1. |
Remember
05:05
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The planet all in space is wheelin'
Through night the refugees are stealin'
The neighbors all have gone
The tramps are campin' on the lawn
They had to tranquilize your mother
We're all afraid of one another
O McMansions of yesteryear
And not one security camera shed a tear?
Time was I thought that we could live like a king
We thought that towers never tumbled
Now winter's comin' and the cold's gonna sting
AndI forgot what to remember
A union organizer dyin'
A new world order baby cryin'
That's how it all began
Then the orders came down from high command
Those were the days, my friend
Now he's got the whole world in his hands
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2. |
Banking on Disaster
05:55
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The forests have all fallen, they lay across the road
We saw it all go down in the office lounge while we ate our a la mode
That’s life workin' up in the tower, where all the princes talk in code
Or play with the latest in remote control
The climate in this cubicle, Lord it just suits my clothes
All the walls are beige, the numbers turn the page so slow
It’s been said that we will reap and eat the words we sow
Meanwhile we just keep on hoein' the same old row
I’m banking on disaster
To wash my livin’ clean
To make the world turn faster
And shake some green back down to me
Meanwhile in the card house kingdom, the people gather for the show
The kings and queens all primp and preen, Nero rosins up his bow
Daddy Warbucks shuffles in with his new pet pig in tow
Then a hush comes over the crowd as the lights go low
Ah, the dull roar of warplanes, up in heaven where they dwell
The senator feeds at the trough, as he belches “War is hell”
What’s behind his plain white mask, well don’t you ask & don’t you tell
Outside can't you hear the toll of the iron bells
I’m banking on disaster
To wash my livin’ clean
To make my heart beat faster
And shake some green back down to me
The stink of diesel coils around this city like a noose
I keep my eyes glued to the white line, ‘cos the steering’s a little loose
Smoke coughs out my tailpipe when I step down on the juice
Get me to the job on time or you ain’t no use…
I’m banking on disaster
To wash my record clean
To make my head think faster
And shake the world out of its dream
And shake the world out of its dream
And shake the world out of its dream
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3. |
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Yackity yack the satellite media
Stackity stack the crap they're feeding ya
Trackity track the trail they're leading ya down boy
Addling waves breaking over you
Fiddle and fawn and four leaf clover you
Peddle and pawn or just pore over you roundly
Turn on the tube, yeah! ¬ turn on eternally!
Turn on the tube, yeah! ¬ turn on eternity!
Silicon oil the mystic medium
Bubble and boil with tinsel tedium
Rifle recoils encyclopedium log jam
Rattle the cage and break it open or
Battle the rage and just keep hopin' for a
Satellite age where everyone's soaking up someone.
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4. |
Christopher Columbus
03:47
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Mister Christopher Columbus
Planted false evidence to stump us
Twisted history's big ol' rumpus
Sly old Christopher Columbus
Let's land right here!
Natives have no fear!
We believe in God!
Cross of gold, rod by rod
Better pray and how!
Talk about a cash cow!
Whippin' you into shape!
We discovered you and you can't escape!
Meanwhile ol' Isabelle made merry
The help drank up all the cooking sherry
Mister Christopher Columbus
Realized we'd never seen a compass
Pulled out his almanac to stump us
Said he'd send an old eclipse to jump us
Blackin' out the day!
Sack of woe and dismay!
What a way to go!
I'd run away but the boat don't row!
Better pray and how!
Talk about a cash cow!
Whippin' you into shape!
We discovered you and you can't escape!
Mister Christopher Columbus
For information he would pump us
When there was no gold he'd be a grumpus
Cut both my hands down to a stumpus
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5. |
The Old Grindstone
03:54
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Tow the line don't get behind
Keep your nose to the old grindstone
Don'tcha know in some years time
You could have a home of your own.
Play square, and don't despair
And don't ya ever grumble or groan
And don't forget to keep your nose to the old grindstone
Been workin' double time by golly
Haulin' tail on a ten ton dolly
Foreman says I'm his good buddy
He's my favorite fuddy duddy
He told me the dear old CEO can never do wrong
And best of all he taught me to sing this song...
Tow the line don't get behind
Keep your nose to the old grindstone
Don'tcha know in some years time
You could have a home of your own.
