1. |
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The old expression fits I’d lose my head
If it was not connected
If I could just stop losing things
Then life would be perfected
Glasses wallet phone keys
Always looking for one of these
Keys wallet glasses, phone
One’s always missing in my home
Phone, keys, Glasses wallet
If you lose the phone at least you can call it
Wallet phone keys glasses
I need to take some finding classes
I lose things on schedule
Just when I need them most
I’ll say hello to things I’ve got
The next day its “adios”
Glasses wallet phone keys
Always looking for one of these
Keys wallet glasses, phone
One’s always missing in my home
Phone, keys, Glasses wallet
If you lose the phone at least you can call it
Wallet phone keys glasses
I need to take some finding classes
Maybe it’s a life lesson,
a Zen thing from above
Everything will leave you,
everything but love
The older I get, the more they hide/
This is not a joyride!/
these things must be somewhere here inside
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2. |
First time caller
02:55
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First time caller, but a long time listener
thats right i never called till now
they say you created the world in seven days
but they never told me how
im not sure i believe in the whole divine thing
not sure you're any kind of being
but i gotta check in and ask you,
do you see this shit that we are seeing?
it seems humankind is losing the thread
Im wondering if we lost the plot
some say its the same old stuff
others wonder how much time we got
you have anything to say, maybe nows a good time
silence does not seem cool
not asking for biblical miracles
maybe just lay down a couple rules
all that no killing stuff thats in the books
was it just there for decoration?
cause things were going good for a little while,
but now theres wars and other conflagrations
yeah thats a ten dollar word but i feel like spending
we've invested in all this up to now
so can you get right on this and sort it out?
i know dont ask me how
just do your thing, scare a few folks straight,
maybe the rest of us take the hint
oh one more thing whenever there's chocolate,
can you add a little bit of mint
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3. |
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Every beginning contains its own ending
A message to the future that the past is sending
American original sin, come back to roost
What two hundred years of slave trade will introduce
Fast forward thru the Civil War and Reconstruction
The massacre in Tulsa, all of that destruction
Progress its true, with help from Martin Luther King
But never underestimate an angry right wing
Populism, populism, the masses aggravated
The indignity that to save lives they’ get vaccinated
A con artist rises despite his incoherence
Yelling all about election interference
It was he who did the deed, the the courts are slow walking
Every week’s a horror and increasingly shocking
Appealing to the white supremacists and those adjacent
While so many of the rest of us have gone complacent
Is this the grand finale of American Democracy
Dictator on day one, side order of theocracy
Separation Church and State, in the Constitution I think?
Did someone write it with invisible ink?
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4. |
Old hatred blues
03:20
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This hatred goes back several thousand years or more
We think that it’s gone, it comes sneaking thru the back door
Its ethnic, religious and racial in overlapping waves of mistrust
When fear takes over and when reason has bitten the dust
Blood libel takes root where schools don’t educate
in some countries it’s the policy of the state
Up to now in my life, I rarely met it face to face
But after October 7th, its getting to be more commonplace
Tearing down posters of hostages, never thought I’d see that here
Starting to understand my grandparents and their fear
If you go ahead and cut us, do we not bleed?
Not according to so many people’s news feed
My in-laws were survivors of the Holocaust in Poland
They always said antisemitism would rise again in the end
I didn’t believe them, I had not seen the things they saw
So forgive me if whats going on, kind of rubs me raw
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5. |
Red Telecaster guitar
04:11
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Playin the blues on a Red Telecaster, Red telecaster guitar
Never will I be decorated, for me no silver star
I’ll toil yellow fields till the sun turns red
Do it again and again until I’m half dead
Playin the blues on a red telecaster, red telecaster guitar
Wearing black leather, playin the blues on a Red Telecaster
I’m taking it at my own pace, everything around me’s getting faster
I won’t let my envy turn me green and greener
No purple prose here, just leaner and meaner
Wearing black leather playing the blues on a red Telecaster
Got a rainbow of emotions on some silver strings, silver strings so fine
You went red in the face, I was tickled pink, pink all down the line
Get me all the colors that I can find
Just my luck you turn out to be color blind
Playin the blues on a red telecaster, red telecaster that’s mine
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6. |
The Z word
02:59
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The Z word, you hear it a lot at the protest rally
The Z word, they yell it like a curse in some vile back alley
But the z word does not mean what you think it means
All you’re doing is as unhelpful as pouring on gasoline
One group has 49 countries
One has a hundred plus
We only have one believe it or not
I say the Z word with pride and not disgust
The z word has been misunderstood and twisted repeatedly
In a subject never calmly discussed, only heatedly
It does not mean you can’t have yours, we just want peace
We get nothing but attacks when’s it going to cease
One group has 49 countries
One has a hundred plus
We only have one believe it or not
I say the Z word with pride and not disgust
(solo)
It doesn’t mean you can’t have yours, we just want peace
You deny our right to exist, when’s it gonna cease
One group has 49 countries
One has a hundred plus
We only have one believe it or not
I say the Z word with pride and not disgust
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7. |
Curse
02:38
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You know what its like now
You’ve heard the news
Give me something uplifting
Something I can use
Cause things are moving quickly
Going from bad to worse
I’m starting to think
We’re living under a curse
Ive done my due diligence
Considered our choices
The middle is shrinking
Its only crazy voices
That bus that’s marked progress
Seems to be going in reverse
I’m starting to think
We’re living under a curse
Bridge-
Try to be helpful, say something positive
Too many want to take, no one wants to give
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8. |
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Some people say I really like to talk
And it's true, that's no reason to mock
But there's a rationale behind the act
And I wrote this little ditty to give you the fact
Words really fascinate me
I love how they roll off my tongue
I have
since I was quite young
I like when folks debate me
Just please do not berate me
If there's a new word I haven't heard
I'll file it deep in my head
learn new words till I'm dead
words words words words
Some people say I write a lot of songs
And it's true, those people are not wrong
But there is a reason that this is so
And I've written yet another song to let you know
Words really fascinate me
I love how they roll off my tongue
I have
since I was quite young
I like when folks debate me
Just please do not berate me
If there's a new word I haven't heard
I'll file it deep in my head
learn new words till I'm dead
words words words words
From first thing in the morning
To late in the night
Two of my favourite things are
To read and to write
Words always surround me
They give me delight
Sing the last chorus with me
Don't put up a fight!
