Song lyrics that best represent the state of the U.S. (and the world) today:

I vote for "Terrible Lie" by Nine Inch Nails:


hey God
why are you doing this to me?
am i not living up to what i'm supposed to be?
why am i seething with this animosity?
hey God
i think you owe me a great big apology.

terrible lie
terrible lie
terrible lie
terrible lie

hey God
i really don't know what you mean.
seems like salvation come only in our dreams.
i feel my hatred grow all the more extreme.
hey God
can this world really be as sad as it seems?

terrible lie
terrible lie
terrible lie
terrible lie

don't take it away from me.
i need someone to hold on to.
don't take it away from me.
i need someone to hold on to.

hey God
there's nothing left for me to hide.
i lost my ignorance, security and pride.
i'm all alone in a world you must despise.
hey God
i believed your promises, your promises and lies.

terrible lie
terrible lie
terrible lie
terrible lie

you made me throw it all away.
my morals left to decay.
how many you betray.
you've taken everything.

terrible lie.
my head is filled with disease.
my skin is begging you please.
i'm on my hands and knees.
i want so much to believe.

i need someone to hold on to.
i need someone to hold on to.
i need someone i need someone.
i need someone to hold on to.
i give you everything.
my sweet everything.
hey God
i really don't know who i am.
in this world of piss

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nh2p1zJit7Y

Bought their CD the other day - it's all awesome but that one is probably the only one you'll hear on the radio (and yes, I've heard it on the local Clear Channel rock station a few times). The others are not so subtle - like I doubt you'll hear this one on the radio. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8xTOadn1n0


Here's the lyrics for No Handlebars.

I can ride my bike with no handlebars
No handlebars
No handlebars
I can ride my bike with no handlebars
No handlebars
No handlebars

Look at me, look at me
Hands in the air like it's good to be
Alive and I'm a famous rapper
Even when the paths are all crookedy
I can show you how to do-si-do
I can show you how to scratch a record
I can take apart the remote control
And I can almost put it back together
I can tie a knot in a cherry stem
I can tell you about Leif Ericson
I know all the words to "De Colores"
And I'm proud to be an American

Me and my friend saw a platypus
Me and my friend made a comic book
And guess how long it took
I can do anything that I want cuz, look--

I can keep rhythm with no metronome
No metronome
No metronome
And I can see your face on the telephone
On the telephone
On the telephone

Look at me, look at me
Just called to say that it's good to be
Alive
In such a small world
I'm all curled up with a book to read
I can make money open up a thrift store
I can make a living off a magazine
I can design an engine sixty four miles to the gallon of gasoline

I can make new antibiotics
I can make computers survive aquatic conditions
I know how to run a business
And I can make you wanna buy a product
Movers, shakers and producers
Me and my friends understand the future
I see the strings that control the system
I can do anything with no resistance

...'Cuz I can lead a nation with a microphone
With a microphone
With a microphone
And I can split the atom of a molecule
Of a molecule
Of a molecule

Look at me, look at me
Drivin' and I won't stop
And it feels so good to be alive and on top
My reach is global
My tower secure
My cause is noble
My power is pure

I can hand out a million vaccinations
Or let them all die in exasperation
Have'em all healed from the lacerations
Have'em all killed by assassination
I can make anybody go to prison
Just because I don't like'em
And I can do anything with no permission
I have it all under my command because

I can guide a missile by satellite
By satellite
By satellite
And I can hit a target through a telescope
Through a telescope
Through a telescope

And I can end the planet in a holocaust
In a holocaust
In a holocaust
In a holocaust
In a holocaust
In a holocaust

I can ride my bike with no handlebars
No handlebars
No handlebars
I can ride my bike with no handlebars
No handlebars
No handlebars

The eastern world, it is exploding
Violence flarin’, bullets loadin’
You’re old enough to kill, but not for votin’
You don’t believe in war, but what’s that gun you’re totin’
And even the Jordan River has bodies floatin’

But you tell me
Over and over and over again, my friend
Ah, you don’t believe
We’re on the eve
of destruction.

