Well, I suppose I should tell you how I got here
How I somehow got steered across this continent
From the Shore to the Coast, oh Lord have mercy
It’s a long way from Jersey but I’m here to represent
How did I, the consummate East Coast dude
With East Coast attitude, find myself in this place
Did I change my place in order to change my fortune
A more abundant portion and a dose of good grace
Well, I made it here in one piece, I made it this far
Driving a 26-foot U-Haul, towing my car
I didn’t come here to become a movie star
But let whatever is supposed to happen, happen
‘Cuz I’m a Jersey guy
A Jersey guy in LA
I’ve replaced the Garden State Parkway
With the Golden State Freeway
I’m a Jersey guy
A Jersey guy in LA
Is it just me, or is the ocean
On the wrong side of the highway
Santa Monica’s got nothing on the piers of Wildwood
In terms of second childhood or summer boardwalk thrills
But there’s no place down the shore quite like Venice Beach
No heights that can reach up like the Hollywood Hills
Well, each place has its glamour and each has its grit
And I don’t quite fit, but I try to make the best
It’s the latest episode of making my way in this world
My reality got swirled on my trip from east to west
Well, my leather jacket squeaks and my boot heels click
Got a sense of northeastern cool and downtown slick
Imported from back home, and I make sure it still sticks
Let he who understands, understand
That I’m a Jersey guy
A Jersey guy in LA
There’s just something wrong when in the summer everything’s brown
And in the winter everything’s green
I’m a Jersey guy
A Jersey guy in LA
I’ll put a new coat of paint on this lonesome old town
And find a way to make it my scene
Down at Franklin and Cahuenga I was mistaken for a local
Some tourist or yokel figured I belonged
He couldn’t distinguish my accent or inflection
I gave him directions, smiled, and sent him along
Well, I’ve been cruising down these boulevards
Trying hard to discard what I believed all my days
And I’ve been taken over by a spiritual groove
With the power to move me beyond these falsely held clichés
The sun has blasted my mind and burned away the winter blues
It’s done a number on the old ways and broken old taboos
I don’t know what I’ll find here, I could either win or lose
But let whatever will be done, be done
‘Cuz I’m a Jersey guy
A Jersey guy in LA
I may find new arrangements
But I’ll still be playing the same basic tune
I’m a Jersey guy
A Jersey guy in LA
Don’t expect me to evolve into a beach boy
An eagle or chili pepper anytime soon
Well, I’m a Jersey guy
A Jersey guy in LA
From 287 and 95
To THE 10 and THE 405
I’m a Jersey guy
A Jersey guy in LA
From Route 1&9 to Highway 101
I’m here, babe, I’ve arrived!
©2023 The Hesh Inc.
In 2003, I crossed the country overland, starting in Asbury Park, NJ, and finishing up in the Pico Robertson neighborhood in Los Angeles, California. Prior to that, I had the typical East Coast attitude toward LA and the West Coast in general—that the place was full of weirdos, hippies, and/or shallow movie-star wannabe types. But the decision to move to the West Coast was a conscious one, and so I decided to suspend any attitude and see what it would be like with an open mind. I never in a million years thought that I would take to the West Coast life like a fish to water, but that is in fact what happened. And if from time to time I saw things with outsider's eyes, well, that couldn't be helped—but I left the attitude somewhere in the middle of the country long before I crossed the state line at Needles.
This is the title track and theme-setter for another semi-autobiographical album, in the same vein as my Soul In Exile opus, telling the story of my LA/West Coast experience. One day, hopefully soon, it will get made.
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