What I Took From A Book

The Horror The Horror

Wise Blood

I want some wise blood   
 I want to choose not to choose  
The world above us  
No excuse for what we lose 

Gotta make a decision   
For that I don't need this PhD  
Won't be an act of precision
For this freedom I fight then flee  

The walls of the Church                 
They're building them higher   
Into the clouds in search of God  
The walls of this church               
The great multiplier             
Run through the city, claim the streets and yards 

Chorus

I need to make a decision 
Reject the promise of sanctity
Forget that sin abolition
All those around here, they've taken the knee

The fog of the future                                 
The mist of the past                                  
Borders are bleeding in search of  God   
Ancients to slaughter                               
The chain and the lash                            
Tryouts tomorrow for the Junior Death Squad          





Wise Blood

based on the short story Sredni Vashtar by Saki

Do One Thing For Me

Do one thing for me                
I kneel at your shrine              
Red thoughts, white teeth       
They call for peace                  
As the planets align                 
Tool shed my cathedral            
A silence musty and dim          
Knotted and naked                   
Offering sacred                         
Blame the ferret and the hen    

Do one thing for me                            
A singular sacrifice                              
Do one thing on this witchy day          
One small sin for my paradise             
Do one thing, one precious thing         
The brown beast turns and roars         
The darkness takes what duty brought 
Like a writer lost in war                          

Sit down have a celebration              
Tea with buttered toast I'm making       
All the little children hiding in the forest  
The animals are running free                  

Sit down, then stand up at attention          
Salute the General, time too short to mention  
All the little children fighting in the forest    
The animals are running free                      

Do one thing for me         
This vicious moment in time  
Short story the rage               
Canvas the page                   
Make the madness divine     
Tool shed my cathedral            
A silence musty and dim          
Knotted and naked                   
Offering sacred                         
All hail the ferret and the hen    













Do One Thing For Me

Death By Toto


For Julius C, stabbed lustily, it was death by the traitors’ cuts                                                             
For David R, strumming his guitar, a single song punch to the gut 
A sonic mind destroyer, burning his circuits up
They call it Death by Toto

Karen loved that snappy tune called Africa 
By those Grammy-grabbin', multi-plat, music sophisticas
It made Davey double over, whine and wince, 
Now he can't stand up
Sufferin’ a slow demise  this Death by Toto

As they sang  "It's gonna take a lot to drag us away from you   
There's nothing that a hundred men or more couldn't do"  

The Porcaro bros,  Paich and Lukather played better than he did
They had the the fame, the coke, the groupies, the Columbia records shtick 
But 6 months to write those lyrics man,
'Bout some Olympus Serengeti shit ??
He never saw it coming… that Death by Toto

They sang,It's gonna take a lot to drag me away from you
I'll get you my Pretties...and your little dog too

I bless the rains down in Africa                                                                
Like a hoodoo guru
I bless the rains down in Africa 
Them boys are coming for you
I bless the rains down in Africa
Scooby Dooby Doo

Like the Wizard of Oz and Dr Livingstone, I am a trope for you to find
Escape the soft rock savannah, run from Roseanna to the jungle of my mind
Reputation cheesed, hear my Kimball wheeze, still shower singing Hold The Line
Don't you feel it coming ... Death by  Death By Toto

I bless the rains down in Africa….. Hey I'm talking to you
I bless the rains down in Africa….. I've never been there it's true 
I bless the rains down in Africa…. It's Death by Toto for you
For me, for him, for her
It's Death by Toto for you
For me, for him, for them
It's Death by Toto for you.


lyrics Hand on the Rock/ D . Paich 
music Hand on the Rock





Death By Toto

idea from the book El Sicario...por favor excuse some of  my beginner Spanish mispronunciations and I am sure grammatical errors....unpolished it is , lo siento

Sicario Blues (La Plata o Plomo)

La plata o plomo                                       
The silver or lead                                       
He's talking in Spanish                              
Got a gun at your head                              
Mas o menos, Señor                               
It's the Sicario blues                                   

He loves his mama
El ama a su madre
Got to bury your body first
Before he takes her to church on Sunday
Mas o menos, can't you see it
His Sicario blues

Lately, he's been wondering                       
Just whose side he's on                             
No quiere una guerra                                 
All these loaded guns                                
Sure, he's got some money                        
El dinero es grosso                                   
pero las manos, sus manos                             
Se han ensuciado                                     

La plata o plomo 
The silver or lead 
He'd rather be in Iceland
In a nice warm feather bed 
Mas o menos por favor
Those Sicario blues

Sooner or later, he'll be coming around 
Juarez, Tijuana, he'll be hunting you down
Su corazón es duro 
And your alibi is soft 
You're the last one on his list of names
Before he's running off

