Tonight take a few moments for the work of Warren Zevon to speak to you.
(4-Aminobiphenyl, hexachlorobenzene
Dimethyl sulfate, chloromethyl methylether
2, 3, 7, 8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-
para-dioxin, carbon disulfide)
(Dibromochloropane, chlorinated
benzenes, 2-Nitropropane, pentachlorophenol,
Benzotrichloride, strontium chromate
1, 2-Dibromo-3-chloropropane)
I went walking in the wasted city
Started thinking about entropy
Smelled the wind from the ruined river
Went home to watch TV
And it's worse when I try to remember
When I think about then and now
I'd rather see it on the news at eleven
Sit back, and watch it run straight down
Run straight down
Run straight down
I can see it with my eyes closed
Run straight down
We've been living in the shadows all our lives
Where it's stand in line and don't look back and don't look left and don't look right
So we hide our eyes and wonder who'll survive
Waiting for the night...
Fluorocarbons in the ozone layer
First the water and the wildlife go
Pretty soon there's not a creature stirring
'Cept the robots at the dynamo
And it's worse when I try to remember
When I think about then and now
I'd rather see it on the news at eleven
Sit back, and watch it run straight down
Run straight down
Run straight down
I can see it with my eyes closed
Run straight down
—Warren Zevon
And yes, it is time he was in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. . . .
TIP:
Enter the amount, and click "Tip" to submit!
OEsheepdog
ronnierayjenkins
Kellylark
Kate Bishop
Stephen McGuire
JK Brady
Salon.com
Comments
My husband was in art school when most of Warren's songs came out, that is the only way I would've been exposed to his great music.
Thanks for this memory.
rated.
Rated
—Don't it make you want to rock and roll
All night long
Mohammed's Radio
I heard somebody singing sweet and soulful
On the radio, Mohammed's Radio —
(R)
jimmy, his words were always perfect. Not too much, never too little.
nana, I miss him too. This is from the album "Transverse City."
Duane, that's exactly right. So much power and presence.
Owl, you're welcome. Come by my tent anytime.
Debbs, this is a cautionary tale for sure. Glad to stir up memories.
Blue, I was always in awe of him. So cool and so amazingly tortured.
Chuck, I love "Mohammed's Radio." Thanks for quoting it here.
Don't the trees look like crucified thieves
Don't you feel like Desperados under the eaves
Heaven help the one who leaves
Michael Jackson in Disneyland
Don't have to share it with nobody else
Lock the gates, Goofy, take my hand
And lead me through the World of Self
In the next stanza he tells what it is he's hiding from:
I'm putting tinfoil up on the windows
Lying down in the dark to dream
I don't want to see their faces
I don't want to hear them scream
Stuff like this gets under my skin more than any horror film ever did. A few lines tells enough of a story to allow the reader, or listener, to fill in the rest, and just like that, he's connected us to our own fears or rage or lust.
And don't get me started on "Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner," a mystery novel disguised as a song.
I want to live all alone in the desert
I want to be like Georgia O'Keefe
I want to live on the Upper East Side
And never go down in the street
Kind of says it all, doesn't it?
Chi Guy he absolutely was a genius.
There's a a face in every window of the Songwriters' Neighborhood
Everybody's your best friend when you're doing well--I mean good
The poet who lived next door when you were young and poor
Grew up to be a backstabbing entrepreneur
Albert Einstein was a ladies' man
While he was working on his universal plan
He was making out like Charlie Sheen
He was a genius
Everybody needs a place to stand
And a method for their schemes and scams
If I could only get my record clean
I'd be a genius
I was happy She was sniffing-out Coyote Old Style.
The download is slow and the reason spiel here.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame reminded me...
I met Ms. Ida - Ms. Ida is:`The Yodeling Lady.
What a bird She was! She Wrestles & Yodels!
She's in the Ladies Wrestling Hall of Fame.
Honest. I never knew there was the honor?
She gave me her Yodeling DVD from 2004.
It's Titled:`A tribute to the "Best of the Best"
Yodeling Ladies of America. Coyote Yodels?
There is a Yodeling Hall of Fame too, Coyote.
What a wild world.
I can't keep abreast.
I'm so OSers behind.
Thanks for the post.
She was a credit to her gender
She put me through some changes, Lord
Sort of like a Waring blender"
...what I love best about that is that Linda Ronstad could sing it as "he" with equal passion.
zuma, hmmmm, chemical goodness, you can hear the air conditioner hummmmmmmmm.
Art, my yodelling friend. So glad to see you here!
Oooo, yes, Brian, that's right. A gorgeous voice unafraid to sing the song as written.
Michael, like I told Emma, dig deep into his discography. Like jimmymac I love "Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner." "Desperados under the Eaves,"
"Networking," "Genius," "Mohammed's Radio" oh my gosh there are so many incredible works of art.