I'm not sure how many folks consider this song as containing great lyrics, but I think they are as relevant today as they were way back in 1970 when the song was released. The song still sounds good, as well.
Enjoy...
Quote:
"Ball Of Confusion (That's What The World Is Today)"
1, 2... 1, 2, 3, 4, Ow!
[Eddie:] People moving out, people moving in. Why, because of the color of their skin. Run, run, run but you sure can't hide. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Vote for me and I'll set you free. Rap on, brother, rap on. Dennis: Well, the only person talking about love thy brother is the...(preacher.) And it seems nobody's interested in learning but the...(teacher.) Segregation, determination, demonstration, integration, Aggravation, humiliation, obligation to our nation. Ball of confusion. Oh yeah, that's what the world is today. Woo, hey, hey.
[Paul:] The sale of pills are at an all time high. Young folks walking round with their heads in the sky. The cities ablaze in the summer time. And oh, the beat goes on.
[Dennis:] Evolution, revolution, gun control, sound of soul. Shooting rockets to the moon, kids growing up too soon. Politicians say more taxes will solve everything.
[Melvin:] And the band played on. So, round and around and around we go. Where the world's headed, nobody knows.
[Instrumental]
Oh, great googalooga, can't you hear me talking to you. Just a ball of confusion. Oh yeah, that's what the world is today. Woo, hey, hey.
[Eddie:] Fear in the air, tension everywhere. Unemployment rising fast, the Beatles new record's a gas. [Dennis:] And the only safe place to live is on an Indian reservation.
[Melvin:] And the band played on. Eve of destruction, tax deduction, city inspectors, bill collectors, Mod clothes in demand, population out of hand, suicide, too many bills, Hippies moving to the hills. People all over the world are shouting, 'End the war.'
[Melvin:] And the band played on. [Instrumental] Great googalooga, can't you hear me talking to you. Sayin'... ball of confusion. That's what the world is today, hey, hey. Let me hear ya, let me hear ya, let me hear ya. Sayin'... ball of confusion. That's what the world is today, hey, hey. Let me hear ya, let me hear ya, let me hear ya, let me hear ya, let me hear ya. Sayin'... ball of confusion.
In the Cinco DeMayo thread I posted a song meant as a bit of a dig to the topic of the thread itself. No one seemed to catch it. Lyrics can be dismissed for a good beat or misinterpreted all together. This was a classic case. The lyrics are about an old man looking back on his life and seeing the decline of the American dream... this, performed by a Latino band... in a thread filled with stereotypical tropes about the Mexican culture... posted by (likely) European heritage caucasians.
I was just thinking of songwriters that I admire. People like Paul Simon, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Carole King, Tom Waits, Van Morrison, Garcia & Hunter, Lennon & McCarthy.
Lyrically all and others have produced gems.
But when I think lyrically I always come back to Dylan. I could post fifty songs that are amazing. When he goes we will not see the likes of him again.
May God's bless and keep you always May your wishes all come true May you always do for others And let others do for you May you build a ladder to the stars And climb on every rung May you stay May you stay forever young
Forever young Forever young May you stay Stay forever young
May you grow up to be righteous May you grow up to be true May you always know the truth And see the lights surrounding you
May you always be courageous Stand upright and be strong May you stay May you stay forever young
Forever young Forever young May you stay Stay forever young
May your hands always be busy May your feet always be swift May you have a strong foundation When the winds of changes shift
May your heart always be joyful May your song always be sung And may you stay May you stay forever young
Forever young Forever young May you stay May you stay forever young
Old man look at my life I'm a lot like you were Old man look at my life I'm a lot like you were Old man look at my life Twenty four and there's so much more Live alone in a paradise That makes me think of two Love lost, such a cost Give me things that don't get lost Like a coin that won't get tossed Rolling home to you Old man take a look at my life I'm a lot like you I need someone to love me The whole day through Ah, one look in my eyes And you can tell that's true Lullabies, look in your eyes Run around the same old town Doesn't mean that much to me To mean that much to you I've been first and last Look at how the time goes past But I'm all alone at last Rolling home to you Old man take a look at my life I'm a lot like you I need someone to love me The whole day through Ah, one look in my eyes And you can tell that's true Old man look at my life I'm a lot like you were Old man look at my life I'm a lot like you were
I love this live version... when it was a new song...
The Boss might not have the best voice, but this thread is about song lyrics and he wrote some very good songs that appeal to a lot of hard-working folks who have faced tough times due the collapse of industry in the NE and The Rustbelt.
Correct.
I think he's the most important rock songwriter to ever come out of America, other than perhaps Dylan.
He's not just about hitting the road with his girl, or losing his job cuz the factory closed.
This song about 9/11 is like cinema for the mind.
