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Loud Shoes
words and music by Ethan Sellers
Your skirt's too short, your heels too high
The perverts drool, you don't wonder why
You blow a kiss and walk away
To tease the "proles" another day
Got your loud shoes and your silent hat
Sideways stripes make you look fat
Your boyfriends are accessorized
To draw the focus up to your eyes
You called your tailor an expensive hack
Now your fashion sense is off the rack
He dared to suggest it's not your clothes
That fill your heart and mind with woe
Searching through the vintage bins
A hipper shell to dwell within
Combing scouring every bargain shelf
You're the whole parade all by yourself
Your landlord's banging at the door
It doesn't wash to say you're poor
He's seen your clothes when you go dancing
Now your budget needs refinancing
Your threads are now reduced to rags
You're out of dough, it's such a drag
You call your dad to bail you out
He declines - you sit and pout
Not If But When
words and music by Ethan Taylor Sellers
I'm 48 years old - no brass ring
Age is a number - that number stings
Money talks - in fact, it sings
Show me commercial, bring on the bling
Not if but when - I will have it all
Not if but when - Your back against the wall
Not if but when - My genius in full bloom
Not if but when - I'm looking down on you
Time goes by, the future fades
8-track flashback - my nostalgic rage
All trends recycled return in time
Out in the suburbs, I wait for mine
Not if but when - I will have it all
Not if but when - Your back against the wall
Not if but when - My genius in full bloom
Not if but when - I'm looking down on you
Not if but when - I'll join the firmament
Not if but when - I'll make it permanent
Not if but when - I'm wearing leather pants
Not if but when - I'll be so huge in France
The Admiral
words and music by Ethan Taylor Sellers
FBI - I should have known it all along
KGB - When everything starts going wrong
SDI - I know too much
UFOs - I know the truth behind the news
Ollie North - And now they're turning all the screws
Ollie Stone - But I won't give up
CIA - I can't be sure that I'm alone
Panama - My disconnected telephone
Pinochet - They bugged my place
JFK - This information must be free
Zapruder film - They haven't heard the last of me
Doctored tape - Remember my face
Frontal lobes - And now I'm going underground
Crop circles - Some place I know I won't be found
Anal probes - I'll disappear
Iran-Iraq - Someday the truth comes out
Mujahedin - Just hold onto your doubt
Soviet block - And trust your fear
The Professor
words and music by Ethan Taylor Sellers
Genetic research grant
Melanogaster flies
Renewal comes too late
Towers monoxide
Noxious chemicals
Recombining genes
Splice and dice the traits
Mutated, flawed, obscene
Trashcan bongo drum
Dancing on the desk
Call the short skirts whores
Bite students in the class
Daily morning march
Umbrella held upright
Chanting all the time
"Bridge O'er River Kwai"
Scare the Mason stooge
Make him drop his change
Stop the local cars
Make them change their lanes.
On Your Left
words and music by Ethan Taylor Sellers
The bike path on Lake Shore is my royal domain
I cycle its asphalt in snow, sleet, and rain
Who are these latecomers, these fairweather types
Who wobble and meander on skates and on bikes?
They take up two lanes with their unwieldly girth
They heave and they sweat like a cow giving birth
Their pedestrian arrogance clogs the bike path
They can't seem to hear when I yell "On your left!"
Why do they think they can litter the path?
Their casual arrogance will bring down my wrath.
My sweet revenge - I have it planned
I fly down the bike path, my bike lock in hand,
Gonna
Whup you wit de bike lock
Whup you up de haid
Whup you wit de bike lock
Whup you til you daid
Whup you wit de bike lock
Like my momma said
Whup you wit de bike lock
Til de green grass turn red
Picnicking barbecuers clog the bike path
They leave broken bottles in their aftermath
Malt liquor, cheap beer, glass shards deflate
Tire after tire, it makes me irate
Why do they think they can litter the path?
Their pedestrian arrogance will bring down my wrath.
