Talking Return Of The Great Folk Scare Blues

Lyrics

[Intro] I'm going to do something, uh, quick and peppy and snappy (Okay). all the things for which I'm so popular. And this, this is called, this is going to be a talking blues song, and it's going to be called "Talking Return of the Great Folk Scare Blues." Here we go. All right.  [Verse 1] Well I was born in 1965 That was a hell of a good time to be alive Except that by the age of ten The music had turned crap again Now people say they wanna bring back the 70's I say, "Hey, give the bad music of today a chance" Yes, just what a singer-songwriter show needs [Verse 2] Punk came round, that was pretty scary It was like a contemporary Peter, Paul and Mary Shocking! And before the 80's got too far It was time for me to pick up my guitar Picked it up Looked good! Here's how it looked—yeah! [Verse 3] And all my friends turned up their noses At Freewheelin' and For The Roses Preferring image over substance A hairstyle for a musical influence Yeah, all my friends, all them Ultravox records They're gathering dust But me, I'm still listening to Live Rust And if the 90's are the 60's turned upside down Then the 80's were the 60's the right way up Only with half the top cut off— If you think about it! [Verse 4] And in the town where I did live There was no one I could do hoot night with So I sat alone with my six strings And I learned how to play and sing Woody Guthrie's guitar killed fascists and crime But in Hastings, West Sussex, South of England My guitar killed time And here's how it killed it [Verse 5] And I got gigs opening for bands And things would get outta hand 'Cause big men would yell out their derision So I developed humor as a defense mechanism And the band, uh, the bill of the bands would be The main band of the the night would be Outhouse Except it would be spelled O-U-umlaut -T-H-A-U-umlaut-Nazi S So it would be like Oüthaüs And Oüthaüs, and Catholic Abortion, who were a big band And a band called The Deathmongers, and me And I'd go on first And I'd get carried away Literally [Verse 6] And I moved to the big old smoky city Just after University And I got a gig opening for a friend of mine Where I happened to be playing my ace In the right place at the right time So I gave up my PhD To become a dustbowl folkie That's Phil Ochs not Phil Oakey He was the guy from the Human League with the bad haircut But nobody, nobody here knows that Wrong audience, wrong audience, works other places It's a good line, I swear it [Verse 7] And then I learned the Folksinger's Prayer and it goes like this It goes: Our Father Who art on Folkways Ramblin' Jack be thy name Thy, thy, thy Folk City come Thy will be done On CD as it was on vinyl Give us this day our daily gig And forgive us our protest As we forgive those who protest against us And lead us not into electricity But deliver us from commercialism For Prine is the kingdom The power of the story Forever be clever A minor Thank you [Verse 8] So hey everybody the time is near The folk revival's coming here But it's a tough thing to revive today, oh yeah 'Cause it never really goes away That's 'cause it's a good thing So hey everyone it's time to, uh, come and claim your share It's time to re-iron your hair And in five years time you're gonna look back You're gonna say "I was there" At the return The return of The return of the great folk scare All right, that's the end, yes (That was wonderful)