THE RISING
Can't see nothin' in front of me Can't see nothin' coming up behind I make my way through this darkness I can't feel nothing but this chain that binds me
Lost track of how far I've gone How far I've gone, how high I've climbed On my back's a sixty pound stone On my shoulder a half mile line
Come on up for the rising Come on up, lay your hands in mine Come on up for the rising Come on up for the rising tonight
Left the house this morning Bells ringing filled the air Wearin' the cross of my calling On wheels of fire I come rollin' down here
Spirits above and behind me Faces gone black, eyes burnin' bright May their precious blood bind me Lord as I stand before your fiery light
I see you Mary in the garden In the garden of a thousand sighs You're holding pictures of our children Dancin' in a sky filled with light
May I feel your arms around me May I feel your blood mix with mine A dream of life comes to me Like a catfish dancin' on the end of the line
Sky of blackness and sorrow (a dream of life) Sky of love, sky of tears (a dream of life) Sky of glory and sadness (a dream of life) Sky of mercy, sky of fear (a dream of life) Sky of memory and shadow (a dream of life) Your burnin' wind fills my arms tonight Sky of longing and emptiness (a dream of life) Sky of fullness, sky of blessed life (a dream of life)
Come on up for the rising Come on up, lay your hands in mine Come on up for the rising Come on up for the rising tonight
One of my favorite Springstein song is The River. I think the song is somewhat haunting in its tone. I also think I could have ended up in that very situation very easily. I was put in that situation so many times. Somehow, I avoided it and found a woman too good for me and avoided toiling my life away in a factory making another man rich.
Here are the lyrics:
Quote:
The River Bruce Springsteen, E Street Band
I come from down in the valley Where mister when you're young They bring you up to do like your daddy done Me and Mary we met in high school When she was just seventeen We'd ride out of this valley down to where the fields were green We'd go down to the river And into the river we'd dive Oh down to the river we'd ride
Then I got Mary pregnant And man that was all she wrote And for my nineteenth birthday I got a union card and a wedding coat We went down to the courthouse And the judge put it all to rest No wedding day smiles no walk down the aisle No flowers no wedding dress
That night we went down to the river And into the river we'd dive Oh down to the river we did ride, yeah yeah
I got a job working construction for the Johnstown Company But lately there ain't been much work on account of the economy Now all them things that seemed so important Well Mister they vanished right into the air Now I just act like I don't remember Mary acts like she don't care
But I remember us riding in my brother's car Her body tan and wet down at the reservoir At night on them banks I'd lie awake And pull her close just to feel each breath she'd take Now those memories come back to haunt me They haunt me like a curse Is a dream a lie if it don't come true Or is it something worse That sends me down to the river Though I know the river is dry That sends me down to the river tonight, yeah Down to the river My baby and I Oh down to the river we ride, oh Ooh ooh, ooh ooh Ooh ooh, ooh ooh
Here's another one that really hits home with me. Kenny again.
Kenny Chesney Lyrics "Noise"
Wrecking balls, downtown construction Bottles breaking, jukebox buzzing Cardboard sign says "The Lord is Coming" Tick, tick, tock Rumors turn the mills back home Parking lot kids with the speakers blown We didn't turn it on but we can't turn it off, off, off Sometimes I wonder how did we get here Seems like all we ever hear is noise
Yeah we scream, yeah we shout 'til we don't have a voice In the streets, in the crowds, it ain't nothing but noise Drowning out all the dreams of this Tennessee boy Just tryin' to be heard in all this noise
24 hour television, get so loud that no one listens Sex and money and politicians talk, talk, talk But there really ain't no conversation Ain't nothing left to the imagination Trapped in our phones and we can't make it stop, stop this noise
Yeah we scream, yeah we shout 'til we don't have a voice In the streets, in the crowds, it ain't nothing but noise Drowning out all the dreams of this Tennessee boy Just tryin' to be heard in all this noise
Every room, every house, every shade of noise All the floors, all the walls, they all shake with noise We can't sleep, we can't think, can't escape the noise We can't take the noise, so we just make noise
Yeah we scream, yeah we shout 'til we don't have a voice In the streets, in the crowds, it ain't nothing but noise Drowning out all the dreams of this Tennessee boy Just tryin' to be heard in all this noise
All this noise Can't take the noise Can't take the noise Can't stand the noise Can't take the noise
This is an old song. It has been sung by many. Frank Sinatra probably was the most recognized. I had to look up who wrote it.
I just love the song. It is a beautiful touching song.