Words really fascinate me
I love how they roll off my tongue
I have
since I was quite young
I like when folks debate me
Just please do not berate me
If there's a new word I haven't heard
I'll file it deep in my head
learn new words till I'm dead
words words words words
Lyric by Alex Klages
music and performance by Mike Skliar
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9. |
The stakes are higher
01:47
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The stakes are higher then they’ve ever been
Go and cast that stone if you’ve got no sin
Once again there are choices
Tho you think they don’t exist
one choice is a hand that’s trying to help’
the other’s a fascist fist
the other’s a fascist fist
before you rail against some little imperfection
the other one tried to steal the election
not too many dots to connect
you don’t have to be conspiratorial
one believes in democracy
the other is dictatorial
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10. |
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Tyler C was an addict, had a problem with drugs and drink
One thing led to another, his fortunes began to sink
He lost track of his family, while he was doing time in jail
What happened next, well that’s quite a strange tale
He was discharged to a halfway house, for addiction recovery
While he was there, another patient stole his wallet and ID
That other patient wandered off, overdosed, died at a train station
All that guy had on him was Tyler’s wallet for identification
The authorities assumed, that the dead guy was Tyler C
They went ahead and sent the ashes to his family
His family was sad, but they were not surprised all that much
Last they knew of Tyler, he was off doing drugs , they had lost touch
A month later Tyler, was in a convenience store
He was ok but his benefit card seemed to work no more
He asked around, and found out he had been declared deceased
The medical examiner screwed up, and so did the police
There’s a happy ending, for Tyler without a doubt
He reunited with his cousin and has straightened his life out
‘that dead guy could have been me’, he realized in one of life’s flashes
Only problem now is some other family has to get those ashes
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11. |
Israel and Gaza
04:32
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On October 7th, Hamas broke the cease fire
Raping and killing innocents, clearly their desire
They celebrated destruction, as those flames of hate grew higher
Music festival kids, they proudly shot and killed
Raped a few and filmed it, clearly they were thrilled
Peace activists murdered, it won’t be easy to rebuild
They kidnapped three year old kids , and the elderly
They’ve now let one third die, for all the world to see
They convinced half the world, this is how you fight to be free
If you’re gay in a Muslim country, they throw you off the roof
We don’t like to hear it, but damn it, it’s the truth
“Queers for Palestine”’s a slogan of misguided youth
Hamas took foreign aid, built tunnels underground
Hides behind their own people, don’t care who is mowed down
Innocent Israelis die, Gaza celebrates, how’d ya like that sound?
Let’s talk about the double standard, when Israel you condemn
While Gaza schools teach hatred and how to cause mayhem
Their charter proudly states ‘death to Jews, all of them!”
49 Muslim countries, for the Jews, only one
How many Palestinians have those 49 taken in? the answer is none
A sad viscous cycle, we’re all stuck watching reruns
And no we are not happy with Palestinians dead
Israelis don’t love this violence, despite what you’ve read
Netanyahu has got to go, its true, but that won’t put this all to bed
Both sides need better leaders, sadly that is true
But don’t tell me this is all Israel’s fault, what would your country do?
If New Jersey attacked New York, would New Yorkers just sit and stew?
Anti-Semitism is rising, rising once more
Need I remind you its never Israel who starts these wars
you chant ‘river to the sea’ its genocide against Jews you’re calling for
Jews and Arabs both live in Israel, its not an apartheid state
College kids don’t take the time to get their facts straight
We were happy to give half of Israel to the Arabs in 1948
Opportunities on both sides missed, but no moderate Arab voices
On Oct 7 and Sept 11, we saw the Arab world rejoices
We’ve got to learn to live together, there’s really no other choices
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12. |
Take out the spoon
04:43
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If you’re drinking coffee and get a pain in your eye, take out the spoon
If youre in Finland and want the snow to melt, wait till June
If you’ve got love words that seem slightly absurd, go ahead and emote
Unless its accompanied by screaming bagpipes, in which case just leave a note
If you’re flying a kite and the thunderstorm starts, call a guy named Ben
If you’re trying to write in outer space, use a pencil, not a pen
If you think you’ve met the love of your life in an internet chat room
Get out, go home before that Russian bot starts calling the tune
If you like rain, like really like rain, move to Seattle
If you think its hard to herd some cats, switch to cattle
If you like new made-up phrases, here’s one ‘vegan leather’
If you doubt manmade climate change, look at the weather
Take it slow, make it right, heaven knows, its outta sight
If you’re lying in bed and start to see stars, fix the hole in the ceiling
If you stream lots of music but never pay for it, stop your stealing
If you’re feeling fat, maybe cut down, have one less French fry
If your guy is indicted 91 times, maybe he’s the bad guy
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13. |
64
01:28
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(You'll have to listen!)
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14. |
Lay me down
01:28
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As I lay me down…. At day’s end
As I lay me down….goodnight my friend
Did I do the best…..who knows
Did I do the best….with what arose
Is the world all healed…..not quite
Is the world all healed….did I make it right
Can I make a difference… a tiny bit
Can I make a difference…. Time to recommit
As I lay me down…. At day’s end
As I lay me down….goodnight my friend
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