La plata o plomo 
The silver or lead 
El hijo de Dios 
Gonna put you straight to bed 
Si claro, mi amigo 
Tiene el Sicario blues
Es verdad amigos 
No escaping those Sicario blues







Plata o Plomo (Sicario Blues)


intro is a quote from the novel Cat's Cradle(1963) by Kurt Vonnegut Jr

My Compass is Broken

Plans are vague                                                             
Imprecise                                                                         
Indistinct                                                                          
Like men and mice                                                        
But it's better than having a stone cold point of  view   
Feeling lost 
Cast adrift
Gone off course 
Missing ship
No need to understand where I'm heading to

My compass is broken                                                  
The arrow is starting to spin                                         
This path unspoken                                                       
Not sure of the place I'm in                                           
Do I turn East?                                                                
West?                                                                               
Father does not know best                                           
My compass is broken                                                  
I don't know what to do       

                                           
Empty maps
Beckon me
Find the lost
City of Z
Take a long, strange trip inside my little head
Foreign fields
Hallowed ground
Misunderstood
Tightly wound
Instead of finding the treasure, I find myself instead

Oh, my compass is broken 
A newfound split past everyone 
From one pole to the other 
Like Peary, Scott and Amundsen 
Do I turn North?
South?
Living foot in mouth
My compass is broken 
What do I have to do?

Peculiar travel suggestions                                           
Are dancing lessons from God                                    
So move your feet to this rhythm                                 
And do the Mashed Potato                                          
Or the Kurt Vonnegut                                                          

Grow a pair
Get a grip
Find a job
F#$* that shit
Destination unknown
Take a chance, enjoy the view

My compass is broken
It's a world of bobble and spin
I'm awake but unwoken 
It's the best place I've ever been
Switching it on....off....
From the equator to the permafrost
My compass is broken
Don't call the rescue crew                                           
My compass is broken                                                  
I'm far away from you                                         
My compass is broken
Do what I have to do


Lyrics Hand on the Rock/ K Vonnegut Jr
Music Hand on the Rock

My Compass Is Broken



Feb 11 1963....Death of Sylvia Plath... 62 years ago... 
Florida Dawn reference found within the pages of  the Bell Jar her only novel
Sylvia Plath reading a portion of Lady Lazarus opens tune...

Florida Dawn

All that we touch                                       
Turns to dust                                            
The flesh gone frantic                              
The ink upon the page                         
The idea stays                                         
Reading pages of Plath                            
Such a sad aftermath                               
I picked up those letters                             
And sprinkled some bits on your grave       
See love where it lays                                 

That February spinning round                       
Breath is getting thin                                     
Sit and watch the ocean tide                         
Centuries crashing in                                     
In the Florida Dawn                                        
Another episode of cruel                                
The leader and the ones lead on                    
Who's playing tricks on who?                          

Rain begets rust                                           
Turns steel into dust                                     
The flesh gone static                                    
A chemical tease for the brain                    
Why did you read her again?                          
She did a Sylvia Plath                                 
Climbing into the bath                                    
I'll spare you the details,                               
the end result was the same                       
Minus the fame                                            

Now everything is spinning round                 
In this space I'm in                                       
I sit and watch the ocean tide                        
All those centuries crashing in                       
In the Florida Dawn                                       
Replay your episode of cruel                            
The leader and the one lead on                    
Who's playing tricks on who?                          

I walk these words and find myself              
Where you said you'd be 
I walk these words to where you ought to be                            
But there's only me                                       







Florida Dawn

The song is both a nostalgic tribute to this 1981 movie that gave me nightmares, and a nod to the iconic Bruce Campbell for his work in this franchise

but it then turns metaphorical as I equate the Evil Dead to the AI that is now all around us...  my call to arms..my call to channel Bruce Campbell and fight these Deadites......AI wants to swallow yer soul.......listen ..you will see....


The Evil Dead

When I was a kid
I saw some scary shit
Scary shit that scared the shit out of me
Kandarian demons
Growling and screaming
Couldn't sleep for a week
Thought they were coming for me

I need to channel 
Bruce Campbell
Fight the fear that's growing in my head
Channel Bruce Campbell
Chainsaw my angst
Fight off the Evil Dead
Check underneath my bed

Yeah I was that kid
So freaked by that shit
That card scene with Cheryl scared the shit outta me
8 of spades, 2 of spades
Jack o’ diamonds and clubs
When she twisted and threatened 
I blathered and blubbed

I need to channel 
Bruce Campbell 
Dismember my fear
Decapitate the devil in my head
Channel Bruce Campbell 
Gouge out my angst
Fight off the Evil Dead
Maybe read a book instead


