2. Teresa
3. There Has To Be A Reason
4. The Things We Do For Money
5. This Land
6. Those Days/These Days
7. The Time Is Now
8. Time Enough For Questions When The Killing's Done
9. Tina
10. Too Much Money
Take Our Culture Back
let’s take our culture back
let’s take our culture back
get the monkey off of your back
and take our culture back
we’ve been here for a million years
music fillin’ up the people’s ears
and we always sang our own song
until the music business came along
now, I don’t know, I could be wrong
but I ain’t about to just tag along
behind somebody with a bankroll hangin’ out
tellin’ me what I can sing about
they got the radio, they got the TV screen
they got the great muddy waters of the main stream
with a dollar bill hangin’ on to every word
you’re never gonna get your message heard
but some little buddy with an extra buck
can buy a transmitter and try their luck
pirate airwaves democracy
that seems like a good idea to me
Hollywood spectacle and promenade
think of all that money just waitin’ to be made
an all you gotta do is go
and you’ll be sittin’ up pretty on gangster’s row
well, it ain’t smart to be misled
by some Beavis and Butthead
you can have your hip Seattle slacker
just give me a good computer hacker
you gotta get inside to break it out
you gotta be outside to know what I’m talkin’ about
two heads and a million eyes
and we can cut this thing right down to size
now, culture is a weaponry
in all our great humanity
and survival is a counter attack
so let’s take our culture back
------------
Teresa
1986, University District, Seattle
ain't much to do on a Saturday night
except to hang around the street lights
and watch the cars go by
and maybe run into somebody you know
and say hey, you want to go
'round the corner and get high
ain't old enough to vote, ain't old enough to drink
but you're old enough to think
and lately been thinkin' 'bout a dead end ride
'cause this old town is changin' fast
shiny bright spit-polished mask
can't keep the edge inside
and the people in the movie lines
they want a Hollywood fix
everybody wants you to just disappear
or roll over and take your licks
so you play your part, you play your part
you play your part
it's easier to do
with somebody else's broken heart
stumblin' brother comin' down the walk
slack-jawed downer, he can hardly talk
he can barely keep his feet in line
say hey there brother, how ya doin'?
say if I was doin' much better
I'd be doin' just fine
and little sister, she knows all the ropes
all the ins and outs of this
endless, friendless block
seems like everybody's in on the space race
you know, a little white powder in the right place
could help to weather the future shock
and the people in the movie lines
they just want to be entertained
too much outside reality
it goes against the grain
so you play your part, you play your part
you play your part
it's easier to do
with somebody else's broken heart
Teresa got killed just a week ago
you know I didn’t know
until I read it in the news
somebody got her with a baseball bat
imagine that
all they could recognize was her shoes
and lately I been thinkin’ about getting’ out of here
but I can’t go home and face that
mindless rage
they say you ain’t enough, well I don’t know why
‘cause you’re sure old enough to die
and wind up in the editorial page
and the people in the movie lines
what do they know
if all the world’s a stage
this is just a part of the show
so you play your part, you play your part
you play your part
it's easier to do
with somebody else's broken heart
----------------
There Has To Be A Reason
such a pretty girl, as she walks into the market
with the people all around her and the air so sweet and soft
such a pretty girl, who would ever guess it
that she’s wired with explosives till the bomb goes off
mother did you know her, did she have a big bright smile
was her heart full of love for the life all ahead of her
and did you know them, were they the children of their parents
and will they be remembered for who they really were
and who would ever do a thing like that
there has to be a reason, there has to be a reason
there has to be a reason for that
ignorance is easy when you look the other way
and when you just don’t listen you can say that you didn’t hear
a little voice callin’, like talkin’ to a brick wall
and the pressure is buildin’ year after year
somebody’s got the power, what are they gonna do with it
are they gonna keep pushin’ down with the great big thumb
anybody might snap when they don’t see a future
another little girl, another little bomb
and who would ever do a thing like that
there has to be a reason, there has to be a reason
there has to be a reason for that
you say you got a symptom, you go to see the doctor
you want to know the reason, ‘cause you want to find a cure
well, we have a sickness, we’re shooting at the symptoms
it’s only gonna get worse, I know that much for sure
and who would ever do a thing like that
there has to be a reason, there has to be a reason
there has to be a reason for that
-----------------------
The Things We Do For Money
the things we do for money, it’s enough to make you think
how we sell some one a bad used car then we go out and buy him a drink
the way we laugh about it when we tally it up on the line
the things we do for money come back to haunt you some times
the things we do for money ain’t funny no sir
in fact it’s kind of sad
the things we do for money honey get on your nerves