Play square, and don't despair
And don't ya ever grumble or groan
And don't forget to keep your nose to the old grindstone
Gotta job and it's a pleasure
On my knees diggin' up that treasure
Wrap it up and hand it over
To the fat man with the four leaf clover
He's so lucky that someone died and left it all to him
Let's get up tomorrow morning and do it again
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6. |
Bought Me a Bottle
04:37
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My room's on a rock in the water
The waves roll in and they crash
I dream of the ocean's daughter
But all that floats up to me is trash
My true love's over the ocean
My true love's over the sea
And just 1 drop of devotion
Would bring my Bonnie to me
She sent her love in a bottle
Somethin' 'specially for me
She mailed it out to forever
Now it's a bobbin' across all eternity
My Bonnie bought me a bottle
A 1970 Pouilly-Fuissé
With no propeller or throttle
To hasten it on its way
My rock is out on the ocean
My rock is out on the sea
Birds from the Land of Goshen
Will tear my heart out of me
She sent her love in a bottle
Somethin' 'specially for me
She mailed it out to forever
Now it's a bobbin' across all eternity
She bought a bottle of champagne
To celebrate our special day
They tossed it out of the mail train
Now it's bobbin' all up and down in the bay
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7. |
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Deep in the heart
Of Northern California
A kind bud grows forlorn
It's not neglected
But not quite respected
Deemed a weed, so it is scorned
Circling above me
A California condor
Or a vulture, by and by
One is endangered,
The other is a stranger
But both of them get high
California Fried
Oh no, now, Oh no no not again
The world is crackin' down
The line they draw
Between right & wrong is razor thin
Hey but that is where I'm hangin'
And my mouth is getting dry
California Fried
Circling around me
The Sacramento P.D.
Son you're goin' for a ride
Choppers descending
This bust is never ending
Can't say I never tried
California Fried
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8. |
What For
04:22
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Ah life is full for those who seek control
They run the show, and never a moment's dull
They pick you out like the littlest Christmas tree
Stand you in a line, and tell you how to shine
Tell you how to goddamn shine
I should laugh and let it go
But oh why prolong the pain?
A new day for your horn to blow?
God knows we don't need that anymore
The only way to get you out the door
Is giving you what for
Hip hip hooray, you're such a holiday
We're in your play, and you're gonna save the day
You ride into town on your one horse cavalry
Once your bugle blows you will not let us be
Will not let us goddamn be
I should laugh and let it go
But oh why prolong the pain?
A new day for your horn to blow?
God knows we don't need that anymore
The only way to get you out the door
Is giving you what for
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9. |
Roadkill Samba
04:36
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I just read the news
The world's in concrete shoes
The useless ones are bruised and dying
Out cold in the road they're lying
Roadkill
The feathers will fly
The jackrabbit's eye
The natural high of driving
Babies on board surviving
Roadkill
The world is so much fun
America has won
We're free to sell our guns and choppers
Windshields smeared with grasshoppers
Roadkill
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10. |
Yankee Rag
04:24
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Go down in the mountain
Get some cold pay for another day in hell
Just pray that whatever they dig up will sell
Just mind your, your own business
And keep on crawlin' down that hole
The eagle flies on Friday. Just let it roll
They buried that troublemaker
And the Yankee said “Now this town's in the bag”
And we're jumpin' to a tune called the Yankee Rag
You hold hands with the devil and you hold him tight
And he will try to help you make it through the night
So full of bread and wine you think you're Jesus Christ
When the company man says he can save your soul
For a price
His picture was on the front page
Of the papers blowin' down the old main drag
Drink up a- another round boys
To the Yankee Rag
You hold hands with the devil and you hold him tight
And he will try to help you make it through the night
So full of bread and wine you think you're Jesus Christ
When the company man says he can save your soul
For a price
The army come down with their guns now
To chase our women, how they boast and brag
Each dead soldier covered over
With a Yankee Rag
Just mind your, your own business
And keep a crawlin' down that hole
The eagle flies on Friday. Just let it roll
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11. |
O My Job
05:26
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Oh my job
I hope you can find me now
I'll sit and broadcast my location all day
All I got in my pocket
Is a folded up resume
Mighty flimsy, some would say
Oh my job
I won't criticize you now
I'll sit 'n' take it like a man who gets paid
If it's just a money matter
Doesn't matter how the money gets made
I could be out there selling lemonade
Way back in May
I blew in like a breeze
Grabbed a hold of the brass ring and
Took a squeeze
Then I heard the four winds blow
And I left that job a-standing in the row
But that was then
And now I know this is now
And I hope my job locates me soon
You can find me anytime
By the silvery light of the cartoons
Shining in my living room
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Alex Greene Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis songwriter Alex Greene builds his tracks on the bedrock of the Rolling Head Orchestra’s horns and pedal steel, mixed
with his own primitive jazz interpolations.
Greene is best known for his guitar and keyboard work with the Reigning Sound, Big Ass Truck, Tav Falco’s Panther Burns, and, in NYC, the Kropotkins.
... more
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