Wednesday, October 1, 2014

On Civvy Street






To listen to Civvy Street, click here






I came home from the war last year 
     and they gave me two new legs
And a card that named me Veteran, 
     and a place where I could beg
Employers turned me down 
     because I’m mentally unstable
Either that or I am simply
     physically unable
What kind of a country's this 
     that it’s even worth defending?
The drugs, the fats, the vice, 
     the crime that’s simply never-ending
My home is in a doorway 
     made of reinforced concrete
It’s more brutal than the war 
     down here on Civvy Street

We’re patriots they tell us, 
     the folks on the TV
Heroes and defenders 
     of our glorious liberty
The richest country in a world 
     where most folks live in need
And we’ve nothing much to spend it on 
     we’re just nourishing our greed
They’re budgeting in Congress, 
     they want to sign up more
Future heroes in a future 
     save-the-country war
But save-the-country why, for what, 
     I don’t mean to sound downbeat
But it’s empty as the grave 
     back home on Civvy Street

All the boys are bored and drunk, 
     watching football in the pubs
The girls look like streetwalkers 
     as they’re heading for the clubs
But they’re not the real sirens 
     those are played by the police
Some homeless man’s been murdered 
     or some tourist is deceased
Some thug just beat his woman, 
     some kid just got seduced
Some businessmen got busted 
     for the poison they produce
Some guy just closed his Ponzi scheme 
     cause there’s no one left to cheat
And it’s hot as the Inferno 
     down here on Civvy Street

So I’m back home fighting this new war 
     against mediocrity
The only war that’s left to fight 
     for a trained soldier like me
In a land where no one really thinks, 
     how is this democracy?
Where people want entitlement 
     without responsibility
And they preach their worthless values 
     and name it Christianity
Junk films, junk food, junk attitudes, 
     they call it liberty
But liberty and freedom 
     are two words that never meet
You’ll find life in all its glory 
     down here on Civvy Street

My three best friends were blown up 
     by a bomb Thanksgiving night
I still wake up at 3am 
     with nightmares from the sight
My comrades are in line again, 
     but it’s now the jobless queues
And no one gets insurance 
     when their body’s made of screws
The pride of the battalion, 
     the joy of comradeship
It all comes down to buying beers 
     somewhere on Sunset Strip
I fought to save my country 
     but was it worthier than defeat?
And it’s noisy as a battlefield, 
     back here on Civvy Street

The quality of life 
     is not about material things
It’s about the way that folks behave, 
     not fancy clothes and rings
Not suing just to find a way 
     to put food on the table
When half the world is naked 
     who needs designer labels?
The pumping of adrenaline 
     when the ceasefire brings false calm
Is now just pumping something 
     in the frontline of your arm
A hero now on heroine, 
     ain’t that kinda sweet?
And the whole world has gone AWOL, 
     down here on Civvy Street

I’m not angry that I went to fight, 
     I’m simply disappointed
The cause we fought was good and right 
     but something got disjointed
We have so much potential, 
     but we leave it unfulfilled
We can achieve almost anything, 
     if we only had the will
We have the means to feed the world, 
     to bring Mankind to peace
But we’d rather sit at home 
     with pizza and TV
I miss the smell of napalm, 
     it beats the smell of weed
And it’s rancid as a slaughter-house, 
     down here on Civvy Street








If you would like to include "On Civvy Street" in your repertoire, either for paid public performance or to record for commercial purposes, or if you would like to re-use the recordings attached to this blog-page for commercial purposes, contact argaman@theargamanpress.com. 
Use of this song, and/or these recordings, for non-commercial purposes, is not simply permitted but invited.




Words and music by David Prashker


Copyright © 2014 David Prashker



All rights reserved


The Argaman Press

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