/

about

A song about the Patricia Hotel and the denizens of the Vancouver East side, past & present

lyrics

Hastings & Main – Feb 9, 2022
Written by Bob Menzies Feb 17, 2021
Waltz ¾ time 147.2 bpm
Intro ( harmonica & acoustic guitar) D G D A7 D

VERSE 1(Drums come in)
Have you ever been [D] down / To [G] No Man’s Town
Where you’ll [D] find no-body you [A7] know
Buy a [D] ticket if you can / From the [G] Drop Dead Man
He’ll [D] sell you one for a dollar or [A7] so

VERSE 2 (Bass comes in)
Then you [D] get to pass through /A[G] place I once knew
A [D] pretty rough neighbour [A7] hood
But [D] don’t use my name/ See [G] my claim to fame
Is [D] everything I’ve misunder [A7] stood

CHORUS 1
And [G] some might think to [D] revenge on me
When they [A7] see you on the [D] drain
We’ll[G]see it all go down on the[D]east side of town
[A7] Down on Hastings and [D] Main

G D A7 D (Harmonica)

VERSE 3
All the umbrella people / Out by the old steeple
They’re all looking for someplace to go
They’re four blocks from hell / And when the bells knell
Like a river they’ll drift and they’ll flow

VERSE 4
It will all become plain / As the icicle rain
Tries to drown every woman and man
And the criminals feast on the downtrodden least
For no reasons you can understand

CHORUS 2
Now the Mad Drummer beats on an old wooden drum
It always sounds the same
So Willie and me head for the street
[A7] Down to Hastings and [D] Main
G D A7 D (Harmonica)
VERSE 5
Down on the [D] Low Track Lorraine works [G] her back
I [D] remember when she worked the[A7] Ovaltine
Then she moved to [D] Blood Alley with that girl named [G] Sally
Things went [D] down and then they got [A7] lean

VERSE 6
But now I [D] hear she’s doing good, she’s got a[G]brand new hood
She [D] got some fit and some [A7] new
What [D] can we say, things change or they [G] stay
It [D] only got better for a [A7] few

CHORUS 3
We’re all for today, cause tomorrow don’t pay
Hand me my guitar for the pain
And we’ll join the parade of the wasted and lame
[A7] Down on Hastings and [D] Main

G D A7 D (Harmonica)

VERSE 7
I remember you well in the Patricia Hotel
When the music was fast and sublime
And no one was less than the least of the rest
We got high on strawberry wine

VERSE 8
And you know I will never forget you
Especially when I hear the rain
Just like a parade, all those plans that we made
Pass in front of my eyes every day

CHORUS 4
So I’m [G] glad I got your message l[D] last night
And I [A7] wish I could ease your [D] pain
But they [G] don’t allow drain [D] except for Cocaine
[A7] Down on Hastings and [D] Main

But they [G] don’t allow drain [D] except for Cocaine
[A7] Down on Hastings and [D] Main

OUTRO
G D A7 D (Harmonica)

credits

released April 14, 2022

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Bob Menzies image

Bob Menzies Sooke, British Columbia

Bob Menzies is a Canadian folk-rock, alt-country singer-songwriter originally from Montreal and now living in Sooke, a small oceanside town on Vancouver Island’s south coast. He has recorded 5 albums of original music previously and his newest recording is the 2018 EP IN THE COMPANY OF STRANGERS. ... more

contact / help

Contact Bob Menzies

Streaming and
Download help

Report this track or account

If you like Bob Menzies, you may also like:

Bandcamp Daily  your guide to the world of Bandcamp

On Bandcamp Radio

Featuring Riley Pinkerton (aka The Rat Queen) from the theatrical NYC rockers, Castle Rat.
listen now