Don’t you understand what I’m tryin’ to say
Can’t you feel the fears I’m feelin’ today?
If the button is pushed, there’s no runnin’ away
There’ll be no one to save, with the world in a grave


And you tell me
Over and over and over again, my friend
Ah, you don’t believe
We’re on the eve
of destruction. MORE...

http://artists.letssingit.com/barry-mcguire-eve-of-destruction-s1m88lj

An absolute classic!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmysVoRBgyA

This would be my selection

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmysVoRBgyA

Gimme some truth

Im sick and tired of hearing things
From uptight, short-sighted, narrow-minded hypocritics
All I want is the truth
Just gimme some truth
Ive had enough of reading things
By neurotic, psychotic, pig-headed politicians
All I want is the truth
Just gimme some truth

No short-haired, yellow-bellied, son of tricky dicky
Is gonna mother hubbard soft soap me
With just a pocketful of hope
Money for dope
Money for rope

No short-haired, yellow-bellied, son of tricky dicky
Is gonna mother hubbard soft soap me
With just a pocketful of soap
Money for dope
Money for rope

Im sick to death of seeing things
From tight-lipped, condescending, mamas little chauvinists
All I want is the truth
Just gimme some truth now

Ive had enough of watching scenes
Of schizophrenic, ego-centric, paranoiac, prima-donnas
All I want is the truth now
Just gimme some truth

No short-haired, yellow-bellied, son of tricky dicky
Is gonna mother hubbard soft soap me
With just a pocketful of soap
Its money for dope
Money for rope

Ah, Im sick and tired of hearing things
From uptight, short-sighted, narrow-minded hypocrites
All I want is the truth now
Just gimme some truth now

Ive had enough of reading things
By neurotic, psychotic, pig-headed politicians
All I want is the truth now
Just gimme some truth now

All I want is the truth now
Just gimme some truth now
All I want is the truth
Just gimme some truth
All I want is the truth
Just gimme some truth

"Look What They've Done To My Song, Ma"

(As recorded by Melanie)
MELANIE SAFKA

Look what they've done to my song, ma
Look what they've done to my song
Well it's the only thing that I could do half right
And it's turning out all wrong, ma
Look what they've done to my song.

Look what they've done to my brain, ma
Look what they've done to my brain
Well they picked it like a chicken bone
And I think I'm half insane, ma
Look what they've done to my song.

I wish I could find a good book to live in
Wish I could find a good book
Will if I cold find a real good book
I'd never have to come out and look
Look what they've done to my song.

It'll be all right ma, maybe it'll be okay
Well if the people are buying tears I'll be rich someday, ma
Look what they've done to my song.

Ils ont change ma chanson ma
Ils ont change ma chanson
C'est la seule chose que je peuz faire
Et ce n'est pas bon ma
Ils ont change ma chanson.

Look what they've done to my song, ma
Look what they've done to my song
Well they tied it up in a plastic bag and they turned it upside down
Look what they've done to my song, ma.

Look what they've done to my song, ma
Look what they've done to my song
It's the only thing I could do all right and they turned it upside down
Look what they've done to my song, ma.

(c) Copyright 1970 by Kama Rippa Music, Inc. and Amerlanie Music, Inc. All rights
administered by Kama Rippa Music, Inc., 1650 Broadway, New York, New York 10019.

- SONG HITS, Summer 1974.:nuke:

With an honorable mention to their new album with the original lineup, Phoenix!

They decorated all the generals
Who fought the war behind the lines
They had forgotten all the soldiers
The brandy puts them way behind the times
Insanity has found its way to TV screens
Vision seems impossible to me
They fight for king and country
I never would have thought this in my

* Wildest dreams (x4)

Evening comes, we sit and watch the features
Clips and rushes come from who-knows-where
From Washington across to California
The fighting breaking out in Leicester Square
We see the soldiers moving on to victory
And children trampled under marching feet
They fight for king and country
How many millions will they put to sleep?

(* Repeat)

Fly away!

** No, not in this world
No, not in the next
No, not in my wildest dreams

They recommended euthanasia
For non-conformers anywhere
Some men's dreams for others turn to nightmares
This never would have happened in their

(* Repeat)

Fly away!