Fairy tales can come true It can happen to you if you're young at heart For it's hard, you will find To be narrow of mind if you're young at heart
You can go to extremes with impossible schemes You can laugh when your dreams fall apart at the seams And life gets more exciting with each passing day And love is either in your heart or on it's way
Don't you know that it's worth Every treasure on earth to be young at heart For as rich as you are It's much better by far to be young at heart
And if you should survive to a hundred and five Look at all you'll derive out of bein' alive And here is the best part, you have a head start If you are among the very young at heart
And if you should survive to a hundred and five Look at all you'll derive out of bein' alive And here is the best part, you have a head start If you are among the very young at heart
Since you're taliking about Neil:Rockin' in the Free World Neil Young... from 1988...
Things don't change much, do they?
There's colors on the street Red, white and blue People shufflin' their feet People sleepin' in their shoes
there's a warnin' sign On the road ahead There's a lot of people sayin' We'd be better off dead Don't feel like Satan But I am to them So I try to forget it Anyway I can
Keep on rockin' in the free world Keep on rockin' in the free world
I see a woman in the night With a baby in her hand Under an old street light Near a garbage can
Now she puts the kid away she's gone to get a hit She hates her life And what she's done to it
There's one more kid That will never go to school Never get to fall in love Never get to be cool
Keep on rockin' in the free world
We got a thousand points of light For the homeless man We got a kinder, gentler Machine gun hand
We got department stores And toilet paper Got Styrofoam garbage For the ozone layer
Got a man of the people Says people alive Got fuel to burn Got roads to drive
Neil. I always felt like his voice was an echo from far away. His songs are so different. Haunting lyrics full imagery and word pictures. [/color]
Hell Yes, Bone! I've always loved Neil Young's voice. Raw and unadulterated, he is who he is. He was sued by his own record company because he didn't conform to what they thought Neil Young should sound like. Give me a rock block of Needle and the Damage Done, Cortez the Killer, and Walk On.
I've gone fishing at the same place on the Mighty Ottawa River every year since I was 9. Helpless embodies everything that makes Neil Young dear to me:
There is a town in North Ontario Dreams, comfort, and memories to spare In my mind, I still need a place to go All my changes were there
I raised my son on fly fishing. And just now helped him buy some land in Oregon. The plan is to build a house there next spring. The house will be very close to the Deschutes river. One of the best fishing rivers in the lower 48.
His girlfriend (just no ring). Is from Australia. And her parents have a place in New Zealand. He has gone there the last two years to fish. Some funny stories came out of that. She is a singer.
I raised my son on fly fishing. And just now helped him buy some land in Oregon. The plan is to build a house there next spring. The house will be very close to the Deschutes river. One of the best fishing rivers in the lower 48.
His girlfriend (just no ring). Is from Australia. And her parents have a place in New Zealand. He has gone there the last two years to fish. Some funny stories came out of that. She is a singer.
I fish the Deschutes for steelhead and know a couple really productive areas that are not heavily fished. No joke, your son gets out here and wants to be shown some productive water, look me up. I’d be glad to have a new fishing buddy... I’ve lost my last two. One to Maui. The other to early retirement and travel. I went solo last year... which I’m not a real fan of. The water is cold and fast moving. One wrong step and it’ll gobble you up and not spit you out. Mother Nature takes no mercy. Better to have a partner that can help get you out of a bad situation if needed.
I'm lucky that my little woman loves to fish. I even proposed to her while we were fishing in the rain on Ladue Reservoir. When we first started dating that was my dad's test to see if she was the kinda girl he wanted his son to be with... So he gave her a fishin rod, told her it was her rig whenever we went out, and it would be on the rod rack in the garage if she ever wanted to use it. Two days later she came by when I was gone to let my dad know she was grabbing her pole to hit up a local farm pond... and she'd be happy if he joined her. Shoot, you can talk to my dad about all the mundane bullspit in the world and he tunes it out, but if you give him a line on a new honey hole... He's all ears. First and only girl my dad approved of.
Only thing she isn't into is wading. I guess I need to get her a pair of waders that don't leak. But... There is no better sight than her setting in the bow of the Smokercraft, bare feet dangling in the water, sun setting behind her, as she patiently waits for the take and raises the rod to the bend of another fish that dwarves my best of the day. Images ingrained in my mind that I pray I will never lose.
Dig your tune Pit, but this is THE BEST FISHING SONG EVER!!! Shared it before and it bears more play. My favorite part:
Let me tell you how my baby gonna cook them fish Put'em in a pot, put'em in a pan Cook'em til they're nice and Brown Mix up a batch of buttermilk, cornbread mamma With a couple of beers to wash it all down Any fish bite if you got good bait Here's a little tip that I would like to relate Many fish bite if you got good bait Yes I'm going fishin, momma goin fishin, and the baby goin fish in too.
