Sun Kil Moon - Stranger Than Paradise lyrics

May, 2016 los Angeles
Checked into the hotel Cecil yesterday
I was given a key for a
Room on the fifteenth floor
And I checked into it
It surprised me as I had heard
The higher floors were for residents only
As of May this year
According to the guy at the
Desk anyhow it's actually the

Second and third floors, so he told me
I had read that Richard Ramirez stayed on
The fourteenth floor and of course
I asked about it but the clerk said nobody
Knew the specifics on
The room in which stayed and I said
"Ah shit" fifteen was the very top floor
Right under the water tanks where
A body was supposedly found
I took the room and
Immediately walked around the
Hallways and noticed fire
Escapes all throughout
Building going from the bottom to the top
Had easy access to the roof the fire escape
That was of course if a fire
You aren't afraid

The noise from the streets was
So overbearing that I asked
For a room on the other side of the hall
They said they got a room on the
Fourteenth floor if I didn't mind
And I said, "No, not at all"
So I took it and I guess it was on
What you call the courtyard
Side of the building
But there was the loudest thud coming from
Somewhere keeping me up and after
(thud, thud, thud) much exploring
It was a elevator motor so all
The other floors I went roaming
I found the lower the floor
The quieter the motor
They gave me a room on the
Fourth floor but I didn't take
The room without getting a photo of
My fourteenth guest floor door
And I finally fell asleep and when I woke
Up I went for a little walk that morning

I'm walking around LA
Walking around downtown LA
And the sun is shining today
For pushing 50, I'm doing great
I'm walking around LA
Walking around downtown LA
And the sun is shining today
For pushing 50, I'm feeling great

Saw Richard Edson parking his bike
Saw Richard Edson parking his bike i said
"I like your acting in Spike
Lee's Do the Right Thing" i said
"I like your acting in Spike
Lee's Do the Right Thing
And Jarmusch's Stranger Than Paradise
And your liner notes on
The Sonic Youth reissue" then I said, "Hey
It was very nice to meet you"

An interesting thing to know in
Regards to the Cecil
There are two elevator doors in the
Lobby and two up above
On the mezzanine level
But in the famous footage that
You see of the girl
There's definitely an elevator door on
The guest room hallway
'Cause when you step out of the door to
Go to your room you see the white
Comms that were right in front of her
And the wooden panel that goes sideways
The amount of the activity in the
Lobby and the elevators in that
Hotel was more than any in all
My years of world traveling

The amount of staff members and
Maids and maintenance workers
Roaming around that place was
Totally mind boggling at all times young
Foreign tourists were lined up
At the front desk
As long as lines you'd see at a busy
Big city post office
Would I say it'd be easy to
Snatch up a girl and drag
Her up onto the roof in
A 700-room place like that? Fuck yes
Would I say she could have
Been invited up there by
A group of people to check out the view? Yes
Would I say she could have been pulled
Into one of the multiple shared
Bathrooms and choked out then dragged up
And dumped into a shark tank? Fuck yes
Would I say that she could
Have easily went up there

All on her own and went for a swim? Yes
Would I believe even more a kid
Pulled a prank and is
Sitting back on a love in the soap opera? Yes
'Cause, I see no evidence to
Support her death besides vague news reports
And one photo of what were
Allegedly her parents showing up
At the LAX airport
Talk of losses but no legal documents have
I ever seen to support it
No lawyers speaking on behalf of
The alleged Lams and
No friends who ever spoke on Elisa's behalf

I asked a parking lot attendant who had
Been working there for ten years
"When that girl was found dead
Up there in 2013, were you here?"
She said, "Ah, I don't believe no girl up
There ever even died"
I said, "Me either but can I
Ask why you think that, if you don't mind?"
She said, "You know how a little thing
Is said and gets bigger, and bigger, and
Bigger, and bigger, and bigger, and bigger
And
Bigger, and bigger, and bigger, and bigger
And bigger?" and I said, "Yes" and she said
"I think that's what happened next door"
I was completely with her
Caroline picked me up and I
Told her everything that happened
She said, "Cool
Glad you got that out of your system
Now let's go check into a

Real hotel down the street
And get down to Manhattan Beach
And say "Hi!" to Cameron
We're driving the 1-10
Gonna say "Hi!" to a friend
Spend the day on his TV set
And show some love and respect
We're driving the 1-10 and we
Stop for Italian food
And saying hi to Cameron
Thought that we're doing right and good
We talked about Bowie at length and
He introduced me to Luke Wilson
And he said he liked my
Bass playing in Stillwater
And I said I liked you
In Vacancy and Bottle Rocket
And we talked about James
Caan and The Godfather
And Cat Stevens songs and Steve Miller
He said, "Man
I hope we get to work together"
I said, "Man, that would be great
It was nice to meet you"

We left the set and drove
Back downtown the Biltmore
As I feel asleep the mystery of Elisa
Lam was still on my mind
Like what was I, some fucking investigator?
And she was real and for whatever reason
Her body was found in that water
I'm sorry for the parents and their poor
Young daughter i'm sorry for your loss
This world can be a real pile of shit
But, I'm counting my blessed tonight, baby
'Cause we're both healthy and alive
So let's embrace it
Went off to the studio in Sherman Oaks
Laid down a few new tracks took a break
A Peruvian restaurant down the
Street and thought
The ceviche was the best I ever had
I told Nathan it was time for me to
Get on my flight back to San francisco
But wow, what a great weekend and

On the way to Long Beach today
We stopped along the way
To see her brother and say hey
To his family and the kids spraying
Each other with hoses in the yard
And I thought about when I was young
And how the yard was so much fun
Oh, I thought about when I was young
At the Long Beach airport
Waiting for the flight to San Francisco
Said I like this airport
It's not too fucking big enough
At the Long Beach airport
Waiting for a flight to San Francisco
I said, "Caroline
Thanks for coming down i love you" she said
"I had a good time and I love you too"