(** Repeat

Broken lines, broken strings,
Broken threads, broken springs,
Broken idols, broken heads,
People sleeping in broken beds.
Ain't no use jiving
Ain't no use joking
Everything is broken.

Broken bottles, broken plates,
Broken switches, broken gates,
Broken dishes, broken parts,
Streets are filled with broken hearts.
Broken words never meant to be spoken,
Everything is broken.

Bridge: Seem like every time you stop and turn around
Something else just hit the ground

Broken cutters, broken saws,
Broken buckles, broken laws,
Broken bodies, broken bones,
Broken voices on broken phones.
Take a deep breath, feel like you're chokin',
Everything is broken.

Bridge: Every time you leave and go off someplace
Things fall to pieces in my face

Broken hands on broken ploughs,
Broken treaties, broken vows,
Broken pipes, broken tools,
People bending broken rules.
Hound dog howling, bull frog croaking,
Everything is broken.



Copyright © 1989 Special Rider Music

The world is changing
Not for the better
It is unraveling
Just like a sweater

I saw a picture in a magazine
CIA, father, son, the monarchy
They say there’s threat to the democracy
They’re fucking liars
They’re fucking liars

CHORUS

Even my heroes drive SUV’s
Even my heroes drive SUV’s
What can I do to make my own ends meet
I’m selling out

Now every time I turn my TV on
I hear them playing all my favorite songs
Corporate seduction of my memories
Now it’s a jingle

And now the war becomes our new sitcom
Campaign of terror
Eating from their palms
The price of oil’s going through the roof
But we’re still buying
Yeah, we’re still driving


CHORUS

Even my heroes drive SUV’s
Even my heroes drive SUV’s
What can I do to make my own ends meet
I’m selling out


Even my heroes drive SUV’s
Even my heroes drive SUV’s
What can I do to make my own ends meet
I’m selling out

(give it a listen - it's amazing. http://www.myspace.com/thecliks - the version on there is a re-recording of the oiginal, which was released in '04, but it's actually a big improvement on the original)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcXJe1-Zznk

No one likes us-I don't know why
We may not be perfect, but heaven knows we try
But all around, even our old friends put us down
Let's drop the big one and see what happens

We give them money-but are they grateful?
No, they're spiteful and they're hateful
They don't respect us-so let's surprise them
We'll drop the big one and pulverize them

Asia's crowded and Europe's too old
Africa is far too hot
And Canada's too cold
And South America stole our name
Let's drop the big one
There'll be no one left to blame us

We'll save Australia
Don't wanna hurt no kangaroo
We'll build an All American amusement park there
They got surfin', too

Boom goes London and boom Paris
More room for you and more room for me
And every city the whole world round
Will just be another American town
Oh, how peaceful it will be
We'll set everybody free
You'll wear a Japanese kimono
And there'll be Italian shoes for me

They all hate us anyhow
So let's drop the big one now
Let's drop the big one now

..... They'd probably think this is an ode to the greatness of the USA.

Dick Cheney in mind.

...And mutha fuckas lost their minds - Just victims of the in-house drive-by -They say jump, you say how high.

How high?

gate yourselves up?

Weapons not food, not homes, not shoes
Not need, just feed the war cannibal animal
I walk tha corner to tha rubble that used to be a
library
Line up to tha mind cemetary
What we don't know keeps tha contracts alive an
movin'
They don't gotta burn tha books they just remove
'em
While arms warehouses fill as quick as tha cells

Come you masters of war
You that build all the guns
You that build the death planes
You that build the big bombs
You that hide behind walls
You that hide behind desks
I just want you to know
I can see through your masks

You that never done nothin'
But build to destroy
You play with my world
Like it's your little toy
You put a gun in my hand
And you hide from my eyes
And you turn and run farther
When the fast bullets fly

Like Judas of old
You lie and deceive
A world war can be won
You want me to believe
But I see through your eyes
And I see through your brain
Like I see through the water
That runs down my drain

You fasten the triggers
For the others to fire
Then you set back and watch
When the death count gets higher
You hide in your mansion
As young people's blood
Flows out of their bodies
And is buried in the mud

