2. Right To Be Wrong
3. Righteous
4. River Of Rage
5. Roll Out The Red Carpet For The 90s
The Rain Song
it rains in the winter, it rains in the fall
it rains in the spring and the summer and all
it rains when it rains and it waters the ground
through the rivers and the roads of the waterfront towns
it waters the grasses, waters the trees
splashes galoshes that hug at your knees
it runs in the gutters and it comes down to fall
on the plaster disaster of the pool hall wall
it cleans out the air and it filters the smog
runs through the oil soot hung in the fog
it washes the concrete, polishes stone
asphalt comes clean with a mind of its own
it feeds all the green that survives in the summer
while the heat hits the street like the beat of a drummer
while the desert dehydrates, dries in the plains
we’re saved by the waters that come in the rain
some come from the lands of the suntan weather
where the dry heat breezes rustle like a feather
and they come up here, snicker and jest
say it rains too much in the great Northwest
some are distressed by the stress and the strain
and they lay all the blame on the name of the rain
but it’s all only water for better or best
if it was anything other they’d still be depressed
meaning no harm to the farm and the field
releasing the crop of its watery yield
very much scandaled and sorely maligned
its come and its gone in a matter of time
been here for centuries, be here for more
like the great grandparent of the evergreen shore
don’t hold no grudge, got nothin’ to prove
so if you don’t like it you better move
-------------
Right To Be Wrong
its fun to be a gangster when you're a kid
just think about what Al Capone did
all that fast life, guns and money
shootin' people down 'cause they look at you funny
like a big shot way high up on a stump
you can snap your fingers and watch everybody jump
it's a power dream sometimes comes true
'till you meet somebody's got more power than you do
it feels good to be bad when its right to be wrong
and a life sentence don't seem so long
its a hard world, concrete and steel
and it' hard to know just how you feel
when every other hero on the movie screen
is an action man with a killing machine
you see the mighty muscles flex and flaunt
seems like they get almost anything they want
politicians in plain criminal view
and if they can do it why not you
it's a childhood world of walled-off yards
metal detectors and armed guards
cops patrolling the hamburger stand
seems like almost everybody's got a gun in their hand
you come rollin' up in your rap machine
adrenalin pumpin' the excitable scene
you can feel the action, you're catchin' the buzz
you gotta make your move before somebody else does
you get caught struttin' down that criminal line
they gonna put you away for a long time
now why'd you want to go and let them lock you down
you know it's the biggest business around
they don't care about how you rehabilitate
you're just a cash-flow, like real estate
three strikes you're out, that's what they say
somebody's gonna get rich while you whither away
when I was a kid I was real dumb
I had no idea how a puppet got strung
I thought I had my own point to prove
I didn't know there was somebody makin' me move
now after all those years apart
now it's time for the puppet to start to get smart
put down that pipe and pick up your brain
we're gonna have to re-invent the rules to this tired old game
-------------------
Righteous
here's a little song that you might get along with
all about a natural seed
growin' wild by the side of the roadway
its nature's wonderful weed
been around so long it's hard to tell
why anyone would think its new
love it or hate it, however you relate it
I'll leave that up to you
isn't that righteous
isn't that good enough
ain't that just the way it oughtta be
isn't that righteous
isn't that good enough
righteous is good enough for me
history's locked in a cardboard box
and it's hard to take a look
with side-track frills and fantasies
all written all over the book
everybody tells you what to think
and they've got their reasons why
you gotta pick reality up by the scruff of the neck
and look it right in the eye
isn't that righteous
isn't that good enough
ain't that just the way it oughtta be
isn't that righteous
isn't that good enough
righteous is good enough for me
the same people that are spreadin' the fear
are the same people that scare me the most
some of 'em look like they'd just as soon
like to hang you from a lamp post
they talk about what it does to your brain
well I just have to react
'cause Hitler never touched the stuff
and that's an actual fact
isn't that righteous
isn't that good enough
ain't that just the way it oughtta be
isn't that righteous
isn't that good enough
righteous is good enough for me
George Washington was the father of our country
and he had a hemp plantation
Betsy Ross used it to make the flag
that flew above the baby nation
they wrote their declarations on paper
from that same hemp fiber press
I don't know what they smoked when they were takin' a break
but I got a pretty good guess
isn't that righteous
isn't that good enough
ain't that just the way it oughtta be
isn't that righteous
isn't that good enough
righteous is good enough for me
it'll calm you down when you're too up tight
and it just might make you smile
use the seed oil in your engine
it'll lubricate the miles
glaucoma and chemotherapy
they say it smoothes out the track
so next time you meet a cancer patient
