Lisa Marie’s Swing Set

(The following was written by Tim Livingston and originally appeared on the Last Cons Blog on Memorial Day 2006.)

“Wide-eyed expectations when I was young..” So much has changed for an ‘American Son’.. Camelot.. black & white television (w/ rabbit ears).. “Vietnam through Watergate..” drive-in movies.. A pre – Nintendo-baggy pants-hip-hop-cell-phone-i-pod-wired-to-my-brain generation.

A time when even a King’s daughter had the metal swing set in the back yard, an entertainment complex for suburban children across the the land.. the land.. the states.. “I just wanna taste the American dream..” what was the American dream and does it still exist? “The dream” and the hard reality that walks hand-in-hand with it.. how many lost dreams.. the plans of children left behind on the rusted
swing sets of days gone by.. “Wide Eyed Wonders”..

Memorial Day, kids selling Snapple at a lemonade stand, little capitalists selling to today’s youth market.. store bought punk.. Every generation thinks it is the greatest, the best of times.. the ‘good old days’… When we were Kids.. I could tell you stories..

Wonder if Lisa Marie ever sits on these swings when she comes home? Maybe she has pushed her daughter on them, like her daddy had done.. rumor has it there are still bullet-holes from when E shot up the back-yard.. the rise and fall of the American Dream is a big part of what this album is about..
Lisa Marie’s swing set..
it stands in the backyard of Graceland like a snap-shot in time…
there is something about it..
something I can’t explain..