You've thrown the worst fear
That can ever be hurled
Fear to bring children
Into the world
For threatening my baby
Unborn and unnamed
You ain't worth the blood
That runs in your veins

How much do I know
To talk out of turn
You might say that I'm young
You might say I'm unlearned
But there's one thing I know
Though I'm younger than you
Even Jesus would never
Forgive what you do

Let me ask you one question
Is your money that good
Will it buy you forgiveness
Do you think that it could
I think you will find
When your death takes its toll
All the money you made
Will never buy back your soul

And I hope that you die
And your death'll come soon
I will follow your casket
In the pale afternoon
And I'll watch while you're lowered
Down to your deathbed
And I'll stand o'er your grave
'Til I'm sure that you're dead


Copyright © 1963; renewed 1991 Special Rider Music

(Released December of 1970)

You poisoned my sweet water.
You cut down my green trees.
The food you fed my children
Was the cause of their disease.

My world is slowly fallin' down
And the airs not good to breathe.
And those of us who care enough,
We have to do something.......

(Chorus)
Oh.......oh What you gonna do about me?
Oh.......oh What you gonna do about me?

Your newspapers,
They just put you on.
They never tell you
The whole story.

They just put your
Young ideas down.
I was wonderin' could this be the end
Of your pride and glory?

(Chorus)

I work in your factory.
I study in your schools.
I fill your penitentiaries.
And your military too!

And I feel the future trembling,
As the word is passed around.
"If you stand up for what you do believe,
Be prepared to be shot down."

(Chorus)

And I feel like a stranger
In the land where I was born
And I live like an outlaw.
An' I'm always on the run..........................

An Im always getting busted
And I got to take a stand........
I believe the revolution
Must be mighty close at hand.......................

(Chorus)

I smoke marijuana
But I cant get behind your wars.
And most of what I do believe
Is against most of your laws

I'm a fugitive from injustice
But I'm goin' to be free.
Cause your rules and regulations
They dont do the thing for me

(Chorus)

And I feel like a stranger
In the land where I was born
And I live just like an outlaw.
An' I'm always on the run.

Many's the time I've been mistaken
And many times confused
Yes, and I've often felt forsaken
And certainly misused
Oh, but I'm all right, I'm all right
I'm just weary to my bones
Still, you don't expect to be
Bright and bon vivant
So far away from home, so far away from home

And I don't know a soul who's not been battered
I don't have a friend who feels at ease
I don't know a dream that's not been shattered
or driven to its knees
but it's all right, it's all right
for we lived so well so long
Still, when I think of the
road we're traveling on
I wonder what's gone wrong
I can't help it, I wonder what's gone wrong

And I dreamed I was dying
I dreamed that my soul rose unexpectedly
And looking back down at me
Smiled reassuringly
And I dreamed I was flying
And high up above my eyes could clearly see
The Statue of Liberty
Sailing away to sea
And I dreamed I was flying

We come on the ship they call the Mayflower
We come on the ship that sailed the moon
We come in the age's most uncertain hours
and sing an American tune
Oh, and it's alright, it's all right, it's all right
You can't be forever blessed
Still, tomorrow's going to be another working day
And I'm trying to get some rest
That's all I'm trying to get some rest

Swelling Itching Brain
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMF5vzvLyMQ

Got a nervous kind of feeling
got a painful yellow headache
every picture in every magazine's turned real
every face looks out and screams at me too real
cold sweat on my collar
dripping to my boots
the waves of nauseous pain
sets off the pressure pad alarms
gotta get outta here
gotta get outta here
gotta get outta here
gotta get outta here
gotta painful swelling brain
banging in my head
gotta painful swelling brain
and I called off sick
gotta swelling itching pain
got me pulling out my hair
gotta swelling itching pain
clutching at my brain
got me laying on the floor
think I left my senses
seems like endless torture
got me pulling out my hair
driving me up the wall
dripping out my eyes ears nose and mouth
imploding my thoughts
blasting holes in the front lawn now
going outta my skull
burning up my thoughts
tearing me apart

...or maybe it's just me... :o

Well...the first 3 verses anyway.

