2. Gay In The Military
3. Geraldo Rivera
4. Gettin' Squeezed
5. Goin' Down To Eugene To See The Grateful Dead
6. The Great Stone Wall
7. Guitar Thing
8. Gypsy
Gasworks Park
early in the evenin’
we go walkin’ in the park in the evenin’
do a little talkin’ in the dark of the evenin’
just she and me
see the way the moon flies
like a kite up in the night skies
shine upon the Gasworks Park
by the Union Sea
oh there’s a sign in the water
says don’t go in the water
there’s somethin’ in the water that they
don’t want you to get on your skin
oh but the lights of the city
make it look so pretty
and one of these days we gonna leave
this city behind
and there is little to be what it appears to be
it’s an illusory situation
you can do anything, be any one
get your mind undone, it’s a simple equation
and it’s a tiny spark
in the Gasworks Park
in the town that I was born in
they got up every mornin’, went to work
and came home in the evenin’
and it was always the same
I coulda followed in their footsteps
don’t know why I didn’t
but somethin’ in my thinkin’ wouldn't allow me
to jump on that train
and there is little to be what it appears to be
it’s an illusory situation
you can do anything, be any one
get your mind undone, it’s a simple equation
and it’s a tiny spark
in the Gasworks Park
so early in the evenin’
we go walkin’ in the park in the evenin’
do a little talkin’ in the dark of the evenin’
just she and me
------
Gays In The Military
1 hut, 2 hut, 3 hut, 4
everybody knows what the corps is for
shape 'em upright - ship 'em out
we got clean-cut clones with international clout
5 hut, 6 hut, 7 hut, 8
gotta keep your gender straight
women are women and men are men
don't get too friendly with your friends
gays in the military - very scary
fearless warriors, I have heard
don't even know the meaning of the "fear" word
cannon balls they swat like flies
they don't even blink their eyes
ten thousand enemies in a pinch
they face 'em all and don't even flinch
but give a homosexual an even chance
and they wet their collective camouflage pants
gays in the military - very scary
General Patton had a great big gun
and so did Attila the Hun
it was masculine meticulous
they were so straight it was ridiculous
every roll model macho I have known
just stiffened up and turned to stone
John Wayne was so petrified
they named an airport after him when he died
gays in the military - very scary
you're puttin' women in dangerous places
you’re gettin' sexual harassment cases
you got pinups on the locker room door
is that all we train them for?
don't tell me about your high standards
your spit polished company commanders
morality by the good ole book
that was Tailhook
gays in the military - very scary
every normality has its day
and every day must fade away
change is hard to take
when all your icons break
wake up and smell the air
there's people risin' up everywhere
say goodbye to the sacred cow
'cause we don't need it anyhow
gays in the military - very scary
---------
Geraldo Rivera
(chorus)
Geraldo Rivera where are you now
you’re such a brave man, you’re in Afghanistan
Geraldo Rivera where will you go
goin’ where no other news man’s gone
let me sing a tale to you
every word I swear is true
great heroics pay per view
on the TV cam-era
you can have your Errol Flynn
I’ll take the man with the iron chin
gonna get that old Osama bin
it’s Geraldo Rivera
I remember how your ratings rose
when those neo nazis broke your nose
it was only a stunt I suppose
but it made the front pages
now you’re out there where the goin’ gets rough
gonna call that big bad bully’s bluff
show ‘em that you got the right stuff
you’re the newsman of the ages
I remember Al Capone’s vault
it was empty but it wasn’t your fault
it was media spectacle gestalt
and we loved you anyway
now you’re dodging sniper fire
sending stories on the wire
can your ratings climb up any higher
come on, make my day
you can beat ‘em off with your moustache
that’ll give ‘em whiplash
then you make a mad dash
to pull up your socks
goin’ hand to hand
with the dirty rotten Taliban
but they ain’t half the man
as the mighty man from FOX
some kids want to strike it rich
some just want to dig in a ditch
it’s hard to scratch that itch sometimes
when life just don’t prepare ya
some kids watch too much TV
lose their grip on reality
and that’s what happened, it seems to me
to Geraldo Rivera
---------
Gettin’ Squeezed
tryin’ to make a livin’, tryin’ to make ends meet
but every day I get a little closer to the street
I’m gettin’ squeezed
I had a little trouble and my money got spent
winter’s comin’ on and now they’re raisin’ the rent
I’m gettin’ squeezed
I been to college, even got a degree
fat lot of good it did me
I’m gettin’ squeezed
I used to believe in this American dream
some people said I was a fool and now I see what they mean
I’m gettin’ squeezed
never thought I’d live to see times like these
I’m gettin’ squeezed
I see the news people beautiful, they do it in style
they can talk about disaster with a smile
they’re gettin’ paid big money just to spin it around
