Co-write Peter Zasuly
Intro: C F C G
The beaches are crowded
There’s salt in the air
The view from the cliff’s
Is like nowhere
Chorus: F C F C Am G F – Fm
Santa Monica is all about fun
People come looking for the sun
But underneath the urban glow
Some are struggling to grow
Verse 1: Am Em F C Am G C
Harry is out on the streets coz he lost
His job and his life to rocketing costs
He’s searching to find the missing piece
A memory buried deep in his mind
A bottle or two to pass by the time
He barely remembers how to breathe
Chorus
Verse 2: Am Em F C Am G C
Pour through the door and sit in the chair
The men love Christine as she cuts their hair
Taking the wrong one every time
Life is a struggle working to live
Her dates on the weekend’ve nothing to give but,
Still she gets dressed up for Friday night
Bridge; Dm C G x2, F C F C C/B C
Paradise ain’t always pretty
You roll the dice in this city
Take a Bentley for a spin down Ocean Blv.
Or the train down Broadway to your job to stay afloat
Love this. Good melody and lyrics. Initially I thought it perhaps needed something more in terms of production, but now I’m wondering if it might have more impact with just voice and guitar.
Love the rhythm and vocals
This song just about made my top 10. I think an increase in tempo would give it a 60’s California vibe. Add some congas and bass with a flourish of acoustic guitar would give it that air of sunshine and freedom that we associate with California.
But underneath the urban glow
Some are struggling to grow
Lovely lyrics – and a terrific change at this point.
The right backing instruments – percussion throughout and maybe a reed instrument in the chorus – and Santa Monica’s your auntie.
“Santa Monica is fun” suggests the song should be more up tempo, but the lyric has a twist and takes a dark turn – clever. Possibly a little Latin feel in the chorus with a return to a darker feel at the end.
My favorit song, so caching. The melody is really nice and love the lyrics. After listening the song the melody stays in my head.
A lovely song, and one for the “unplugged” version of the album.
I love this place and the song. I like the song’s juxtaposition of a sunny fun-filled paradise with the reality of the struggles that lie beneath the ‘urban glow’. My only criticism is that I’d change the lyric ‘Santa Monica is all about fun’ to ‘Santa Monica masquerading as fun’ (or isn’t all about fun). The reason I’d change it is that the contradiction jars for me to say ‘it’s all about fun, but hey not really’. I’d also be careful if this makes the album not to get sucked into an east coast Latino vibe with the arrangement / production and go for a west coast feel. The song lends itself to the Latino feel, but don’t be tempted !