Generals gathered in their masses,
just like witches at black masses.
Evil minds that plot destruction,
sorcerers of death's construction.
In the fields the bodies burning,
as the war machine keeps turning.
Death and hatred to mankind,
poisoning their brainwashed minds.
Oh lord, yeah!

Politicians hide themselves away.
They only started the war.
Why should they go out to fight?
They leave that role to the poor, yeah.

Time will tell on their power minds,
making war just for fun.
Treating people just like pawns in chess,
wait till their judgement day comes, yeah.

Now in darkness world stops turning,
ashes where the bodies burning.
No more War Pigs have the power,
Hand of God has struck the hour.
Day of judgement, God is calling,
on their knees the war pigs crawling.
Begging mercies for their sins,
Satan, laughing, spreads his wings.
Oh lord, yeah!
--Black Sabbath, War Pigs

Do you see what I see?
Truth is an offence,
You silence for your confidence

Do you hear what I hear?
Doors are slamming shut,
Limit your imagination, keep you where they must

Do you feel what I feel?
Bittering distress,
Who decides what you express?

Do you take what I take?
Endurance is the word,
Moving back instead of forward seems to me absurd

Doesn't matter what you see,
Or into it what you read,
You can do it your own way,
If it's done just how I say

Independence limited,
Freedom of choice,
A Choice is made for you my friend,
Freedom of speech,
Speech is words that they will bend,
Freedom with their exception

Do you fear what I fear?
Living properly,
Truths to you are lies to me

Do you choose what I choose?
More alternatives,
Energy derives from both the plus and negatives

Do you need what I need?
Boundaries overthrown,
Look inside, to each his own

Do you trust what I trust?
Me, myself, and I,
Penetrate the smoke screen, I see through the selfish lie

Doesn't matter what you see,
Or into it what you read,
You can do it your own way,
If it's done just how I say

Independence limited,
Freedom of choice,
A Choice is made for you my friend,
Freedom of speech,
Speech is words that they will bend,
Freedom with their exception

Do you know what I know?
Your money and your wealth,
You silence just to hear yourself

Do you want what I want?
Desire not a thing,
I hunger after independence, lengthen freedom's ring

Doesn't matter what you see,
Or into it what you read,
You can do it your own way,
If it's done just how I say

Independence limited,
Freedom of choice,
A
Choice is made for you my friend,
Freedom of speech,
Speech is words that they will bend,
Freedom with their exception

Doesn't matter what you see,
Or into it what you read,
You can do it your own way,
If it's done just how I say

Metallica :Eye Of The Beholder

Don't forget this one, either :

Halls of Justice Painted Green
Money Talking
Power Wolves Beset Your Door
Hear Them Stalking
Soon You'll Please Their Appetite
They Devour
Hammer of Justice Crushes You
Overpower

The Ultimate in Vanity
Exploiting Their Supremacy
I Can't Believe the Things You Say
I Can't Believe
I Can't Believe the Price You Pay
Nothing Can Save You

Justice Is Lost
Justice Is Raped
Justice Is Gone
Pulling Your Strings
Justice Is Done
Seeking No Truth
Winning Is All
Find it So Grim
So True
So Real

Apathy Their Stepping Stone
So Unfeeling
Hidden Deep Animosity
So Deceiving
Through Your Eyes Their Light Burns
Hoping to Find
Inquisition Sinking You
With Prying Minds

The Ultimate in Vanity
Exploiting Their Supremacy
I Can't Believe the Things You Say
I Can't Believe
I Can't Believe the Price You Pay
Nothing Can Save You

Justice Is Lost
Justice Is Raped
Justice Is Gone
Pulling Your Strings
Justice Is Done
Seeking No Truth
Winning Is All
Find it So Grim
So True
So Real

Lady Justice Has Been Raped
Truth Assassin
Rolls of Red Tape Seal Your Lips
Now You're Done in
Their Money Tips Her Scales Again
Make Your Deal
Just What Is Truth? I Cannot Tell
Cannot Feel

The Ultimate in Vanity
Exploiting Their Supremacy
I Can't Believe the Things You Say
I Can't Believe
I Can't Believe the Price We Pay
Nothing Can Save Us

