Song of the City: Downer Town (a narrative)
by vlm


There is a mellifluous harmony that arises from the cacophony of city life. I hear the sweeping crescendoes of buses in a rumbling boom of acceleration and the insistently plaintive wails of emergency vehicles emerging with their legato counterpoint while the sliding rhythms of traffic near and far inundate my senses and envelop me in its turbulent energy.

This is the music of Metropolis. Can't you hear the abstract colors of this urban tone poem? Listen, and you will hear it. Hear it and you will feel it. Feel it and you will know that it is alive with possibility. It is Downtown L.A. It is Heaven, and it is Hell.

And I wondered--what songs exemplify the idea of Downtown? I've discovered that the lexicon of song titles extolling "Downtown" is substantial indeed. But I think the most facile choice is the classic Petula Clark 60s hit. I'm sure you know it. Let's all sing together, shall we?

When you're alone
And life is making you lonely,
You can always go Downtown
When you've got worries,
All the noise and the hurry
Seems to help, I know, Downtown

With the mellifluously dulcet tones of a songbird, she makes you wonder, wouldn't life be so much sweeter if it was really that way? I know it would be for me. But, alas, poor Yorick...

Just listen to the music of the traffic in the city
Linger on the sidewalk where the neon signs are pretty
How can you lose?
The lights are much brighter there
You can forget all your troubles, forget all your cares and go

I'm unhappy. To look at me you may never guess. I'm smiling (or at least, smirking) and there's a bit of a twinkle in my eye (or is that just a sty? Whatever). But I'm feeling completely miserable. And it's not the first time -- just a continuation of all the misery which has accrued in my life. My friends tell me not to dwell on it. But you know what? That's easy to say when you're not in the midst of it.

Downtown, things'll be great when you're
Downtown, no finer place for sure,
Downtown, everything's waiting for you
(Downtown)

Today I feel like crap. I'm not ill. I'm just illin'. The emotional roller coaster I'm on won't let me off. So maybe I should accept it and enjoy the ride. It's just that today it's all making me queasy, y'know? And I wanna take a break. Pleease?

Don't hang around
And let your problems surround you
There are movie shows Downtown


I know being unhappy in L.A. is anthema to the hype of the city. My god, it's almost sacrilegious. But despite the cookie cutter promotion of this city as the happiest place on earth (oh, don't think we don't claim Disneyland as our own--) there is another reality to life. And, baby, it ain't pretty. It's an inner world of doubt and depression, and turmoil.


Maybe you know
Some little places to go to
Where they never close Downtown


*Sigh* The funny thing is, so many things are going well in my life. I have a newfound freedom and independence. My world is opening up to new and awesome possibilities and my future lies bright and beckoning before me. I know these things. Yet, I mope around like a grounded teenager remorsing his lost weekend. I feel so empty inside because no matter how well I do for myself, ultimately, I have no one to share it with; no one with whom I am truly intimate. I laugh and I joke and I cajole and I flirt, but that's mostly to hide the pain.


The lights are much brighter there
You can forget all your troubles, forget all your cares and go
Downtown where all the lights are bright,
Downtown, waiting for you tonight,
Downtown, you're gonna be alright now


This is my world. And like all worlds it revolves in a continual cycle of shadow and light. It's the long, lonely nights that concern me. The ones that seem to never end. But as I write this I'm beginning to see the first rays of a new rising sun upon the horizon and I know, once again, that all is not lost.


(Downtown downtown)
Downtown(Downtown)


Don't we all require real and true human interaction to grow and flourish emotionally? So why don't I just get off my ass and start meeting peoples? This is Los Angeles. A town of roughly 5 million, right? It's ludicrous to think out of, literally, millions of local inhabitants I can't find ONE right one to be with?


And you may find somebody kind to help and understand you
Someone who is just like you and needs a gentle hand to
Guide them along

Ah, but it's not to be. So be it Let me be. A human. Being.


So, maybe I'll see you there
We can forget all our troubles, forget all our cares and go
Downtown, things'll be great when you're
Downtown, don't wait a minute more,


So I try to reorder my thinking. If you continue to follow this warped confessional what you may get is a very open and revealing examination of a person's existence in relation to a life in downtown Los Angeles, which, by the way, is where I live.


Downtown, everything's waiting for you
Downtown (downtown) downtown (downtown)
Downtown (downtown) downtown (downtown)
(repeat and fade out)

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