Between 2 Homes

Lyrics

time to go back to school
time to go back to school
I’m just gonna waste my time
I don’t wanna waste my time

I know just what you’re gonna say
when it’s time for me to go away
“come around and waste my time
you don’t ever waste my time”

“just stay here with me
won’t you please stay here with me?”

the time here goes by so slow
I haven’t seen you in forever
the time here goes by so fast
I don’t know the last time I saw you

when I get back to school
I never look back from school
I just don’t ever have the time
please give me some of your time

and drive up and stay
won’t you please drive up and stay?
because…

I want to know the truth this time
is this gonna last forever?
I’m looking in your eyes this time
and I think I see forever

so now I am back at school
so now I am back at school
I never get to waste my time
I never get to waste my time with you

Lyrics by Paul Friemel

Recordings

Put Your Heart Where Your Mouth Is (Album Version) –

The Beast & Worst of 2nd Best 1999-2003 (Live Acoustic Version) –

First Place Hits (Redux) –

Credits

Written by:Paul Friemel
Lead Vocal:Paul Friemel
Back-up Vocal:Shane Sikkema
Guitar:Shane Sikkema
Bass:Paul Friemel
Drums:TJ Mapes
Recorded at:Reel Trax Recording – 5/13 – 5/20/2002 (Album Version)
Appears on:Put Your Heart Where Your Mouth Is (Album Version)
The Best & Mostly Worst of 2nd Best 1999-2003 (Live Acoustic Version)
First Place Hits (Redux)

Song Notes

Between 2 Homes stands out as one of 2nd Best’s calmer and sweeter songs. It was sort of a ballad with a large musical interlude, which was a precursor to Paul’s love of large musical interludes which appeared in multiple future compositions. The song was definitely written with ‘radio single’ potential in mind, but let’s be real, it never even got close to achieving that.

– Paul came up with the concept for this song while being a passenger on the long 3-hour drive from the Quad Cities back to Iowa State University in Ames, IA. Looking out the car window and lamenting how this was about the fifteenth trip he’d made in the past 6 months, the initial lyrical pattern jumped out. Although the lyrical content certainly dates the song and causes eye-rolls from anyone over the age of 22, it serves as a time-capsule to a period in life many have experienced.

– The song consists of a back and forth discussion between the narrator and a significant other, in this case good old Corvetta, that evolves over an undisclosed time period. Time passes between each verse and priorities change depending upon the narrator’s location but in the end, he always yearns to be with the one he loves, regardless of the temporary burdens that surround him. Looking back at the song, it remains a sweet love letter to youth and innocence that cannot be denied.

– Depending on the location and audience, the simple lyrical content would be ad-libbed or modified to fit certain parameters. If in front of a lot of his classmates, Paul would sometimes change the last line of the second verse to “Because of Graphic Design!” to excite his design major brethren. Also there are recordings where Paul changed the opening lyrics to “I’m never going back to school” which was soooooo edgy. But the kids loved it.

– The “redux” version of the song appearing on First Place Hits includes some additional harmonies that for some unknown reason were never added in the first place. It was probably due to simply not having thought of them at the time of recording. With the help of Jeffrey Loder, the original sessions were fired up and additional harmonies were recorded by Paul in 2011. The intention was to re-release some songs with updates as a vinyl record that never came to pass because additional masters were not obtainable. This project re-emerged in 2020 with the digital anniversary release and the redux songs were included in place of the originals. The added harmonies really bring the vocal sections of the song to life and make it seem like they were always there.

– Paul might need to check his eyesight because it most certainly was #spoileralert not forever.

Videos

“Between 2 Homes” performed on an unaired episode of Ames Music Live in 2002 on Iowa State University

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