Justice Is Lost
Justice Is Raped
Justice Is Gone
Pulling Your Strings
Justice Is Done
Seeking No Truth
Winning Is All
Find it So Grim
So True
So Real
Seeking No Truth
Winning Is All
Find it So Grim
So True
So Real


Metallica - And Justice For All

(Monster)
Once the religious, the hunted and weary
Chasing the promise of freedom and hope
Came to this country to build a new vision
Far from the reaches of kingdom and pope
Like good Christians, some would burn the witches
Later some got slaves to gather riches

But from near and far to seek America
They came by thousands to court the wild
But she just patiently smiled and bore a child
To be their spirit and guiding light

Then once the ties with the crown had been broken
Westward in saddle and wagon it went
And 'til the railroad linked ocean to ocean
Many the lives which had come to an end
While we bullied, stole and bought our a homeland
We began the slaughter of the red man

But still from near and far to seek America
They came by thousands to court the wild
And she just patiently smiled and bore a child
To be their spirit and guiding light

The blue and grey they stomped it
They kicked it just like a dog
And when the war over
They stuffed it just like a hog

And though the past has it's share of injustice
Kind was the spirit in many a way
But it's protectors and friends have been sleeping
Now it's a monster and will not obey

(Suicide)
The spirit was freedom and justice
And it's keepers seem "friendly" and kind
It's leaders were supposed to serve the country
But now they were paying no mind
'Cause the people "got" fat and "grew" lazy
now their vote "is like a" meaningless "Tune"
"You know they talk about law "about" order
But it's all just an echo of what they've been told
Yeah, there's a monster on the loose
It's got our heads into a noose
And it just sits there watchin'

Our cities have turned into jungles
And corruption is stranglin' the land
The police force is watching the people
And the people just can't understand
We don't know how to mind our own business
'Cause the whole worlds got to be just like us
Now we are fighting a war over there
No matter who's the winner
We can't pay the cost
'Cause there's a monster on the loose
It's got our heads into a noose
And it just sits there watching

(America)
America where are you now?
Don't you care about your sons and daughters?
Don't you know we need you now
We can't fight alone against the monster


(1968?) Words and music by John Kay, Jerry Edmonton, Nick St. Nicholas and Larry Byrom

Recruiting the ill-fated for "The War"
A legion of uneducated, bankrupt souls
With a lust for revenge, answering the call
From New Yorqatar to Califarabia

Desperation provides fertile ground for religious extremism
This glorious brainwashing where prejudice lies
Like a crouching tiger
Tormenting peasants till they erect an army
Under everyone's nose
In the end propaganda destroys their DNA, God help them




All that they envisioned of what things would come to be
Turned into a pink mist when they blew to smithereens
We are just a war away from Amerikhastan
When God versus God;the undoing of man

Promising a vapor, in the end they become one



No rules of engagement, this enemy hides
Amongst women and children

And to beat violence, you must ignore the focus groups
You must send in the Mossad, turn of the BBC, CNN
And don't look back
Rest assured there'll be no more Middle Eastern crisis, hell!
There'll be no more Middle East!
These are your people Liberty
Pull up your dress today
And tattooed is "property of The USA
A subsidiary of Halliburton"
Surprise?!
But a roaring lion is about to be on earth
Hey, Jihad Joe? Guess what? We're coming to get you!




All that you envisioned of what things will come to be
Turns into a death knell when you look behind the scenes
We are just a war away from Amerikhastan
When God versus God, the undoing of man

