When I woke up very early Sunday morning, August 24th, to get ready for my flight to Venice, the opening lines to Destroyer's "Bologna" were in my head:
There's an outside chance
You'll never see me again
You'll never see me again
The lyrics, sung by musician Fiver, have a serene yet ominous quality to them. They feel like a warning, or a note left on the table as a farewell to someone. I don't know why they were bubbling around in my brain, but they had the air of an omen. Was it some kind of strange prophecy? Was it an inner monologue I didn't even know I was speaking? With its faintly nocturnal, noir-ish tone, "Bologna," off Destroyer's album Dan's Boogie from earlier in the year, always felt mysterious to me. But to have it lodged in my subconscious as I was getting up predawn to head off for two-and-a-half weeks, well, a long trip could have started off more promisingly.
During my time in Venice and Toronto, those lyrics would occasionally reappear unbidden. I never quite knew why. "Bologna" could be the story of a spy on the run, a bad man disappearing for good. It sounds like hiding out in Cuba from the authorities. It feels like the end of the road. But the way Fever sings those words, it also has an aura of seduction, of unknown adventure.
I'm home now after my trips. It was a very fun time. I'm glad to be back. Now I listen to "Bologna" and wonder what it all meant.
