Commentary

© Copyright 2021 Peter Lloyd

I was feelin bout as groomed as Genghis Kahn
When I came across a place called Saul’s Salon
I walked in and said, “I need a haircut, Saul”
He said, “Sit on down, neighbor, and I’ll cut em all!”

He tossed a sheet across me and said, “I’m Bob
“It can get a little hairy, but I love my job”
“I believe you, Bob, but as I recall
“The sign on your window says your name is Saul”

“Well, what is truth,” Bob philosophized
“Is there really any difference tween truth and lies?
“Can you prove that E equals M C squared?
“When the Rapture comes will you be prepared?”

“The thing about it is, Bob, facts are facts
“And what you believe determines how you act”
I said, “There’s only one reality”
That’s when Bob interrupted me

“Everybody’s got their own reality
“I got mine and it’s right for me
“Does it really matter if I’m Bob or Saul
“Long as I answer when you call?”

Lie lie lie lie, lie dee lie
Oh, so sad to see truth die
They twistin it, bendin it, fixin to be endin it
Come on, people, time to start defendin it

I saw no use confronting Bob’s insanity
So I decided to ignore him and watch TV
Looked up on the wall and there on the screen
Was the spookiest creature I’ve ever seen

Her eyes were blazing, what she said, absurd
Though the sound was down, I could read every word
The more I read, the more I realized
What got into Bob was a shitload of lies

I said to Bob “I think I know what’s up with you?
“You been watching too damn much Fox News
“It’s no good for your brain, it’ll sicken your soul
“In the middle of your heart, leave a gaping hole

“Well,” Bob replied, “I got news for you
“Covid’s a hoax and global warming too
“The election was stolen, nine-eleven was staged
“The Clinton’s eat babies, but no babies were caged

“Obama’s from Kenya, and masks don’t work
“Sleepy Joe Biden is a socialist jerk
“The earth is flat and the moon is too
“I know cuz I watch — Fox News”

Lie lie lie lie, lie dee lie
Oh, so sad to see truth die
They twistin it, bendin it, fixin to be endin it
Come on, people, time to start defendin it

Bob’s not a fool, he’s just misinformed 
Like in Orwell’s story, nineteen-eighty-four
Took a little longer but it’s coming true 
And the people behind it — Fox News

No respect for the truth, don’t even know what it means 
Nothing but a clusterfuck of lying machines
First they lie, then you catch em, then they start denyin
If their lips are moving, you know they’re lyin

Lie lie lie lie, lie dee lie
Oh, so sad to see truth die
They twistin it, bendin it, fixin to be endin it
Come on, people, time to start defendin it

Even if you don’t believe the Earth is round
I think we can still find common ground 
Cuz there’s one thing we can never deny
If we hear it on Fox, it’s a goddamn lie

Lie lie lie lie, lie dee lie
Oh, so sad to see truth die
They twistin it, bendin it, fixin to be endin it
Come on, people, time to start defendin it
Come on, people, time to start defendin the truth

Fox News Blues

© Copyright 2020 Peter Lloyd

I’m so damned depressed. I’m white and I’m oppressed
Can’t say what’s on my mind. Last time I did, hell, I got fined
Can’t lead a prayer at school, can’t burn no fossil fuel
Can’t smoke in public places, can’t mock folks to their faces
What's the Constitution for? Who threw freedom out the door?
Can’t use the n-word anymore

 We used to be so great, when we were free to fight and hate
Now what’s the point of life, you can’t even smack your wife?
Just try and quote the Bible, you get sued for slander and libel
Soon they’ll come and take your gun, spoil all your fun
What's the Constitution for? Who threw freedom out the door?
Can’t use the n-word anymore

You can call me whitey, ofay, cracker, honkie, gringo, hick
Redneck, hillbilly, peckerwood... Just don’t call me racist
So why the hell can’t I use faggot, dago, coon, raghead, sissy, spick, pouf, heeb, limey, nancy, mackerel snapper, fairy, frog, wetback, fruit, wop, homo, mick, kike, beaner, dike?
Did I miss any?

If only I could be as brave as great grandpa, he owned slaves
But those days are long forgotten. Now he’d have to pick his own damn cotton
They had a colored maid, used to call a spade a spade
Used to call a queer a fruit, now it’s L-G-B-T-Q
What's the Constitution for? Who threw freedom out the door?
Can’t use the n-word anymore

Can’t use the n-word anymore
But I can sure as hell try
Who wants to hear me?
N- n- n- ni- ni- ni-
Fuck it!