they made the good go bad
they made the good go bad
workin’ for the time clock boss, punchin in and out of that daily grind
runnin’ with the rat race, blood pressure over time
they say some one’s gettin’ richer and they’re dangling a silvery key
the things we do for money make you older than you oughtta be
the things we do for money ain’t funny no sir
in fact it’s kind of sad
the things we do for money honey get on your nerves
they made the good go bad
they made the good go bad
you can make it if you got it already, if you don’t you gotta beg and borrow
whatever you sign away today you can refinance tomorrow
maybe take a pound of your flesh, maybe leave a little scar
the things we do for money, well they can be kind of bizarre
the things we do for money ain’t funny no sir
in fact it’s kind of sad
the things we do for money honey get on your nerves
they made the good go bad
they made the good go bad
lookin’ up to the rich and famous like you seen ‘em on the big TV
fallin’ in love with a game show host, gettin’ all that stuff for free
swallowing your self respect, coughin’ up a promissory not
the things we do for money they get caught in your throat
the things we do for money ain’t funny no sir
in fact it’s kind of sad
the things we do for money honey get on your nerves
they made the good go bad
they made the good go bad
what’s it to ya, you I ain’t no easy touch
if you can count it on the fingers of one hand man it can’t be all that much
they say pull yourself up by your boot straps, they say qualify your feet
there must be a better way to make ends meet
you can cash in on your good looks if you show a little skin
you can bait with a fish hook and you can reel ‘em in
it’s worth it if it’s workin’ and it’s workin’ if the price is right
the things we do for money keep you up at night
the things we do for money ain’t funny no sir
in fact it’s kind of sad
the things we do for money honey get on your nerves
they made the good go bad
they made the good go bad
the things we do for money they can be kind of extreme
they can break your heart, make a nightmare out of your dream
they say the root of all evil is buried in a hole in the ground
the things we do for money bring everybody down
the things we do for money ain’t funny no sir
in fact it’s kind of sad
the things we do for money honey get on your nerves
they made the good go bad
they made the good go bad
-------------
This Land
come gather round me, hear my sad story
I know you think you’ve heard some one sing it before me
but it’s an old song, I had to change it
times ain’t what they used to be
as I was walking that super highway
below the gray haze and sooted skyway
I was arrested for hitch hiking on the freeway
they said it don’t belong to me
it ain’t my land and it ain’t your land
could be a rich land but it’s a poor land
‘cause of the few that hold it in their tight-gripped hand
so that it don’t belong to you or me
when I was younger and in my schooling
I learned and followed by all the rulings
I never dreamed that they were only fooling
how could my teachers lie to me
but as time passed and I grew older
and the world around me got a little colder
I heard a voice came calling at my shoulder
said it don’t belong to you or me
it ain’t my land and it ain’t your land
could be a rich land but it’s a poor land
‘cause of the few that hold it in their tight-gripped hand
so that it don’t belong to you or me
from the board rooms of corporations
to the back roads of desperate situations
it’s a confused and dis-united nation
all the way from sea to shining sea
from the urban war zones of the busted street lights
to the toxic waste lands of Nevada Test Sites
from the open strip mines to the clear cut forests
oh it’s a sad sight to see
I see the downsize, I see the layoffs
the corporate welfare, politician’s payoffs
I see the breadlines that never make the headlines
‘cause they’re no so entertaining on TV
when they can reduce you to just a number
when they can knock you down and they can plow you under
and when the only thing that matters is the dollar
then you know it don’t belong to you or me
it ain’t my land and it ain’t your land
could be a rich land but it’s a poor land
‘cause of the few that hold it in their tight-gripped hand
so that it don’t belong to you or me
there was a time when this song was greater
but that was then, and this is later
and there’s a hole in my heart that’s like a crater
and they say it’s gonna be the death of me
let’s take this song back, let’s take this country
take back our future, it’s our duty
let’s stand up tall so that everyone can see
then this land will belong to you and me
and it will be your land and it will be my land
from California to the New York Island
from the redwood forests to the gulf stream waters
this land will belong to you and me
----------
Those Days/These Days
its was a small town, a seaport town
built in the hollows of the Puget Sound
and the birds flew by in the rainwater sky
and the biggest thing goin’ was the 4th of July
in the old days
its was a slower pace, not much of a rat race
every other stranger was a friendly face
it was a little unknown, half grown
stuck up in the corner all on its own
in the old days, in those days
but money is as money does
and the facelift fashions the strange
standin’ on the corner by the market place
sayin’ look at how its changed
now there’s a hole in the ground downtown