Complimentary "As Long As I'm Safe" ringtone


Once again america has chosen to keep it's shut tight
Content in our national ignorance as long as all danger is kept out of sight
We don’t want to hear the reasons why this happened. We only want revenge
We only want to feel safe again and we’re all willing to pretend
That if we hunt down those responsible then the danger will disappear
And we won’t have to lock ourselves inside our homes, cowering in fear
But we must ready our nation’s defenses against more possible attacks
Our government is going to need our help to fight the terrorists whenever they come back
As long as I’m safe
I’ll give my government the power to decide what rights of mine to throw away
As long as I’m safe
I’ll support legislation giving those who already have too much power
Just a little more
I’ll trade away my rights for my mind to be at peace
I’ll trade away my rights for a peaceful night of sleep
I’ll trade away my rights for the illusion of safety
I’ll trade away my rights for a false sense of security
As long as I’m safe
They can spy on me twenty-four hours a day,
Erect video surveillance all over our communities
As long as I’m safe
I’ll succumb to phone tapping, unwarranted searches
And mandatory fingerprinting
I’ll trade away my rights to help our leaders get revenge
I’ll trade away my rights to make sure this will never happen again
I’ll trade away my rights for the illusion of safety
I’ll trade away my rights for a false sense of security
The bill of rights is null and void
An army of cops has been deployed
Every citizen is now a defendant
Illegal seizure of the fourth amendment
As long as I’m safe
I’ll support, without evidence, the bombing of any
Country our leaders deem a threat
As long as I’m safe
I’ll ignore the suffering in the rest of the world
That our government is causing
I’ll trade away my rights to make sure these terrorists are stopped
I’ll trade away my rights to help put America back on top
I’ll trade away my rights for the illusion of safety
I’ll trade away my rights for a false sense of security
As long as I’m safe then it’s all been worth it

is the chorus of the British folk song, "The Prickly Bush", as sung by the Fureys:

"Oh, the prickly bush
Does pierce my heart full sore
And if ever I get away from that bush,
I'll never be caught any more!"

On a more serious note, I would nominate Bob Dylan's "With God on Our Side".



Oh my name it is nothin'
My age it means less
The country I come from
Is called the Midwest
I's taught and brought up there
The laws to abide
And that land that I live in
Has God on its side.

Oh the history books tell it
They tell it so well
The cavalries charged
The Indians fell
The cavalries charged
The Indians died
Oh the country was young
With God on its side.

Oh the Spanish-American
War had its day
And the Civil War too
Was soon laid away
And the names of the heroes
I's made to memorize
With guns in their hands
And God on their side.

Oh the First World War, boys
It closed out its fate
The reason for fighting
I never got straight
But I learned to accept it
Accept it with pride
For you don't count the dead
When God's on your side.

When the Second World War
Came to an end
We forgave the Germans
And we were friends
Though they murdered six million
In the ovens they fried
The Germans now too
Have God on their side.

I've learned to hate Russians
All through my whole life
If another war starts
It's them we must fight
To hate them and fear them
To run and to hide
And accept it all bravely
With God on my side.

But now we got weapons
Of the chemical dust
If fire them we're forced to
Then fire them we must
One push of the button
And a shot the world wide
And you never ask questions
When God's on your side.

In a many dark hour
I've been thinkin' about this
That Jesus Christ
Was betrayed by a kiss
But I can't think for you
You'll have to decide
Whether Judas Iscariot
Had God on his side.

So now as I'm leavin'
I'm weary as Hell
The confusion I'm feelin'
Ain't no tongue can tell
The words fill my head
And fall to the floor
If God's on our side
He'll stop the next war.

it's not the right time to be sober
now the idiots have taken over
spreading like a social cancer, is there an answer?

Mensa membership exceeding
tell me why and how are all the stupid people breeding?
Watson, it's really elementary
the industrial revolution
has flipped the bitch on evolution
the benevolent and wise are being cornered, ostracized, what a bummer
the world keeps getting dumber
insensitivity is standard and faith is being fancied over reason

darwin's rollin over in his coffin
the fittest are surviving much less often
now everything seems to be reversing, and it's worsening
someone flopped a steamer in the gene pool
now angry mob mentality's no longer the exception, it's the rule
and im startin to feel a lot like charlton heston
stranded on a primate planet
apes and orangutans that ran it to the ground
with generals and the armies that obeyed them
followers following fables
philosophies that enable them to rule without regard

there's no point for democracy when ignorance is celebrated
political scientists think the same one vote as some arkansas inbred
majority rule, don't work in mental institutions
sometimes the smallest softest voice carries the grand biggest solutions

what are we left with?
a nation of god-fearing pregnant nationalists
who feel it's their duty to populate the homeland
pass on traditions
how to get ahead religions
And prosperity be a symbol to culture