ask 'em what they think about that
isn't that righteous
isn't that good enough
ain't that just the way it oughtta be
isn't that righteous
isn't that good enough
righteous is good enough for me
I don’t know why some people get so upset
when you say to legalize it
they'd rather build more jails, arrest more people
and spread more crazy lies, it's
like talkin' to a brick wall
you know they just don't get the facts
I think they oughtta try a little of that Betsy Ross
it just might help 'em relax
isn't that righteous
isn't that good enough
ain't that just the way it oughtta be
isn't that righteous
isn't that good enough
righteous is good enough for me
so I'll be on my way now
guess I've taken just about enough of your time
I know there's a lot of people out there
just don't like my state of mind
but I got mine and you got yours
we give what we can take
so next time I need a breather
I'll might just take a little smoke break
isn't that righteous
isn't that good enough
ain't that just the way it oughtta be
isn't that righteous
isn't that good enough
righteous is good enough for me
----------------
River Of Rage
he walked into the cafeteria
he had a gun in his hand
he walked in like a time bomb
triggered to command
he fired 41 rounds
that’s how the story gets told
he killed his mother and his father too
he was 15 years old
the doctors they pondered
they puzzled and schemed
they analyzed his body language
and his camouflage dreams
they said his town was so normal
his street was just fine
all those unanswered questions
they’re the most dangerous kind
river of rage
river of rage
blame it on the music
it’s easy to do
blame it on the internet
and the TV too
blame it on the devil
that’s what he’s for
but all the blame in the world won’t put life back into
those bodies on the floor
it’s a trickery world
it’s all mirrors and smoke
and the promises that they made to you
well they were just a joke
when you find you’ve been lied to
and the lie wasn’t true
you gotta get mad at somebody
but you just don’t know who
river of rage
river of rage
it’s in our blood
and in our memory’s dream
warriors fighting
gun metal gleam
the smell of the powder
the sound of the sword
the anger of god as he rages through
where the grapes of wrath are stored
America the beautiful
they say these colors don’t run
everywhere we went
we just walked in with a gun
we blew ‘em to pieces
we bombed ‘em into dust
then we raised up our children
and they turned out just like us
river of rage
river of rage
don’t know if I can explain it
but at least I have to try
there’s no love and compassion
in a mechanical eye
society’s failing
it’s society’s guilt
and the monster that kills us
will be the monster that we built
the face in the mirror
it’s coming so clear
it’s our future at stake now
and all that we hold dear
if this is our story
we can write a new page
or we can drown in the waters
of a river of rage
river of rage
river of rage
---------------
for the election of Bill Clinton
we got a new administration
they say it's time for celebration
they're so ecstatic about a Democratic come-on
after the Reagan and Bush years
and the vacuum in between Danny Boy's ears
they say anything is better than the same old song
now Mr. Bill is such a nice guy
you just know he wouldn't lie to you
he's got charisma, they say he's like JFK
he's got a hip Vice President
who’s into the environment
he wrote a book about it so know he's gonna mean what he say
roll out the red carpet for nineties
roll it out and let it flow
roll out the red carpet for nineties
here we go
he came my home town
they had lights and sound
they were playin' John Lennon as he got out of his limousine
as he spoke to the multitudes
all the necessary platitudes
they had cleared out all the homeless so there wouldn't be a negative scene
there was nary a dry eye
seein' the savior with a necktie
all that saint, salvation and repentance
but I gotta agree
it's a miracle to me
the first president we've had in twelve years can speak a complete sentence
he's fast food fed
he likes the Grateful Dead
he was against the war in Viet Nam. or so I'm told
he gets down to the bone
he even plays the saxophone
he's wanted to be president since he was ten years old
he believes in education
now that's a recommendation
he's a Rhodes Scholar so you know he's got a high IQ
he smoked a little pot once
they talked about it for months
but he didn't inhale, he didn't know that's what you're supposed to do
what a pretty first family
I saw them lighting up the Christmas tree
just the kind of people I'd like to have for my next door neighbors
but they don't play by the same rules
their kids go to private schools
I guess I'll just have to read about them in the daily papers
now you might think I'm crazy
but I get a little hazy
when I think about the rock'n'roll future of our nation
is it just coincidental
or am I going mental
they put Elvis Presley on a stamp just in time for the inauguration
now I know what you're thinkin'
I see your eyeballs blinkin'
you're thinkin' I'm too cynical I oughtta have a little more faith
well, faith is to your credit
but watch where you put it
I ain't believin' in a figurehead with a friendly face
I'll tell you if you ask me
that real democracy
comes from the bottom up and not the top down
there's a storm on the horizon
and the waters are risin'
we better learn how to swim or we're all gonna drown
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