White Man's Lament

Something in the Orange

© Copyright 2023 Peter Lloyd, Image by LORRAINE DAY 

remember ex-prez donald j trump
took us all for a nation of chumps
stole top secret docs and done got caught
he tried hard to deny it 
the jury did not buy it
they showed him that he’s not above the law

he’s in the jailhouse now
he’s in the jailhouse now
it comes as no surprise 
he’s outa luck and alibis
he’s in the jailhouse now

back when trump was commander in chief 
he made his goons give us all kinda grief 
we’re lucky they were all so goddamn dumb
under trump's direction 
they failed at insurrection 
we shoulda hung them all up by their thumbs


they’re in the jailhouse now
they’re in the jailhouse now
it comes as no surprise 
they’re outa luck and alibis
they’re in the jailhouse now


ya drank the kool aid and followed a fool
he made ya look like pitiful tools
you turned around and came right back for more
whatever you were drinking
whatever you were thinking
ya got exactly what you bargained for


you’re in the jailhouse now
you’re in the jailhouse now
it comes as no surprise 
you’re outa luck and alibis
you’re in the jailhouse now

Jailhouse Dreams

Boys Of Faith

Nine Ball

There’s a part of you that drifts somewhere else when the house gets still — and I see it.
This one’s for the quiet you, the deep-thinking, hope-holding version you don’t always let out loud.
I don’t just love the way you live…
I love the way you dream.

When She Dreams

🕯 I Leave Ashes Behind 🕯
A slow-burning soul elegy wrapped in velvet smoke.
No anger. No goodbye. Just the soft hush of someone choosing absence with grace.
Minimalist jazz-inflected instrumentation meets intimate, breath-warm vocals — a departure so quiet, it echoes.

This is not closure. This is sovereignty.
She doesn’t vanish — she simply leaves nothing behind but ash.

🎧 Mood: detached, graceful, unshaken
🖋 Line to remember: “I leave ashes — dry and clean / Like I was never in between.”

Let the silence speak.

I Leave Ashes Behind

---

Verse 1

I don’t need closure, I don’t need grace
I watched it burn and turned my face
No final words, no bitter cries
Just smoke curling through the sky

Pre-Chorus
You’ll search the air for what we were
But darling, I don't leave a blur


---

Chorus

I leave ashes behind
Not love, not hate, not the ties that bind
No trace for you to follow back
No scent of me on your collapse
I leave ashes — dry and clean
Like I was never in between


---

Verse 2

I left the dress, I kept the name
I walk in silence, not in shame
No bags to pack, no doors to close
Just lighter steps where nothing grows

I didn’t flinch, I didn’t stay
I simply turned and slipped away

Pre-Chorus
You’ll search the air for what we were
But darling, I don't leave a blur


---

Chorus

I leave ashes behind
Not love, not hate, not the ties that bind
No trace for you to follow back
No scent of me on your collapse
I leave ashes — dry and clean
Like I was never in between


---

Bridge (the ritual of disappearance)

No candle lit, no mourning song
No looking back to prove him wrong
No trace of me in what you find
Just breath… just dust… just disinclined


---

Final Chorus

I leave ashes behind
Not love, not hate, not the ties that bind
No myth for you to twist or keep
No echo waiting while you sleep
I leave ashes — soft and wide
Then I return to what’s inside

I Leave Ashes Behind

Lover Girl

Snow White

**Description after the lyrics**

Verse 1
You paused before you turned—
Long enough for me to yearn
I felt the words behind my teeth,
I waited long for you to speak.
But both of us, afraid to fall,
Let nothing rise, we said it all.

Chorus
We almost said it, both of us—
A word, a touch, a wait for trust.
But fear stood taller than the need,
And silence got the final lead.
We almost spoke. We almost stayed.
What stays is what we never said.

Verse 2
We never fought, we never lied—
Just watched the light begin to slide.
You waited for me, and I did too,
Hoping the other would break through.
Maybe we were two of a kind—
Good at silence, just a little blind.

Chorus
We almost said it, both of us—
A word, a touch, a wait for trust.
But fear stood taller than the need,
And silence got the final lead.
We almost spoke. We almost stayed.
What stays is what we never said.

Bridge
I don’t blame you. I don’t blame me.
We just played it safe too easily.
I hoped you'd reach, you thought I might—
It turns out we were both not right.

Final Chorus
We almost said it, both of us—
A word, a truth, a wait for trust.
But timing failed, and fear rang true,
And silence got the best of two.
We almost spoke. We almost stayed.
Is that what we were meant to say?

Still…
If you’re hearing this someday—
I wish I had somehow found a way.

***** Does this song like you? You can bring it home with you if you like. Click the green button.

We Almost Said is a quiet ache turned into song. It isn’t about what happened, but about what didn’t—the words that stayed locked behind teeth, the closeness that never bridged the small gap. It moves on hesitation, on pauses that became endings, on the way two people can hold the same yearning and still let it slip away.

It’s tender, not bitter. More sigh than shout. The refrain of “almost” is its heartbeat: love nearly spoken, closeness nearly claimed, a truth nearly shared. And in that space between, the song finds its power—not in explanation, but in what lingers unsaid.

