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Lyrics: Car Seat (God's presents)

Recorded at: Kingways Studios, New Orleans in 1994-1995

Tongue tied, nerves as big as boulders
Why Mom, I thought I was your soldier
My brother sits by me
Buckled into the carseat
Feel the thirst, it's time for pulling over
Into the truckstop on my daddy's shoulder
Out back where they plant all the trees
ten feet away my daddy buries me

        - God's Presents -
If my path be smooth or rugged
If with thorns or roses strewn
Where I go the Father seeith
And He will leave me not alone
If I take the wings of morning
far within the giant sea
Even there His hand will leave me
Even there my God will be
Though the gloom of night be round me
Though I cannot see my way
Yet the Lord will see and guide me
Because unto Him the night is day
If my thought are good or evil
Set me think to hide them not
there is one above all seeing
And He beholdth every thought
And ever more my eyes beholds me
And all my ways to Him are known
And His loving arms enfolds me
He will leave me not alone

This song is about Susan Smith who was sentenced to life in prison after she murdered her two children (by locking them in a car and rolling it into a lake) in 1994 and claimed they have been kidnnaped by a black man. The 2nd part of the song is God's presents poem written by Blanche Bridge (Shannon's great great grandmother) on February 11, 1884. Shannon had the whole poem tatooed on his arm. 

 "... there's a part of me that can kind of laugh at everything. I can find the horror and the humor. But when people kill children, I cannot find anything but sheer horror. I believe that anybody who kills children should die. Because children are too pure, too vulnerable, and not in any way at fault. I just can't comprehend it..."
Shannon Hoon  (Toronto Sun, August 1995)

"...we were in NYC at my friend Marlon's house. We were up all night having a big party, and at one point Shannon told me to sit by the answering machine and not let anybody pick up the phone (this was back in the days when answering machines had tapes). I sat there spinning out on whatever trip we were on when all of the sudden the answering machine picks up and Shannon starts talking. He was down at the phone booth (corner of 4th avenue and 11th street) reading 'God's Presents' on the machine. We took the tape up to the studio the next day and dropped it into 'Car Seat'. "
Rogers Stevens (01/20/2009 on the Blind Melon Forum)

 "...our drummer Glen Graham wrote all the music to Car Seat, which is my favorite song on the album..."
Shannon Hoon (Kerrang! August 1995)

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