Everybody knows that the dice are loaded
Everybody rolls with their fingers crossed
Everybody knows that the war is over
Everybody knows the good guys lost
Everybody knows the fight was fixed
The poor stay poor, the rich get rich
That's how it goes
Everybody knows
Everybody knows that the boat is leaking
Everybody knows that the captain lied
Everybody got this broken feeling
Like their father or their dog just died

Everybody talking to their pockets
Everybody wants a box of chocolates
And a long stem rose
Everybody knows

Everybody knows that you love me baby
Everybody knows that you really do
Everybody knows that you've been faithful
Ah give or take a night or two
Everybody knows you've been discreet
But there were so many people you just had to meet
Without your clothes
And everybody knows

Everybody knows, everybody knows
That's how it goes
Everybody knows

Everybody knows, everybody knows
That's how it goes
Everybody knows

And everybody knows that it's now or never
Everybody knows that it's me or you
And everybody knows that you live forever
Ah when you've done a line or two
Everybody knows the deal is rotten
Old Black Joe's still pickin' cotton
For your ribbons and bows
And everybody knows

And everybody knows that the Plague is coming
Everybody knows that it's moving fast
Everybody knows that the naked man and woman
Are just a shining artifact of the past
Everybody knows the scene is dead
But there's gonna be a meter on your bed
That will disclose
What everybody knows

And everybody knows that you're in trouble
Everybody knows what you've been through
From the bloody cross on top of Calvary
To the beach of Malibu
Everybody knows it's coming apart
Take one last look at this Sacred Heart
Before it blows
And everybody knows

Everybody knows, everybody knows
That's how it goes
Everybody knows

Oh everybody knows, everybody knows
That's how it goes
Everybody knows

Everybody knows


video interpretation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h27HRNm_r4U


edit: just discovered that is video was created by a DUer, GoPsUx. Well done!!
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x25112

a whole album dedicated to exposing the truth about the state of the world today. Here's one of my favorites:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-Gbx46ppgI

Project for a New American Century

It's a gut check of what you believe

A Global Pax Americana
Neo-con, neo-fascist blue print - USA hegemony
Charlatan war hawks, untried, untrue
Celebrate and exploit tragedy
To steal away control

And it's a gut check of what you believe
Will you stand up for democracy?
or a New American Century?
Endless...
Endless violence, endless hatred
Endless empire tyranny
Will you make a stand for human dignity?
Or never ending hate?

It's a think tank, psycho and crazed
War profiteering membership - a world catastrophe
They've got a war plan that counts on you
to kill for their corporate empire
while they sit at home

And it's a gut check of what you believe
Will you stand up for democracy?
or a New American Century?
Endless...
Endless violence, endless hatred
Endless empire tyranny
Will you make a stand for human dignity?

Are you going to...Fight Back!
Time to prove what you really believe
We gotta FIGHT BACK!
Until we win it all
We gotta FIGHT BACK!
Will you heed the call?
The Neo-Fascist race to war
The PNAC plan to rule the world

It's a gut check of what you believe
Will you stand up for democracy?
or a New American Century?

Are you going to...

And it's a gut check of what you believe
Will you stand up for democracy?
or a New American Century?
Endless...
Endless violence, endless hatred
Endless empire tyranny
Will you make a stand for human dignity?

Will you? Or never ending hate?

and "Shake Me, Wake Me, When It's Over" by the Four Tops for the world in general.

originally written as a Nixon protest, but it works today just as well.

We are amazed but not amused
By all the things you say that you'll do
Though much concerned but not involved
With decisions that are made by you

But we are sick and tired of hearing your song
Telling how you are gonna change right from wrong
'Cause if you really want to hear our views
"You haven't done nothing"!

It's not too cool to be ridiculed
But you brought this upon yourself
The world is tired of pacifiers
We want the truth and nothing else

And we are sick and tired of hearing your song
Telling how you are gonna change right from wrong
'Cause if you really want to hear our views
"You haven't done nothing"!

We would not care to wake up to the nightmare
That's becoming real life
But when mislead who knows a person's mind
Can turn as cold as ice un hum

Why do you keep on making us hear your song
Telling us how you are changing right from wrong
'Cause if you really want to hear our views
"You haven't done nothing"!


Sid