Annotated lyrics for The Hold Steady song 'Lanyards' - When you're stuck out in the middle / You just figure that there's something you're missing / But it turns out that California / Is just tripping and disinterested kissing / Back in my hometown / There was nothing but the hum of the locusts / And the rest of my life / To get used to being washed out of showbiz / I was down around the docks / But I never saw anyone surfing / From a distance it looked pretty much perfect / But it's different in person / The doctor said he only wants / To help me make more healthy decisions / Went out around the Fourth of July / And I was back by Thanksgiving / I danced around the subject / I swam in the Pacific / Like the westernmost American / Lanyards into laminates / Everybody's trying to get the right kind of wristband / Banging on the door again / She just wasn't answering / Showbiz is a struggle, man / Someone called an ambulance / Straightened out her necklace / And we sped to Good Samaritan / That girl from the Genesee Cleaners wasn't from there either / We sunk into the seats downtown at some second shot theater / She took me home to her place in a camper van behind some old warehouse / Said she couldn't come down and crash until we listened to 'Wipe Out' / Her character's cool / She's just dialing in her motivation / She's into new things / But she won't go to a second location / She's never gone deep / But she might make an exception for Shark Week / When they kicked in the door / They said, 'That's way too much blood for a nosebleed' / Hospital security / Everybody needs to see the right color wristband / She said she had a meeting / I thought they were mistaken / But depression isn't kidding, man / The scene stuck in my head of her spread out on her bed / Like she's showing off her wingspan / I sat in heavy traffic / I drowned in the Pacific / Then I went back to the heartland / The doctor said he only wants / To help me make some better decisions / Went out around the Fourth of July / And I was back by Thanksgiving / I saw a few stars / But I never made it into a movie / Still trying to make moves / But I'm back in Independence, Missouri