From the recording Still Sitting Backstage
Bob Davoli: guitar and lead vocals
Kathleen Parks: fiddle and harmony vocals
Kevin Barry: dobro, electric guitar, and lap steel
Jesse Williams: string bass
Lyrics
Cooler than cool, he wore a white t-shirt,
Faded jeans and a black bomber jacket
Thumbs tucked inside of his belt loops
A pompadour and bad boy persona
Skipping school, skinny dipping with biker babes
Patron saint of the disaffected
Angst-ridden, “Rebel Without a Cause”
Living on the edge of the world
But the years faded faster
Than his old blue jeans
The bravado of his youth
Crumbled into middle age
That was then and now is now
Life had reached its peak
On his high school graduation day, now he
Sits around with his head in his hands
Memories smoldering in his whiskey-addled mind
The only way to hang on is to let go
Life gets in the way of best laid plans
Ya gotta die young for your legend to live on
But the years faded faster
Than his old blue jeans
The bravado of his youth
Crumbled into middle age
Now he’s back at his old high school
He traded in his cool bohemian look
For a grey-green uniform, and the
Hum of the floor-waxing machine
Ripples of hope no longer linger
The sun has lost its rays
No use trying to point a finger
Hallelujah, fallen king of the cool
But the years faded faster
Than his old blue jeans
The bravado of his youth
It crumbled into middle age
The bravado of his youth
Crumbled into middle age