So far people seem to be responding to my lyrical attempts to provide insight on our current events.
One writerly obsession that has consumed a great deal of my songs has been the Titanic - that great hulk of a symbol for capitalism and greatness and hope and waste. The Titanic is like Don DeLillo's "Underworld," only nautical and immortalized in one of the most painful movies of the 90's. "Underworld would make a great movie though - I can see these epic shots of wasteland tankers, eternally sailing the oceans of the world, growing and growing.
So - This song Titanic was written in 2006, which in some ways was a darker time for America, and in other ways a much brighter one. Since Obama won the election, I haven't been feeling up to singing this one, though of late I've been coming around to face the truth - this ship is still sinking. We only have a better captain and crew.
click below for words and link to tune!
Titanic
Take comfort in the Bible so you won't need any government
you go about your business where your business is allowed
Take comfort in the moonlight, it will quietly erase all that bright sunshine as the colors disappear behind the cloud
Take comfort in your graduation gown, it made you feel like you accomplished the impossible, for that you should be proud -
But that's what they said about the great old Titanic:
"made of the best stuff around!"
and now she's layin' in the ground
Let's have a round for all the people drifting slowly through the shadows
they take comfort in the darkness so that we can have the light
And the Earth may still be turning but we won't be going anywhere until we eat our vegetables, enjoying every bite
So let's have a round for sentimental love, for locally grown carrots
for the protests in the cities, since we know they're in the right -
But that's what they said about the great old Titanic:
made of the best stuff around!"
and now she's layin' in the ground
Draw a picture of the house next door while everyone is sleeping
the kitchen light is on, there will be pancakes in the morning
Draw a picture in your memory of every last reminder of the kind of trees you stumbled on that day that it was pouring
Draw a picture in the bathroom stall right next to the handle of your favorite novel's cover, you should take as a fair warning -
But that's what they said about the great old Titanic:
made of the best stuff around!"
and now she's layin' in the ground
Underneath the subway there's a tunnel going nowhere and if anyone got all the way to China they'd be glad
Underneath the theory of the Law of Conservation there's an echo of the explanation that we've all be had
Underneath the counter there's a one-way ticket just in case
and i'll take with me the future and I know you will be mad
Underneath the smile do you wonder at the happiness?
just like the house we live in and just like the home we had
Underneath the water there are schools if you will listen
they are fighting for survival, not for something they are missin'
Yeah and the trees, they may be sturdy but the wind, it will out live 'em
and the ocean is a legend that is strong and unforgivin' -
But that's what they said about the great old Titanic:
made of the best stuff around!"
and now she's layin' in the ground
"Titanic" appears on the 2007 album "Miles and Miles an Miles," and can be heard on iTunes (search for it) and CD Baby (http://cdbaby.com/cd/alimarcus)