Lyle Lovett’s 1994 album I Love Everybody has come up on the blog a few times before, and I always say the same thing.
To wit, this collection of odds and ends written before Lovett landed his first album deal was a let-down following the genius run of Pontiac, …and His Large Band and Joshua Judges Ruth, but as let-downs go it contains its fair share of memorable songs.
Today’s track isn’t one of those.
‘La to the Left’ is fine, musically, but I have no idea what it means and the repetition gets old fast.
This is also another opportunity to lament the lack of new material from Lovett. It has been eight years since his last album, and 13 years since his last album of original material. That’s after he averaged an album every other year through the first two decades of his career.
What’s up with that? He’s still in fine voice, based on his recent live Zoom pairings (with artists such as Elvis Costello and Jason Isbell). I can’t imagine he’s run out of things to say.
How about it, Lyle? Surprise your fans with a brilliant quarantine record.
La to the right
La to the middle is is falling
I saw her walking off
Out in the morning light
La to the middle is falling
Mother was good to me
How then else could she be
I was a child of her own
But the children the little ones
They talk with the devil’s tongue
La to the middle is falling
La to the left
La to the right
La to the middle is is falling
I saw her walking off
Out in the morning light
La to the middle is falling
Father was good to me
How then else could he be
I was a child of his own
But the children the little ones
They talk with the devil’s tongue
La to the middle is falling
La to the left
La to the right
La to the middle is is falling
I saw her walking off
Out in the morning light
La to the middle is falling
You were no good to me
How then else could you be
I was a child of my own
And the children the little ones
They talk with the devil’s tongue
La to the middle is falling
La to the left
La to the right
La to the middle is is falling
I saw her walking off
Out in the morning light
La to the middle is falling
Meet Me In Montauk 
Apparently, Lyle signed with a new label, Verve, and was working on a new album of original material in 2019. My guess is that Covid may have delayed the release of that album, as he mostly earns a living through touring and likely wants to promote the record with live performances. Hopefully, the wait will be over soon.
What Dana said. He was very unhappy with his previous label and, therefore, fulfilled his contractual obligation for albums with those that highlighted other artists he admired. So…. he should have a whole bunch of new material to share whenever he gets around to sharing it.
As for the this song… perhaps a child was abandoned by his mother but can’t articulate those feelings so resorts to the nonsensical language of children. Not sure why that language would be the “devil’s tongue,” though. 🤷🏻♀️