Hey what the hell are you doing there?
Are you trying to manifest destiny?
Like a pawn on a chessboard now
In the hands of your so -called queen

But it has caught our attention now
We see you walkin' with that TV screen
Aint no time for intervention now
But there is something that you need to see

The rich are gettin' richer
And the poor keep on suffering
It's a theater of politics
Controlled like a puppet, but the puppet aint got no strings

I know they'd still be ignoring y'all
If it weren't for this emergency
But them guards that they're deploying now
They aint payed to think of what it means
They got a rope made of blood-red tape
And they love to just let it swing
They got you hangin' like Pinnochio
So they can blame you for falling in the streets

That's how the rich keep dividing up
All the poor for the conquering
In this theater of politics
That's controlled like a puppet, but the puppet aint got no strings

They got me gazing at the satellites
That they hook to your TV screen
And when you turn it on and watch tonight
You can see for yourself what I mean
But you still loot and run around
But it don't change a god damn thing
If you really want to hit 'em hard
We got to stand up in unity

Because the rich keep dividing up
All the poor for the conquering
It's just a theater of politics
That's controlled like a puppet, but the puppet aint got no strings





No Strings

It's not the fact you don't hear me or that we don't get along
Maybe we don't speak that clearly maybe our conscience is gone
Maybe this voice sounds familiar
Cuz it's been with us since the day we were born

Did all that sense in your head find a new place to go?
It should be common knowledge but I'm not sure what we know
We need some sense in our heads to tell us what's right from wrong
We're gonna need it when this modern convenience is gone

You've got a brand new opinion that you have found on the screen
You can't control your suspicion you don't know what to believe

And if this voice sounds familiar
Then you might understand exactly what I mean

Did all that sense in your head find a new place to go?
It should be common knowledge but I'm not sure what we know
We need some sense in our heads to tell us what's right from wrong
We're gonna need it when this modern convenience is gone

We've got so many distractions we might need blinders to see
We synchronize our reactions with all this technology
And if this voice sounds familiar
Then you might understand exactly what I mean

Did all that sense in your head find a new place to go?
It should be common knowledge but I'm not sure what we know
We need some sense in our heads to tell us what's right from wrong
We're gonna need it when this modern convenience is gone


Common Sense

Pick it up 
You win
Pick it up

As I walk through the silicon valley of death
I see through the eyes of cold blooded techs. 
I toss banana peels in front of their cel phone steps 
and shoot spitballs into the ear they have left.
I spell Moses with two O's and part their waters, 
I don't jay walk in front of their sons and daughters, 
I defend soldiers when hipsters attack 
with their bit coin bombs and their gentrified acts

Touche' if you say you aint crazy

Pick it up 
You win
Pick it up

I drink too much coffee and I like to use grammar
You can be the nail and I'll continue to hammer. 
No I don't own a gun, and I've never shot one, 
everyone dies in the end so just wait some...
meanwhile the money piles up in castles, 
grave yards are proof that it aint worth the hassle, 
all the kings have horses that were made for Sally, 
as I walk with no fear through this silicon valley.

Touche' if you say you aint crazy

Touche'

Another murder on the street that you scroll through daily
I wonder what they saw in the days of slavery
*Around here
Yeah around here
Thought I heard you say 
that was back in the day around here
Yeah around here*

Nonchalant talk on the topic of equality
Intentions of a virtue don't define reality

And time just continued while they bred slaves yearly
While people got rich and expressed themselves dearly

How long til your awareness starts to seem careless
What's it gonna take for your heart to act fearless

You can talk about brutality for years I guess
But where you gonna be when they're cleaning up the mess
Around here...

Uncle Samurai Around here

Around Here

Around Here ruff mix

Chicken & Waffles
Recorded live April 23rd & 30th, 1995 at Blake's on Telegraph

MIguel Barrera- Drums
John Bednarz - Percussion
Stephen Bradley - Trumpet
TimCrawford - Alto Sax
John Gibson - Trumpet
Jude Gold - Guitar
Ryan Green - MC/Vocals
Les Harris - Tenor Sax
Jeff Hobbes Tenor Sax
Musashi "Moose" Lethridge - Bass
Ces One - MC/Vocals
Christian Powell - Guitar


Way Back

Miscommunication

They put a price on life and apparently they wanna keep it that waaaay oh!
They got your mind locked tight on a tv screen so you can watch it all daaaay oh!
They tell you what to believe so they can live and breed
They're probably smokin' that yaaaaay oh!
They sacrifice more lives than an Aztec tribe, except they do it for the paaaay oh!

We need a remedy for their solutions
Cuz everyday I see the same confusion
They wanna bill us for the constitution now
But it's only a delusion
It's up to you when you decide to 
To take control and find another way to do it right
It's up to you it's your life
So take control and find another way to do it right

They said the church and state has gotta separate and wrote it down that waaay oh!
So why debate our fate with they-ology every god damn daaay oh!
They're on a mission to sell a vision like an addiction to the yaaay oh!
They wanna nail your rights to the wall street banks
A pair of dice for the paay oh!

We need a remedy for their solutions
Cuz everyday I see the same confusion
They wanna bill us for the constitution now
But it's only a delusion

It's up to you when you decide to
To take control and find another way to do it right
It's up to you it's your life
So take control and find another way to do it right

FIND ANOTHER WAY (To Do it Right)

It's not so bad 
To be living the life that we have
Whether happy or sad
Keep on living the life that you have

On and on...

It's Not So Bad

Castles Made Of Sand -A Tribute

Jazz Funk Instrumental:

Shakuhachi flute
Guitar
Bass 
Organ
Drums (Programmed)

All sounds by me.

Along The Cliffside

Been around the block all day here
And I might have a few things to say here

While you compete for an opportunity
To be part of this reality
Protect your future and your family
It's what you do here, it's your legacy
Don't just sit there so drearily
You should be out there in society
Helping to build up this monopoly
Manifested for your destiny
You're a part of the dichotomy
That has kept you down in your misery
As they put all the minorities
In a place we just don't wanna be

Been around the block all day here
And I might have a few things to say here

In a nutshell we're protected 
By the forces that we've " elected "
Until you wake up and smell the coffee
A human bean in a big bag of profit
Run the treadmill or tread the water
It's what they teach your sons and daughters
Obey the rich man cuz he's ferocious
He wants justice or is it just us

So welcome back to this dichotomy
That has kept you down in your misery
As they put all the minorities
In a place we just don't wanna be

Been around the block all day here
And I might have a few things to say here

Been Around The Block (all day here)

Uncle Samurai