Daily Archives: December 13, 2005

Have You Embraced the Beast?

XXXXX
1984.

Death squads and slaughter in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras… genocide against inconvenient indigenous peoples, murder of labor workers, missionaries, nuns, and priests — paid for, in large part, by US taxpayers with a wink and a nod from our government leaders and our legislators.

This song is not long on subtlety or craft, I’ll admit it.

What it has is no shortage of is corrosive, eat-your-guts-out anger… courtesy of yours truly. That’s pretty much how I walked around during the ’80s… a hard-tempered steel spring coiled tightly inside me, ready to snap. It was a time when the “loyal opposition” were gutless toadies… the spectacle of the Iran-Contra hearings is still burned into my mind.

The relentless covering up of ever-nastier, ever-more shameful secrets, greater crimes against the US Constitution, the US people, and the world, from the government of the popular Ronald Reagan, papered over by trepidatious Democrats…

For every Jack Brooks, there were ten Daniel Inouyes… seemingly ready and eager to pave the way for the presidency of GHW Bush just a few years later. The “investigation” was a disgrace almost as shameless as the offenses it investigated.

Anyhow… it still makes me mad.

HAVE YOU EMBRACED THE BEAST?

Have you embraced the beast?
I see the mark is on your face
Have you embraced the beast?
Are you a slave of greed and hate?

Have you embraced the beast?
Do you serve the war machine?
Have you embraced the beast?
Did you trade in your soul on (for) the finer things?

Have you embraced the beast?
Do your taxes buy bullets for fascist death squads?
Have you embraced the beast?
They’ll be coming to your hometown before too long . . .

Have you embraced the beast?
I see the mark is on your face
Have you embraced the beast?
Are you a slave of greed and hate?

Have you embraced the beast?

(C)1984, TK Major

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LA’s Not Such a Big Town

LA's Not Such a Big Town

 

 

 

This is one of literally dozens of kiss-off songs I wrote for this one girl. We kept breaking up and getting back together. We did it for a couple years. Our relationship was the engine that drove much of my creative output in those days. If we weren’t cursing each other’s shadows and vowing never to have anything to do with each other, we were falling in love all over again.

It irritated the hell out of our friends, without doubt. And, just between you and me, I don’t think I could put up with that kind of nonsense, now. But when I was 25, it was kind of what I expected in life…

I’ll likely be doing this song again a bit later in AYoS — and I’m sure I’ll be anxious to give the next version a properly s— kickin’ feel. I’m afraid I recorded this version when I was dead tired night before last after a long day of web database work.

Still, the other songs I recorded that night (“Magic” and tomorrow’s “Have You Embraced the Beast?”) had a bit more spunk. This work business… I’m sure no one mentioned it when I was signing up for earth duty…

L.A.’S NOT SUCH A BIG TOWN

Well, I hardly know where you’re coming from
but it ain’t hard to see where you’re going to
what you’re coming to)
Hey hey, Darlin’
I just can’t save you now

You hold on to me, so damn tight
then push me away — I walk home alone through the night
thinking about how
I’d be seeing you around

Hey, hey, Darlin’, guess I’ll be seeing you around
After all L.A. ain’t such a big town
Hey hey Darlin, I hope you ain’t feeling down
cause those blues will sit on your head
jack your heart and turn your life around

Now you always argue about everything
In your domain irrationality’s king
I got a list of topics
a mile long that can’t be brung up

You called me up on the telephone
and asked me if I was alone
I said yes —
you said good –and you hung up

Hey, hey, Darlin’, I guess yer feeling proud
after all) ya cataloged my faults told the whole
goldang world out loud
Hey hey darlin, I guess it ain’t so strange
You tore up my body,
broke my heart, and threw away my brains

Well, I tried to talk out all those things
but your inattentive condescendance stings
Hey hey darlin
there’s no point in talking now

Well I never had the money for diamond rings
nor the guaranteed returns wise investment brings
Hey hey darlin,
I guess I’ll be seeing ya around

Hey, hey, Darlin’, guess I’ll be seeing you around
After all L.A. ain’t such a big town
Hey hey Darlin, I hope you ain’t feeling down
cause those blues will sit on your head
jack your heart and turn your life around

(C)1976, TK Major

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