but they never come around to my part of town
big money’s boomin’ and it ain’t no doubt
we ain’t in the club and so they’re leavin’ us out
we’re gettin’ squeezed
anything they don’t like, they’re tearin’ it down
they want a sanitary city and they ain’t foolin’ around
we’re gettin’ squeezed
the mayor came by with somebody in a tux
they were doin’ deals and they were lookin’ at us
we’re gettin’ squeezed
then the company came and it all got real
bringin’ heavy equipment, gonna be a big deal
we’re gettin’ squeezed
never thought I’d live to see times like these
I’m gettin’ squeezed
talk about progress, don’t make me laugh
everybody I know is just takin’ a bath
there’s only so much that people can take
sooner or later somethin’s gonna have to break
well, I did a little talkin’ with a buddy of mine
somethin’s gotta happen maybe now is the time
I’m gettin’ squeezed
I got me a kryptonite bicycle lock
a bandanna and a monkey wrench and I went for a walk
I’m gettin’ squeezed
I can’t be specific but I’ll give you the facts
they bother me some I’m gonna bother them back
I’m gettin’ squeezed
never thought I’d live to see times like these
I’m gettin’ squeezed
I may be goin’ down but I won’t be on my knees
I’m gettin’ squeezed
---------------
Goin' Down To Eugene To See The Grateful Dead
the car’s gassed up and I'm ready to roll
I got one eye open for the highway patrol
I got the other eye open for the freeway sign
300 miles and I’m makin’ good time
my stomach’s growlin’ but my head’s been fed
I'm goin’ down to Eugene to see the Grateful Dead
tape deck’s blowin’ out a rattlin' sound
in a sympathetic rhythm to the wheel-go-round
sports cars eat me up half-alive
this thing don’t do more than 55
but I can sleep in the back, it’s a roadside bed
I'm goin’ down to Eugene to see the Grateful Dead
everybody needs a little break sometimes
life gets too precise
put a little twist in the old straight line
and take some strange advise
rollin' into town I'm all eyes and ears
look at all those people I ain’t seen in years
tripped out hipsters, rag and bone
young neophitic tie dye, cellular telephone
Sister Salina and her Uncle Fred
they're goin’ down to Eugene to see the Grateful Dead
there's 40 thousand people in a great big bowl
they're all rockin' to the rhythm of the roll
some are fallin' in love, some are countin' their money
some are spinnin' in circles till their eyes get funny
ain't it just about the way they said
I'm goin’ down to Eugene to see the Grateful Dead
goin' into the parkin' lot I might get lost
best place in the world to get your wires crossed
reality shatters when you leap and shout
some people go in and they never come out
never been the same since my senses fled
goin’ down to Eugene to see the Grateful Dead
everybody needs a little break sometimes
life gets too precise
put a little twist in the old straight line
and take some strange advise
now you can take my work week and throw it away
I’ll put a penny in a parkin’ meter any day
hang out the phone bill and let it fade
landlord’s gonna have to wait to get paid
I ain’t got no use for your overhead
I'm goin’ down to Eugene to see the Grateful Dead
my stomach’s growlin’ but my head’s been fed
I'm goin’ down to Eugene to see the Grateful Dead
---------
The Great Stone Wall
if I could face the day the way the sunlight does
if I could rise with morning mist
then I would know the way that the water-fish swims
I could hold the lessons in my fist
we are dying, say the elders, and we don’t even know
this is only a temporary peace
we’re only waiting for the outcome to show
and the endings to be released
behind the silence of a great stone wall
the howling of a new wilderness
beyond the distance of a great stone wall
it will change, it will change
it wasn’t always like this
I’ve been to places where the clocks don’t tick
and they laugh at the hard straight line
where history looks through baby’s eyes
and the light of the future is a good sign
some laws are made of barbed wire
and they lean to the privileged few
but reality shoots from behind a blade of grass
and its aim is true
there’s a warfare fought in the bloodstream now
and truth is a thing to be praised
the lie gets mean and it hides in the marrow
and it waits for the stakes to be raised
and the dry rattle breath of exit time
is a wake-up call to your ear
but the feel of a fist at the end of your arm
is the answer to your tears
they say there’s a light at the end of the tunnel
and sometimes I think I see
like a dissident glint in the eye of a needle
or the glitter of a soul set free
there’s a song that they sing in the worst of times
to lift your spirit on the wings and fly
way on the other side of that storm cloud wall
dancing in the clear blue sky
--------
Guitar Thing
we'll, I get up early, I go to bed late
seems like every day's the same
starin' out the window like fish eyes on a plate
I don't even care if it rains
somethin' on my mind, I guess it must be you
you been on my shoulder for a while
whisper in my ear, say “what are you gonna do?”
