Journal Thursday, September 02, 2010

Listen to "Levi Johnston's Blues" Off Ben Folds, Nick Hornby's "Lonely Avenue"

Bristol Palin, the 19-year-old daughter of former Republican Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin, has announced in the latest issue of Us Weekly that she and Levi Johnston, the father of her son, Tripp, have reunited and are now engaged. Though the couple's parents had not yet given their blessing to the marriage by the time of the article's publication, Sarah and Todd Palin have since released a statement, saying: “Bristol at 19 is now a young adult. We obviously want what’s best for our children. Bristol believes in redemption and forgiveness to a degree most of us struggle to put in practice in our daily lives.”

Coincidentally, this latest news of the happy coupling comes on the heels of the forthcoming Nonesuch release of the Ben Folds and Nick Hornby collaborative album Lonely Avenue, which features the track "Levi Johnston's Blues." It was the first song the two wrote together for the project. Folds recently recalled: "After watching the Republican National Convention the rest of us were thinking, ‘holy shit that woman could be president,’ but Nick was thinking, ‘holy shit, this poor guy’s got to marry the daughter.’" Some of the song's lyrics (including its "redneck" references) are quoted directly from Johnston's now defunct MySpace page. The Huffington Post, which premiered the track earlier today, describes Lonely Avenue as "one of the most interesting collaborations of the year."

You can listen to the resulting album track here and read the complete lyrics below:



LEVI JOHNSTON’S BLUES

Woke up this morning, what do I see?
Three thousand cameras, pointing at me
Dude says, You Levi? I’m like, Yes, that’s me, sir!
“Well, you’ve knocked up the VP nominee’s daughter”

So I tell him, No, you got it wrong, mister,
Already with a girl, and her name’s Bristol"
They all laugh and say, Where you been, sonny?
Your mother-in-law’s a heartbeat from the presidency

I say, Mother-in-law? No, we ain’t getting married
They say, You will be soon, boy, she just announced it
I get on my dirt bike, ride to my girl’s home
I’m gonna lay down the law, tell her what’s going on

I’m a fuckin’ redneck, I live to hang out with the boys
Play some hockey, do some fishing, kill some moose
I like to shoot the shit and do some chillin’, I guess
Ya fuck with me and I’ll kick your ass

So we talk and it turns out we don’t believe in abortion
And sex outside marriage is against our religion
And when I try to tell them I’m eighteen years old
They say, Levi, it’s too late, you gotta do as you’re told

I’m a fuckin’ redneck, I live to hang out with the boys
Get on my snowboard, do some fishing, kill some moose
I like to shoot the shit and do some chillin’, I guess
Ya fuck with me and I’ll kick your ass

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