KANDA 
ESTRATA 
EARGRETS
AMANTO NOS FERATES


Now I am old
I hear some scary shit
Scary shit, it scares the shit out of me
Jack-booting goose steps
Skynet sing a longs
The bots and their soul-sucking sweet melodies

We need to channel 
Bruce Campbell 
Necronomicon 
These lies we’re fed
Channel Bruce Campbell 
Feeling lost in the forest 
Here comes the Evil Dead
Maybe try and write some actual human songs instead







The Evil Dead ( Channel Bruce Campbell)

this song is a tribute to Mercedes McCambridge, a mighty fine actress ( 1949 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress All The King's Men) who in 1973 played the voice of the Demon in William Friedkin's The Exorcist...
She prepared for her vocal performances by chainsmoking, drinking whiskey and eating raw eggs. She had herself strapped to a chair while speaking her lines...
Talk about suffering for your art
Back in the day the movie caused hysteria with many audience members fainting and running out of the theatre. ..1973 was a different time for sure.....
i present the usual mishmash with a couple clips from the movie and an interview with a scared movie goer at the break
Thanks for the nightmares, Ms. McCambridge 

Mercedes McCambridge

Mercedes McCambridge, she’s talking to me  
The devil incarnate, filthy vocabulary               
I learned some new words 
When I was a kid 
Back in 73     

Mercedes McCambridge, she was needing  the work
From Academy winner to world's biggest sinner,
made the crowd go berserk
They dubbed out Miss Blair, put her in there,
In that bedroom, she lurks

The power of Christ compels you             
It compels me to sing                                   
About demons, about another time            
When the Exorcist was a thing                  
Strapped to a chair, living on cigarettes    
Raw eggs and malt whiskey                     
Mercedes moaned her message             
Scared the bejesus out of me                   

Mercedes McCambridge, all dressed in black
She’s still in my closet, under the table
She’s hiding out back
When I go to sleep, she shadow speaks
Her salacious  soundtrack

The power of Christ compels you
It compels me to be
Writing songs about her vicious voice
It's melded to my memory
Her fearsome groans from another time
Words we don't want Mom to know
Mercedes was committed 
No minors were permitted
We trembled, shook and shitted
At her foul-mouthed movie show

Mercedes McCambridge

This year is the 50th anniversary of the ABC Movie of the week Trilogy of Terror- It was 3 chilling adaptions of 3 short stories written by the great sci fi author Richard Matheson. The late Karen Black ( not only a wonderful actress,she was also a great singer and songwriter) starred in all 3 of the features playing 4 characters.  As 12 year old kids of course we were the most horrified and terrified by the final story Amelia - a  story about  a demonic warrior doll that comes to life and starts attacking poor Ms. Black
here is a youtube link to Amelia the third story in the Trilogy of Terror ( 24 minutes)-https://youtu.be/hjr0ziHwraw

 Starts out pretty chill but the last 10 mins of that film were very intense for us in 1975 ..we kids couldn't sleep well for a few nights .. I wrote the song as an homage to the story/movie/Ms. Black ( she didnt really like the movie) as well as using the story as  metaphor for the demons that live in us all
my electric guitar playing scared the dog as usual
hope my silly song does not scare you too much
3 short clips from Amelia are spliced in there


Karen Black And That Creepy Doll Attack

The hunter and the hunted
The virtue and the sin
Inside of every creature
Light and dark reside in them

Zuni Hunter Fetish Doll
The puppet seeks its prey
That TV movie freaking out
Us kids back in the day

Trilogy of Terror
The duality of man
Unrestrained we let our monsters roam
On which side will you stand

The camera films a gruesome tale
Shag carpet bloody scenes
Kitchen knives and voodoo jive
A f$%ked up figurine

Karen Black
And that creepy doll attack
Wish I coulda been there
To pull it off her back
Karen Black
She ain't coming back
He who kills, all screech and shrill
Has got her mind hijacked

Break

The moral meets the message
Let fight defeat the fear
Repressed regret you can't forget
Like finger pricked by spear

She can't smother, drown or stab it
Or burn it up you see
When she locked it in a suitcase
It escaped eventually 

Take the hate from your heart
And turn it on its head
Or like the Zuni wooden doll
It hunts you down instead

Stand up against the doubters
Don't doubt the space you find
Ignore those dirty demon dolls
Who scream inside your mind

Ms. Karen Black
Why does she smile like that
Her Zuni fate, she sits in wait
Her Mama will get whacked
Karen Black
Such a creepy doll attack 
Quadruple billed her acting thrilled
My half century flashback

Karen Black
Karen Black and that creepy doll attack 
Karen Black 
Karen Black and that creepy doll attack

Karen Black & that Creepy Doll Attack

There’s a treasure down deep in this garbage can
To find it, plug your nose, feel the dirt on your hands
Just remember that they never really understand 
Your personal Rosetta Stone