where they’re diggin’ ‘em up and they’re stakin’ ‘em down
for the office stalls, the Taj Mahals
and the vast expanding shopping malls
these days
now there’s limousines and magazine dreams
and doe-eyed youths in fashion jeans
electric guitars in the sushi bars
where astrologers thank their lucky stars
these days, strange ways
strange to say the money just seems to
grow right out of the ground
you hear the jingle of the commerce
you see the wheels spinnin’ around
spinnin’ around
now it’s a grand illusion this great profusion
you can draw your own conclusion
is it a blinding flash of balderdash
or a pocket full of cash
these days
save me a seat in the front row suite
that looks out over the market street
we’re changing faces it’s a day at the races
get out of our way we’re goin’ places
these days, and I’m amazed
like Rip van Winkle took the cure
and he woke up out of his nap
and somebody said “Move over Rip
we’re gonna put this place on the map
we’re gonna put it on the map”
-----------
The Time Is Now
there are things to come and things to pass
pure and simple, made of glass
to feed the future you weed through the past
to fix it fast and to make it last
the time is now, now is the time
time has come and time has gone
to pick up roots and to move along
to rise up early before the dawn
to start out standing to come on strong
the time is now, now is the time
you got eyes to see you got ears to hear
what comes calling unto your ear
and speaks for all of us gathered here
to make it all so very clear
the time is now, now is the time
you got ears to hear you got eyes to see
what comes as no great mystery
the plain truth reality
explains it all so easily
the time is now, now is the time
there are deeds to do to clear the way
for morning comes at the break of day
and all hollow threats they are made of clay
and simply crack and fall away
the time is now, now is the time
so let us now begin the deeds
to cast the die and to sow the seeds
to realize our destinies
and take our place in history
-------------------
Time Enough For Questions When The Killing's Done
I was 17 when I wrote this, a long time ago
Saint Joan wearing visions on an evening gown of armor
sang on the beach head to the sailors and the farmers
and the only ones who listened were the disillusioned lovers
and she promised she would show me how to judge a man of honor
then they stripped her of her memories and threw her to the water
and the tide sang of heroes as she sank into the evening
and I cried
great Caesar wore a canon like a holy man his bible
and he could think no thoughts of malice for he swore he was not able
and he danced for all the children in the gutters and the alleys
and then he promised he would show me how to judge a man of honor
and then he called for twenty fathers and he shot them down like garbage
and the wind cried out like widows as the rain played on the tombstones
and I cried
and Jesus wearing nothing but the scorn of misplaced envy
brought rainbows to the dying that their graves might not be empty
and then he founded a kingdom for the lepers and the beggars
and then he promised he would show me how to judge a man of honor
and so they nailed him to a cross and they left him by the roadside
and the breeze stole off in sorrow for the blood upon the highway
and I cried
---------------
Tina
co-written with John Trudell
hands so gentle, eyes so wise
a woman I loved beneath the wild western skies
way out in Duck Valley where the high winds fly
a woman I touched and was taken
and somewhere a wild horse wakens
how I remember the life we made
the eyes of society so afraid
that we might see behind the darkened shade
secrets supposed to be hidden
and somewhere a wild horse listens
and she smiles so reassuringly
across the distant visions of my memory
"you have the eyes, my friend, you can surely see,
don't let me down"
and she smiles, eternity expanding in her hand
sunrise, moonrise, grains of sand
"comes a time, my friend, we all must make a stand,
don't let me down"
Tina, pretty woman, indigina red
unraveling confusion's heavy thread
entering and leaving, the living and the dead
spirit weaver, your love has spoken
and somewhere a wild horse will not be broken
somewhere a wild horse will not be broken
----------
Too Much Money
Some people have too much money
And they wear it like a pair of pants
They say there’s room for everybody
But you never get the chance
You can’t ride that elevator
You can’t climb those stairs
Those people have too much money
Up there
Some people have too much money
And they drive it around like a car
They never pick up hitchhikers
Unless they know who they are
They all go to the same club
They all wear those rings
Those people have too much money
That’s the thing
Too much money puts somebody under the bridge
You know it’s like water, you scoop it up the level goes down
Too much money will choke a gift horse
All you want is a drink but you fall in and drown
You know that French lady meant well
When she said they oughtta just go eat cake crumbs
She had no idea where poverty
Came from
Silver spoons and glass slippers
Their minds are just a mess
Some people just have too much money
I guess
Some people have too much money
And I think we oughtta make a change
Get some checks and balances goin’
In the game
Get a minimum wage and a maximum wage too
Let the chips fall
Some people just have too much money
That’s all
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