We Almost Said

How many times have we laughed  
And how many times have we cried  

And entrusted our words to the wind  
Like a disenchanted melody  

But we have always found each other  
Almost as if it were a dream  
Almost as if it were a sign  

In our love nest  
A soft cloud above the world  
In our love nest  
Touching the heart deep within  
In our love nest  
Love nest  
Love nest  

And I always see happy your smile  
You are like a drop of rain that refreshes the face  
I feel your scent your scent that surrounds me like an embrace of love like a wave  

That lifts me up and then sinks me  
And my heart beats so so so so  

In our love nest  
A soft cloud above the world  
In our love nest  
Touching the heart deeply  
In our love nest  
Love nest  
Love nest  

I think of you constantly of you  
Even though sometimes you're far away yet incredibly close  
You're my first thought in the morning  
And during the day it's pleasant to think of your company  
And I always wait for our moment to fly fly away  

In our love nest  
A soft cloud above the world  
In our love nest  
Touching the heart deeply  
In our love nest  
Love nest  
Love nest

LOVE NEST   (reworked)

Our Vow

Mirror of Lies

Words, music, and performance © Copyright 2017 Peter Lloyd

This song is brought to you by Amerikoch
And now a word from our sponsor

Everything we own must go
So now’s the time for saving
Hurry in to satisfy
Your every need and craving

Back to our song

I’ve been told
The roads of Hell are lined with gold
The rats dress up in pinstripe suits
And tom cats prowl in combat boots

And now a word from our sponsor

Buy yourself a congressperson
Buy one for your cousin
Buy eleven, get one free
They’re cheaper by the dozen

Back to our song

Tell me why
When camels spy the needle’s eye
They turn away, begin to cry
And start to sing a sad goodbye

And now a final word from our sponsor

Buy a slice of Uncle Sam 
Yes, now’s the time to order
Operators standing by
Somewhere beyond the border

That’s our song. See you next time

Welcome to Amerikoch

© Copyright 2017 Peter Lloyd

If my president declares it, then it’s true
If my president declares it, then it’s true
Yes, I take him at his word. Even when he sounds absurd
If my president declares it, then it’s true

If my president believes it, so do I
If my president believes it, so do I
You can call my brain a dumpster. I don’t mind, cuz I’m a Trumpster
If my president believes it, so do I

If my president is for it, so am I
If my president is for it, so am I
We don’t care who disadvises. Cuz we welcome freak surprises
If my president is for it, so am I

If my president says do it, then I will
If my president says do it, then I will
We don’t care who might attack. We know Putin’s got our back 
If my president says do it, then I will

If my president says mock ‘em, then I will
If my president says mock ‘em, then will
All you retards, gimps, and fags, fuck your rainbow-colored flag
If my president says mock ‘em, then I will

If my president says grab it, then I will
If my president says grab it, then I will 
I’ll just walk right up and grab it. Even if she wears a habit
If my president says grab it, then I will 

He will always be my hero, though his IQ’s seven-zero
If my president is for it, so am I

Follow The Leader

© Copyright 2017 Peter Lloyd

Jesus stood up, and he swore on the Bible
Pressing his case of slander and libel
He say, Judge, people be using my name in vain
Selling my word for personal gain
Now I didn’t come all this way to lay blame
I just want em to stop using my name

Cuz I said:
Love your neighbor, Turn your other cheek
Feed the hungry, Stand up for the weak 

How the hell did they get it so wrong? 
They pick on the weak and call themselves strong
Build a damn wall and lock up their doors
They fatten the rich, and they steal from poor
Even though I think it’s a God damn shame
Let em do what they like, but don’t use my name

Cuz I said:
Love your neighbor, Turn your other cheek
Clothe the naked, Stand up for the meek 

If folks would just read what I said in my prime
Maybe they could get it right this time
I said what I meant, and I meant what I said
I didn’t spout whatever went through my head
But if they don’t want to follow my aim
Fine. Just make em use some other name

Cuz I said:
Love your neighbor, Turn your other cheek
House the homeless, Stand up for the weak 

Well, Jesus stepped down and rested his case
Bowed his head and covered his face
My heart stood still as he faded from sight
Then the judge stood up as the room filled with light
His gavel came down with a deafening bang
The jury rose, raised their arms, and sang

 Love your neighbor, Turn your other cheek
 Feed the hungry, Stand up for the meek

 Love your neighbor, Turn your other cheek
 Feed the hungry, Stand up for the weak

Jesus on the Stand (Love Your Neighbor)

Songwriter since 1966. Can't believe I still have to write protest songs. Prefer writing love songs and songs of praise for stand-up women and men, parodies, lyrical nonsense, blues and adaptations.

Jesus on the Stand (Love Your Neighbor)

Peter Lloyd

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