The Ballad of the Hulk

Lyrics

[Verse 1] The cycle of life is here to see In all of its fine simplicity But the way we live it seems to be Something very weird to me And I cry out Pettiness like lady's chatter It seems to complicate the matter I grit my teeth, my senses shatter As nothing much makes me madder And I leap out For big or little, great or small It really doesn't matter at all The way we shuffle our feet and hem-and-haw 'Cause everyone's afraid they'll fall Or else be left out What's right for me or strange to you Shouldn't make a damn on what you do 'Cause whether or not you make it through I thought that you already knew That I'll keep a-going on [Chorus 1] And the World War Three And the World Series Will make the same size Headlines In the news [Verse 2] From all I've seen of politics It's just a greasy, big money stick Geared to run on tongues so slick To make you think this is all there is You're got Humphrey How they con the little middle man Into thinkin' he has got a hand To play in the future of the Promised Land He owes himself to the destiny of man Gets ridiculous Cheap gangster can hire someone To do his dirty work with a Tommy gun While the President points at anyone Says "I, your country, wants some killing done "Go do it now boy" But the war itself is bad enough It can break you down no matter how tough But the tragedy of hoopla stuff It makes you think you can't do enough For the shiny symbols [Chorus 2] And the other countries They feel the same as we And regret that I have One country to give For my life [Verse 3] Preacher stands in his holy shroud Sayin' "God forgives if you do it now" You come back when the chips are down You find that they've all gone underground To pray for you And a homosexual, twisted priest He feels that he can preach to me The right way to go and raise a family And I'm forced to look at him and mean to say "You're guessing" As the population is getting higher The poverty poor, the pregnant tired Are waiting on the Pope to be inspired For some new contraceptive attire Saying "It's cool now" It's a ghost behind a one-way mirror Listening tip-toed at the door to hear If someone outside won't speak the year Then they'll slip a note out how they feel About pierced ear lobes [Chorus 3] But the rules made now For the changing cows Are a little late And will be out of date By tomorrow [Verse 4] Her mother played on virginity She said it was the holy place to be The things boys had were evilry When it came time for matrimony She froze and died there Her sister at fourteen, very well known She thought all kicks came lying there prone But a fundamental fact not spoken at home Left her feeling like a chewed-on bone And why, she wondered One chick who dug moving about Very liberal-minded and often spoke out How she was cool and understood, no doubt With the blankets up and the lights turned out And you're condescending And a couple together for five or six years A marriage license they'd never been near But social pressure and loss of job fear Got them married and divorced in half a year They couldn't cut it [Chorus 4] It's all talked about And then it's lived around And what is right for me Could be perversity In any state law book [Verse 5] I'm told a minstrel at one time Was allowed to sing and make his rhymes To comment on the news of the times Sayin' what's in people's minds And he made tips for it But today, try singin' on some street curb Singin' the news in everyday words The people pass by and laughin' is heard Or else they hit you where it hurts Boy, they keep their ears closed One man said "Boy, I dig your stuff "I want you to come play at my club "I'll put your name in lights up above "But just remember I got a club to run "So don't you be too strong" It's not the writers who sell us out It's the damn censors who turn about All your life learned adjectives and vowels And say that my mouth is much too foul To clearly speak to you [Chorus 5] But try to hit a nail And if the hammer fails Then the words you use To describe that bruise That's basic language! [Verse 6] I hitchhiked and sang the songs That everybody knew and sang along To amuse myself I wrote some songs Speakin' 'bout what's right and wrong And I'm a little different So a record company you know well Wanted to know if my song would sell I said, "Yes, I like it very well "If you don't sir, you can go to hell "Somebody else change" I kept hobo-ing and bummin' around Singing to my friends who dig that sound A few cats said "Won't you come to my town" I asked fair bread to put me down Their Caddie's mortgaged I made one deal, like "It's you and me" This guy said he'd be lots of use to me But when I found he's puttin' the screws to me I made it back out on the street Singin' new folk songs [Chorus 6] And if there's time enough And the hill ain't too rough What I wrote today I might someday play And make some tips for it [Outro] Don't miss the next issue of the Hulk