[color:#FFCC33]I raised my son on fly fishing. And just now helped him buy some land in Oregon. The plan is to build a house there next spring. The house will be very close to the Deschutes river. One of the best fishing rivers in the lower 48.
I'm not a fisher, but I do know the Deschutes and have been on it numerous times. It is also one of the most beautiful rivers I have ever been on. Even just outside Bend (which isn't a big town, but certainly growing fast!) and it maintains its majestic, tranquil beauty.
Unfortunately I haven’t picked up my fly rod in years. Sadly. I started learning about 15 years ago. I fished a couple seasons with a guy that taught me the very basics. I never picked up the knots and such. He basically had me buy my gear. Then he set it all up. Tied the flies on for me when on the river. All that technical stuff. I was more focused on learning to cast in my limited outings with him. I figured I had a lifetime of fall fishing trips with him to learn the rest.... then he got a girlfriend... married her.... became a stepdad to a toddler... moved to Washington. I haven’t fished with him in years. My fly rod collects dust as I don’t really have the skills to utilize it properly. I got fairly good at casting during the calm morning hours. With the sun comes the wind. The Deschutes can be a wind tunnel once it warms up. I was never very good at fly casting once the winds kicked up. Too many wind knots and wasted presentations. Anymore I spin cast exclusively. I can throw further and more accurately. Regardless of winds. I can cover more water with consistently good presentations. I hook more fish. That said... I miss my fly rod. I hate that I don’t have the skills to use it or a friend that can show me more of the skills, in real world settings, to get me up to speed. As it is using it by myself is too much wasted time on my very limited trips to the river. I’ve only hooked one steelie on it many many years back. A TOTALLY different fight from my spin rod. You really feel the power of the fish so much more. It was something I hope to experience again... One day. I’m sure. When river time isn’t so precious.
I started fishing in Pa. many years ago. Started when I was five. Became an accomplished spin fisherman against smallmouth bass.
When I was about thirty-five I started fly fishing. I rarely have picked up a spinning rod since. Once learned it is just more fun.
Fly casting to catch fish is not hard. Becoming really good at it is like anything worth learning you have to commit to learn.
If you are interested I can PM lots of good information. I actually found learning to fly fish as much fun as actually doing it. I have thirty plus years of experience. So I can help.
When it comes to fishing for trout or steelhead it is by far the most productive tool. Big water for steelhead is best with a spey rod. Spin fishing is very limited because you can not present enough natural food imitations.
I taught my son. But now he is more accomplished in Oregon and with a spey rod because he lives there and fishes way more than I.
Trout fishing with a fly rod will out produce a spin rod 100 to 1. Not even close. Because you are presenting natural food sources. Dry fly fishing is without a doubt the most fun fishing there is.
At that I am a master because of experience and acquired knowledge from the worlds greatest. I took a serious interest learned from books and tapes. And met some of the best.
Lefty Kreh is the guy I learned the most from. I met him at a sports show and study all his material.
Start with him he has published tons. But he has a natural way to make it simple.
Day by day, my life gets colder My eyes grows thin as I get older Peace in pieces, bloody and bruised I feel so helpless and confused 'Cause I hear Screaming on the left Yelling on the right I'm sitting in the middle trying to live my life 'Cause I can't stop the war Shelter homeless, feed the poor I can't walk on water I can't save your sons and daughters Well, I can't change the world and make things fair The least that I can do The least that I can do The least that I can do is care Ooh yeah Oh I pray and pray for life's salvation Faith is tried and true in tribulation Love is lost and lonely, check the news And with these open arms I'll wait for you 'Cause I hear you Screaming on the left Yelling on the right I'm sitting in the middle trying to live my life 'Cause I can't stop the war Shelter homeless, feed the poor I can't walk on water I can't save your sons and daughters Well, I can't change the world and make things fair The least that I can do The least that I can do The least that I can do is care For the life of me I can't see how the devil keeps enticing me All you see is a felon I know God can see what's right in me How I can be labeled as a villain in the first place When the worst case scenario is my birth place I'm just trying to keep from falling victim to the murder rate Take my life lesson, convincing the adolescents there's a God up in heaven Sending down blessings And your future ain't brighter than your present, quit stressing Screaming on the left And yelling on the right While I'm sitting in the middle Trying to live my life 'Cause I can't stop the war Shelter homeless, feed the poor I can't walk on water I can't save your sons and daughters Well, I can't change the world and make things fair (Yeah, I wish I could though) The least that I can do is care No, I can't stop the war Shelter homeless, feed the poor I can't walk on water I can't save your sons and daughters Well, I can't change the world and make things fair (no no no no) (I wish I could though) The least that I can do (is what I can do) The least that I can do (I take with what I can do) The least that I can do Is to always care Yes I can care And you know I can care Yes I can care Is what you can do
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