and me, well I just stutter and smile
think I'll hit the streets, take a walk up Capitol Hill
check out all the latest facial lacerations
maybe I can get lost, I got some time to kill
feels like that kind of situation
somethin' about a streetlight lit up so fine
makes you want to lower down and cruise
all those uptown bravados on the high hip line
wish I had some shine on my shoes
I’m talkin' with the herbivore outside the neon cafe
I remember when this place was called Ernie Steele's
and the old Fresh Air, well that was just down yonder way
man, those were the days for real
just then my ears implode and my head begins to fog
and I get a funny kind of vision in my eyes
good old Seattle when nobody even knew where it was
and there wasn't no such a thing as a high rise
it was a small town, big city, wide open kind of scene
the wild west with no two minute warnin’
you had to know just how fast to walk to make all the street lights green
‘cause they’d give you a ticket at 3:30 in the mornin’
now I'm walkin' down the rainy street and I'm turnin' in doorway
it's crowded dark and lit up like a jungle
there's wild eyes lookin' at me, scopin' out my state of mind
“how far you want to go?” they seem to mumble
there's taps of the same old, ain't no micro-brew
and there's enough smoke to choke a chimney
and there's a rock and roll band playin’ with no room to move
but everybody’s movin' anyway, believe me
now maybe some one gets hot and they have to cool him off
and somebody else may pass out on the floor
and by the time it's all over it's too much to remember
but everybody got what they came for
now I shakin' my head, I'm comin' to my senses
the herbivore's off lookin' for a vegetable bone
there's no place to be but these present tenses
I guess I shoulda known
and I'm seein' all those ghosts in the sidewalk lookin' at me
you know I can almost hear 'em callin' my name
funny how you never really lose a good connection
but I know it'll never be the same
now I'm rollin' up my sidewalks and turnin’ up my collar
figure I might as well go back home
got nothin’ on me but a Susan B Anthony dollar
and you can’t even use those things in the phone
so I make like to start for my cross-town drive
and there you are on the hood of my car
I say “all right, I’m glad to be alive!
let’s go play guitar”
---------
Gypsy
Gypsy came from Texas, blown in on the breeze
to Northern California and the redwood trees
and he saw the deep green rollin’ of the mighty coastal range
and something deep inside began to change
Gypsy heard the chainsaw, the helicopter squall
and he saw the angry clear cuts where the big trees had to fall
and he knew it was the marking of the dollar’s bad design
he said, “if there’s a worthy fight out there, well I guess this one is mine”
tensions they were risin’ in the lumber country towns
there were rumors of layoffs and mill work shuttin’ down
fear that led to anger and anger that led to rage
and the big timber bosses set the stage
the big timber bosses rode a billion dollar scam
with a slash and burn mentality and a company called Maxxam
if you could fly up like a bird and you could look down from the air
anywhere you saw a clear cut you’d know Maxxam was there
Gypsy found his family there on the north California shore
and he became a soldier in the timber wars
and he placed himself between the big trees and the chain saw blades
and he learned to find his courage and how not to be afraid
if you ask them they will tell you of the danger of those times
threats and intimidation, with violence close behind
and they will talk of law enforcement, how they use the pepper spray
and how justice isn’t blind, it just looks the other way
it was one September morning when the final straw was laid
and some one had to break I guess, that’s how the game was played
he only meant to scare them, that’s what the logger later said
but he cut that tree and he aimed it, and Gypsy Chain was dead
such a dreadful silence no music can relate
some one radioed for help but by then it was too late
a martyr for the redwoods, he was only flesh and bone
some one would have to tell his family that he was never coming home
some said it was an accident, some said it was a crime
some said it was unavoidable, it was just a matter of time
some said to leave it up to the authorities and the facts they would compile
there was bound to be an investigation, it would just take a little while
well, I’ve been thinkin’ about it and the way it seems to me
it’s really pretty simple if you want to make a tragedy
use the fear that leads to anger and the anger that leads to rage
and they’ll play it out for real on that puppet master stage
if you want a way to look at it, for me this is the one
that the big tree it was the bullet and the chain saw was the gun
and the logger was the trigger but you have to understand
that the finger that pulled the trigger, that was Maxxam
No comments:
Post a Comment