My sweet revenge - I have it planned
I fly down the bike path, my bike lock in hand,
Gonna
Whup you wit de bike lock
Whup you up de haid
Whup you wit de bike lock
Whup you til you daid
Whup you wit de bike lock
Like my momma said
Whup you wit de bike lock
Til de green grass turn red
The Choirboy
words and music by Ethan Taylor Sellers
I am the top of my class
Untouched on my bike, none as fast
My family won't know it
They surely don't show it
I go through the blow, it's a mess.
'cause I am the choirboy.
I did ten jobs in seven states
I hop on my bike, I escape
I make like a rabbit,
The cash feeds my habit,
I just got to have it again
'cause I am the choirboy
When will it end? I want it to end.
Why? Why can't you see, it's taking over me.
I want, I want you to catch me.
So you, you'll know it's not really me.
Long miles are yielding 'neath my feet
I take the back roads, hidden streets
No one can catch me,
The cops cannot match me,
A twenty grand snatch from the bank
'cause I am the choirboy
Coltrane Supermarket
words and music by Pat Buzby
There's a dearth of fresh excitement in the music world today
The radios pump out the sound of emotions held at bay
The answer's in the small towns where the children wait alone
They're accumulating anger, and they've bought their saxophones
(chorus)
At the Coltrane supermarket
You can wail away your blues
You can play as long as you choose
You can vent the passions stored within
At the Coltrane supermarket
You can die too young to live
You'll forget but not forgive
As your fellow mortals drown in sin
If you need some prompt assistance with a problem close at hand
You'll find no satisfaction in ballads short and bland
So crank the volume up to 10 and bring your neighbors to their knees
Because tonight we're going to party like it's 1963
(chorus)
Perhaps you saw the showman who blew himself to death
Or the fellow standing over there who'll kill you with his breath
This indicates the dangers if you carry on this way
And the kids know what's in store for them, but still they're lining up to play
(chorus)
The Whistler
words and music by Ethan Taylor Sellers
He fills passers-by with a sense of unease
Overalls, blue jeans rolled up to his knees
Plays on the street when it's seven degrees
Stubby white fingers refusing to freeze
Looks like his wardrobe is under attack
Should cut his hair and trim his beard back
Pamphlets and cards in a small canvas sack
Walks with a dulcimer strapped to his back
Dan, Dan, The Whistle Man
Dan, Dan, The Whistle Man
Came back from 'Nam just slightly insane
Chemical warfare has messed with his brain
In veteran housing, keeps out of the rain
Plays for the people who wait for the train
Dan, Dan, The Whistle Man
Dan, Dan, The Whistle Man
Gospel Lady
words and music by Ethan Taylor Sellers
I see folks on the Red Line
Reading Bible verse
In the South Side
Pamphlets and Watchtowers
Are pressed into my hands
For the long ride
Anesthetic for the ascetics,
Or the kingdom of Heaven
Here and now?
Rich man stuck in the needle's eye
Camels slip on through
Do you wonder how?
We're all praying for peace - what will we find,
When power, purse-strings, politics pervert the divine?
Light cast into the shadows of dark histories
Can rituals heal or only numb misery?
Outside my old apartment,
The Gospel Lady sang,
"Jesus saves."
The neighbors all dismiss her,
But something deep inside me
Wants that faith.
We're all praying for peace - what will we find,
When power, purse-strings, politics pervert the divine?
Light cast into the shadows of dark histories
Can rituals heal or only numb misery?
Osaka Garden
words and music by Ethan Taylor Sellers
When I need to disappear, to collect my thoughts in peace
Away from traffic, phone, and fears that come and go but never cease
I go to a garden tucked away
From the city life that confronts me every day
Into the woods, as I did when I was young,
To find myself though I am lost to everyone.
I have always believed, though at times I do forget
Beauty can restore my soul when my balance is upset
Peace found in nature's symmetry
I need the silence to hear its harmony
Listen to earth's rhythm and its tones
Hear it in the trees, water, grass, and stones.
If you come in this place, please respect the peaceful silence
Leave the stones in their place, turning only does them violence
Tread lightly on the petals in your path
Let this serenity pacify your wrath
Watch the geese take respite from their flight
Nature's rhythms put our problems in new light.
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