Short Story, Song, Theme Prompt, Word Prompt, Writing Prompts

Last Night In Cleveland

Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬

Written for Thursday Inspiration #320 –
“Couldn’t Get It Right”. Here’s my response.

Image by Me & ChatGPT

For this week’s Thursday Inspiration, Jim Adams asks us to respond to the challenge by using the prompt word ‘right’, referring to the song “Couldn’t Get It Right”, by Climax Blues Band or any other song by them, a song about the exhaustion of life on the road for a band, or whatever we think fits.

Here’s my story:

Last Night in Cleveland

“Forty-three cities. Forty-three. I stopped counting the hotel rooms somewhere around Dallas, they all blur into the same beige wallpaper and broken ice machines.

Last night I watched Charlie nearly fall asleep mid-song. I could see it …. that slow drift behind the kit, his sticks going mechanical, muscle memory holding the whole thing together while his mind floated home to his wife and kids. Can’t blame him.

My voice is sandpaper now. Two octaves gone, just shredded somewhere on the highway between Phoenix and here. The doctor says rest. Rest. Brilliant advice, mate.

But then the lights drop. Every night, the lights drop, and fifty thousand people scream like the world’s ending beautifully. And something in my chest cracks open again, raw and alive.

Tomorrow we drive to Pittsburgh.

God help us, I wouldn’t change a bloody mile.”

🚐 🎸 🚐 ♬ 🚐 🎸 🚐


I’ve chosen the song “Torn and Frayed” by the Rolling Stones for Jim’s theme this week. From their 1972 album, Exile On Main St., this song paints a picture of the seedier, more exhausting side of rock and roll, focusing on a weary guitar player moving from town to town with problems on and off the stage.

This is “Torn and Frayed” by the Rolling Stones

Thursday Inspiration #320 Couldn’t Get It Right

Many thanks to Jim Adams for this week’s inspiration. Thanks to you all for stopping by for a look and a listen.

That’s all she wrote, kids.

See you on the flip side. 😎

NAR©2026


Everything on The Elephant’s Trunk was created by me, unless otherwise indicated. If there’s something you would like to use, ask me; if I think it’s appropriate, I will usually agree. Thanks for your consideration. NAR©2017-present.

19 thoughts on “Last Night In Cleveland”

  4. Sounds very relatable, Nancy, almost as if you experienced it yourself!

    Long tours must be pretty gruesome, especially when you’re a lesser known act who doesn’t have a big supporting team and may even need to schlepp their own equipment and set up for the gig!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  7. Great choice, going with this Stones classic, Nancy. This song perfectly captures the weary, drug-fueled, story of a band that is on the road playing with busted amps with busted souls. It is an excellent description of a rock-n-roll drifter who has become a “bag of nerves” with his coat being worn out, but he keeps going for the love of the guitar.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Leave a reply to Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬ Cancel reply