THE JERSEY DEVIL IS HERE comes with its own lyric booklet.
And a damn fine one if I do say so myself. Nonetheless, here are quick stories behind the songs...
Won't You?
Sometimes people need a little fucking encouragement.Napalm, Death, and Fire
The same dualist notions that drive the herd in church drive them in politics. It's all the same bullshit wrapped in different bows.The Jersey Devil is Here
Most people already know about the legend of the Jersey Devil. There is much more to it than that...The Cocaine Song
What began as a song about television suddenly started morphing into a song about cocaine as I wrote it. Funny how that happens. I think that says a lot.The Infidelic Boogie
The unsung majority finally gets a song just for themLeave Me Alone
A former friend put me up to writing a song about youth and alienation. How punk is that? In the end though, I really liked the song, and I know lots of fuckheads out there that can relate to it.Hudson River Hangover
There is a time of twilight at sunrise that professional drinkers are very familiar with. It is a time when everyone is sleeping except the chirping birds and those who are fighting hangovers from last night's drinking. I find it to be inspirational, especially when strolling near the banks of The Hudson River.This Lonesome Road
The road can be a lonely place to travel. I often find myself yearning for the comfort of home and my baby.Ms. Liberty Blues
I was very saddened when I realized she had left.
TEMPTATION AND THE TABOO, PART 1
Little Ol Snake
- There are two sides to every myth...
I'm just a little ol snake, babe
Waiting in the ball-pit for you
I'm just a little ol snake
Who's trying to show you my point of view
Who says that you are a dog
Rolling in your own filth?
Who says that you are a dog
You have your own free will
You're looking good on your own, babe
Dig deep and find that pride
You're looking good on your own
Let me scratch that itch you feel inside
I did it my own self, babe
And look where I am now
I did it my own self
And I never will again bow
Cmon now you know what's good, babe
Cmon now you see the lie
Cmon now you know what should, babe
Claim your right and testify
I'm just a little ol snake, babe
Waiting in the ball-pit for you
I'm just a little ol snake, babe
Please don't misconstrue
I'm just a little ol snake, babe
Ain't telling you what to do
I'm just a little ol snake, babe
What's true is not taboo
Loneliness and Fear
- Entirely self-explanatory...
I smell the rain when it's coming
And that smell is a coming
Stronger than ever before
And everyone is busy going nowhere
So busy going nowhere
But right now this city snores
And the broken glass crunches underneath my shoes on the cold concrete
What am I doing here?
While a people sleep my heart still beats but my soul feels like it's sinking deep
Release me from this fear
Why do I feel so alone?
In a place with a friendly face
Throw me in a place of the unknown
Maybe there I'll find a safe space
But I can't leave this place
Papa let me speak
Legba, why won't you let me speak?
I need to know my route
And I'm standing here at the crossroads
Yes, here at the crossroads
With a thumb sticking out
And I wait for something that you might bring to convince me that I'm worthy
Worthy to walk this road
Cause I know that if I must walk this street that there is no way to retreat
And I'm truly going back home
Nothins Gonna Stop Me
- It's a fact.
Nothins gonna stop me from what I want
I said nothins gonna stop me from what I want
I know what you're thinking, and I don't care
Your dreams and your prayers are my nightmares
So nothins gonna stop me from what I want
Nothins gonna stop me from what you hate
I say nothins gonna stop me from what you hate
When you spit fire, it fuels my flame
I came to lay shame all over your name
So nothins gonna stop me from what you hate
Nothins gonna stop me, and you know that
I said nothins gonna stop me, and you know that
That's why you're trembling in the corner losing sleep
I'm creeping down your chimney sweep while you sit and weep
Nothins gonna stop me, and you know that
I said nothins gonna stop me
Nothins gonna stop me from what I want
Nothins gonna stop me from what you hate
Nothins gonna stop me, and you know that
Look straight into the eyes of the fate you await
Block Rock Boogie
- I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Sometimes people need a little fucking encouragement. And sometimes they need a lot of fucking encouragement. Here's a nice hunk to bite off.
Mojo's in my blood
Like an aimed and ready scud
I can't stand it and it don't quit and out into the streets it floods
When I'm out with the crew
And you preview this cool
I know you feel my flow as I light up this avenue
To all the blocks, get out
And show the world what it's about
Just let it in and once it's in you will get up, scream and shout
You don't need no one
Cause you are just everyone
So if you ain't up, won't you pick up, and shake your partner's skeleton
There goes the block rock
From here to Bangkok
It's power that is ours so cmon
The war is on your door
And you know you can't ignore
The walking dead are closing in so cmon
The Day The Man Went Down
- An urban folk tale about the fall of a parasitical man.
There he is
The man
He's got his hands in your pocket whenever he can
There he is
The man
He's got his master plan ran from here to Iran
Well everybody knows him cause he is the man
Now we got
Our eyes on him
And the more we see him, the more we grin
Now we got
Our eyes on him
And when that punk sees us he knows his chances get slim
Well we're gonna keep our eyes on him
Now sometimes
He's downtown
Drinking fancy wine while wearing the crown
Now sometimes
He's downtown
Getting crazy and acting like a clown
We balled the jack from downtown to uptown
The man stared at us and frowned
So I shot him, and he tumbled down
Then we gleefully stomped on his crown
On the day the man went down
A Night At Journal Square
- Journal Square is the subway station right near my house. There are regular spangers around there who mix in with other interesting miscreants of Jersey City nightlife. Street preachers, peddlers, UC's, hustlers...it's all going on around there. This spoken word piece was inspired by a real incident.
"Yo, hear me out man. See I just lost my job and started out here on the streets, and I'm looking for a bite to eat. Do you think you can spare me a dollar? Just a dollar for a bite to eat, man. I'm hungry, and I ain't pullin your chain. A dollar will get me a slice of pizza. Just a dollar..."
Just a dollar
Don't worry, I see where ya all are
Not just you
Everyone who fell from the fray
And when I speak to you it reminds me of the tightrope that I balance on
Please don't let me fall down to the depths in which you dwell
Your tear strained eyes and your weathered skin tell me that it's a living hell
You see, my memories are all in a safe place accounted for
Regardless of whether they're on the floor or in a drawer
I still have keys to the door
But you, like your words, are scattered
A mental landscape that was bombed and battered
And those bombs of life make me hide in my shelter waiting for the bullhorns to stop
But they don't
And if I stay here I don't think they won't
"Look man, can't you just help me out, brother. I don’t really have anywhere to go. Just 50 cents would help me get a bagel. It's getting cold man. A cup of tea or coffee would help so much. It would help so much..."
It would help so much
But I refuse to clutch onto this crutch
And I see, as I stand on this altar I wait to cleanse my sins
But it does not begin to address who wins
Through thick and thin I have discovered that this runs deeper than just from within
But...(bullhorn sounds)
The bullhorns are closing in!
The bullhorns are closing in!
Keep the guilty spirit at bay please
How do I make it appeased?
But I know that is not the question amongst genuine people
I'm not some hippy tryin to make my personal surrounding beautiful
I'm a revolutionary trying to lead a life that's dutiful
So I could throw him just 50 cents
And this might convince the soul of my innocence
But I know it won't make a difference
Maybe he'll get a hit and get lit or maybe he'll get lunch with it
But that 50 cents won't buy keys for those in bondage
That 50 cents won't lower the emperor's drawdridge
That 50 cents won't teach him to fish
That 50 cents won't help create what we all wish
"Don't you got a quarter, man? All I'm askin for is a quarter. Please, please. Just a quarter. I don't normally stand out here doin this, but it's been so tough, man. So all I need is a quarter. Cmon man, just a quarter."
Yes I know, but he doesn't seem to understand
Time is running through our hands like grains of sand
And yet we still don't have any hold on who is barking the commands
But if I take this quarter and keep my head above water
I live on to help stop the slaughter
This isn't about dog eat dog
This is about we eat them
But how I can tell this to someone who has nothing under him
My friend, your prognosis is grim and chances are slim that you'll survive the game of sink or swim
But I did not commit these sins
And I refuse to begin
This deadly cycle on which the fucked must keep the fucked from being fucked
Fuck!
(Bullhorn sounds)
The bullhorns are closing in!
The bullhorns are closing in!
Why must I pay for these sins?!
"Anything you got man...anything! I'm beggin ya! Please man, I just need some change. I just need some change. I just need some change. I just need some change. I just need some change."
Alright, here!
My brother.
Peace
Until you run into another
Winter Blues
- This was inspired by a particular winter but could really apply to any blistering winter in the city.
Now that winter's started
I sense the broken heart spread
Into the souls of everyone
The faces of the lost
Tell tales of the cost
The price to be paid has just begun
I see the pain and suffering
Caused by the mess that we're in
I feel the coldness in the air
I hear the mothers crying
Over the children dying
Do you hear the cries of despair?
Summertime please
Summertime please
Help make this damn pain go away
Come back to me
Why don't you see?
I need a cure for these colder days
Dreaming to Live
- Dreams are interesting to me, and I've experimented with lucid dreaming. The results are sometimes unexpectedly intense.
I had a dream last night
It was a bright sunny day
The sun it shone too bright
So bright I wanted to run away
Filled with mistrust
Filled with fear
I run for a shade that's near
Hang on to persistence
In the distance
I see something in the clear
As I run through the sand
My feet feel like weights that I drag
Can't walk, got to use my hands
Through the sun, I see a black flag
Is this salvation?
Filled with mistrust
Filled with fear
I run for this shade that's near
Hang on to persistence
I need some assistance
I hope someone will hear
Then appears an old man who lived underneath the waving flag
His face cracked with wisdom. His house made of old boards and rags.
A flag perched upon it. A smile perched upon his face.
He slowly walks towards me and gives me a strong and firm embrace.
I said "Who are you? And don't you see the sun is killing us all?"
He says "I know. And you've arrived just in time to witness the fall."
The earth begins to rumble
My skin begins to bake
I start to stumble
The flagpole snaps and breaks
The man just stands there
As I fall to the ground
Unaware of the way the world is whirling around
I'm still alive
ROCKIN TIL THE APOCALYPSE
Boom Power Boogie
- The title of this song was inspired by Brian Flanagan, formerly of the Weather Underground. When talking to him one time, he told me that Weather Underground used to call some of their actions "boom power". Well, this suddenly fit in perfectly with a boogie song I was writing at the time that was sort of a fun proclamation of rockingness.
Well, I'm a one man rocking machine
And I don't care for in betweens
No I won't pop your codeine
But I wouldn't mind a sip of your Jim Beam
Come on people and be that machine
Break out the Boom Power Boogie
I got a bottle from whiskey I drank
And I'm saving it for the windows on that bank
I gotta stop and give you thanks
Cause whatever we blazed was certainly dank
Get crazy, and get obscene
Break out the Boom Power Boogie
I'm not here to do what they say
I'm telling you I got my own way
And I swear before you that I won't stray
I'll give the man hell til my dying day
Break out the Boom Power Boogie
Rockin til the Apocalypse
- A song that explores the complicated feelings one has being a conscious person in an unconscious world. In the end, it's all about not being a lamb getting led to the slaughter.
The world is blowing up
The world is blowing up
And people don't seem to know what to do
The world is blowing up
The world is blowing up
Now what do you think that we ought to do?
Marching to the dark
Dancing with death
But, I'll keep rockin til the apocalypse baby
The world is blowing up
The world is blowing up
Now why do you think that you are immune?
The world is blowing up
The world is blowing up
And I can't keep from tapping my shoe
Marching to the dark
Dancing with death
But I'll keep rockin til the apocalypse baby
Like the lemming looking over the cliff
I feel the urge to follow my instinct
I feel the intelligence of the unknown
The hundreds and thousands of years
Of ancestors speaking to me in blood
But it is the future that I cling to
Because it is what will make me speak in blood
Is it Darwin?
Is it another childish act of rebellion?
I think it's just my destiny
I think it's ours
I turn away
Static
- A simple song that I wrote about how difficult it is to just be yourself in a society where assholes are constantly inundating you with their crap.
Static
There's static in the air
Static
There's static in the air
And I can't think
Can't think for myself
Cause there's static
There's static in the air
Well I barely see through
And I barely see you
Plunge your hand right through
Through the static I grab you
Static
There's static in the air
Static
There's static in the air
And I can't do
Can't do for myself
Cause there's static
There's static in the air
Well I'm reaching into
Static that's all around what's true
I'm looking for a clue
Through the static I grab you
I'm losing myself in all the static
I never asked to be amongst the dogmatic
I'm not a fanatic, but this is traumatic
To be in a position so problematic
Nothing is pragmatic
And yet everything is systematic
I gotta get out of this static
Well I found another clue
Now I know what I must do
As I see the issue
And ignore the well-to-do
The static is voodoo
Meant to keep me in the blue
As I see right through
Through the static I grab you
Baltimore Prison Blues
- A true story about me and 27 others becoming the target of a coordinated effort of nazis and cops. It doesn't get any worse than that. This is dedicated to the other 27. You know who you are.
Baltimore... a place where everything is cheap
The beer is cheap. The rent is cheap.
The government is cheap. The police are cheap.
And justice is served like the cheap ass blue plate special at a cheap ass diner.
Here's what happened to me there...
I went down to Baltimore town
Went to meet the man
Went to see what's down
Ran into my sister. Ran into my brother.
Wouldn't mess with no one.
Wouldn't mess with no other.
You see you had to watch your back that day.
Word was that some boneheads were in town.
You mix that in with every boneheaded pig in the Baltimore area
And you get Baltimore Prison Blues.
We were walking down the street not paying no mind
To the cops in the distance
Or the cops from behind
Why am I surrounded by a wall of blue?
What was the problem?
What did I do?
Got thrown up against a chain link fence
Didn't do anything
Didn't plead my innocence
I just walked from one side of the street to the other
Don't remember that being a crime
Rangled around with me and my sister
Told them to chill
He said, "Against the wall Mr."
And I said, "That's Mr. Kramer to you motherfucker"
Got thrown in the wagon in a flash
Like the big ass cop
Was taking out the trash
I was looking around to see what happened
Was feeling pretty lost
At least I had friends
Got hauled off to the city jail
While the people outside
Were fixing my bail
Thrown in the slammer with nothing to do
Someone get me out of here
And give me back my shoes
I got Baltimore Prison Blues, yeah
I got Baltimore Prison Blues, no
I got Baltimore Prison Blues, damn
I got Baltimore Prison Blues
Someone get me out of here soon
The Truth
- Want to know why you are where you are? Look at your past.
As I flip through our pages I begin to see
That when someone speaks of liberty
The powerful then begin to set the stage
And make sure that they're the ones who write the next page
Pages that aren't written by them
Are quickly torn out and loudly condemned
I try, I try, I try, I try to seek the truth
That was constantly hidden from me in my youth
I gotta find the truth
Where is all the blood that was spilt on this land
By the cold and dishonest hand?
Was this blood covered away
By that same hand that left nations in disarray?
They're criminals that got away with their crime
They're pathetic human beings that would kill for a dime
And they've plundered the past just as quick as that cash
Now our knowledge of self has been smashed in a flash
I'm gonna find the truth
I'm gonna sit and dip into this past
I'm gonna look into the shadow that power has cast
Now I'm finding that it's not just by chance
When I see where people want to take their stance
They're flailing around like a grounded trout
Willing to shout about things they know nothing about
While the people with clout are left with no doubt
That the devout will stay out of their sick and twisted route
I've found a little truth
My Woman
- Dedicated to any woman that doesn't revolve their life around men and one woman in particular.
I got this woman who don't take shit from lousy men
I got this woman who spent some time up in the pen
Well, I don't want crap from women who are weak
Sitting in the corner and being all meek
There's only one woman that I really seek
My woman
I got this woman who ain't afraid to speak her mind
I got this woman who refuses to be just behind
When I'm feeling low down, she's got my back
Always ready to go and on the attack
Standing with a grin and all dressed in black
My woman
Dum-Diddy-Dum
- Sitting at your day job, did you ever feel inhuman? Like you were just a machine being commanded to do work? Didn't you have that feeling in school? I don't think it's a coincidence.
I'm not a machine, but I feel like one
The rusting on my joints has just begun
And I know that this feeling is familiar to everyone
Dum-diddy-dum-diddy-dum-diddy-dum
Dum-diddy-dum-diddy-dum-diddy-dum
My brain is in a lull that cannot be overcome
As long as this burdensome curriculum is forced into my cranium
I feel the doldrums of the numb existence my life has become
But then some random guitar strum makes me succumb
Like the opium that makes you dumb or the hypnotist's pendulum
I cannot take my mind off this imaginary drum
Perhaps this should make me worrisome in my state of tedium
But instead it makes me hum
I don't believe in martyrdom or selling out to scum
But what is to be done?
What is to be done about the slums?
What is to be done about the rise of this kingdom?
What is to be done about the glum future we've left for the little ones?
And what is to be done about what I've become?
Cause I'm not a machine, but I feel like one
The rusting on my joints has just begun
I know that this feeling is familiar to everyone
Dum-diddy-dum-diddy-dum-diddy-dum
Dum-diddy-dum-diddy-dum-diddy-dum
Cmon
- A joyous tribute to victory.
Cmon
Let's dance to victories
So that all can see
Cmon
Bring in the anarchy
Show them the unity
Cmon
Dance for democracy
Dance for liberty
Cmon
Show them with certainty
That we rock for our dignity
Cmon
Show them so they can see
Down south is where it be
Cmon
Show them the misery
And the agony
Cmon
Show them how people be
Their fight against tyranny
Cmon
Show them with certainty
That we rock for their dignity
Cmon
Won't you make them see
How people refuse to flee
Cmon
In the desert heat
They're pushed into the sea
Cmon
All that cruelty
Was brought on by you and me
Cmon
Show them with certainty
That we rock for their dignity
Cmon
Let's dance to victories
So that all can see
Cmon
Bring in the anarchy
Show them the unity
Cmon
Dance for democracy
Dance for liberty
Cmon
Show them with certainty
That we rock for our dignity
The Streets are Yours
- I was inspired by a night when I walked around the streets of Newark, NJ and just took in a lot of sights and sounds. Sitting on a bench with a digital recorder, I flowed some thoughts. This became 'The Streets are Yours'.
The streets are yours.
We are the streets.
Don't let anyone tell you otherwise
Sidewalks differ in color as much as people
But it's just like America that they sit on the side
The sidewalks peer across the curb divide
They're tired of being just beside
They know that if they were there, everything would stop
As sidewalk paves right over earth
It knows that it doesn't have forever
It will slowly depreciate into whatever
The earth will renew itself unless someone creates another
So, nevermind the sirens
Nevermind them
Nevermind the steam
Nevermind the pulsing night
The streets are yours
We are the streets.
