REWARD
We played for you and you did not dance / We wailed and you did not mourn / And John came neither eating nor drinking / And you said he is possessed by a demon / The son of man came eating and drinking / And you said he is a friend of tax collectors / But what can I say about you? / You are like children in the marketplace / Shouting to your playmates / He who receives a prophet / Because he is a prophet / Will receive the prophets reward / He who receives a righteous man / Because he is a righteous man / Will receive a righteous man’s reward / (A year’s subscription to Superman Comics)

LOVE OFFERING
We love, that’s why we’re here / Oh yes, we hold you all so dear / And now this one’s for you / A love offering for your ears / Our fans hold us in highest esteem / Faithful, that’s how it seems / And now straight from our hearts / A love offering, so bold so new / (It never stops, it never starts) / Oh yes, it’s for sure my life’s call / Entertaining for folks short and tall / You’ve bee n so kind for all these years / We’ll never be able to repay you all / (How can I hold back the tears?)

BLUE GREEN GOD
Find us at night by our glowing embers / This band’s curse inflicts all its members / Gotta get stoned once in a while / We get stoned like its going out of style / Just think of all the things we’d have / If we saved our money / But all our money’s gone up in smoke / I cough blood, we all choke

MELONS RISING
Mercy monster grant your doom / Encase your brain in an airtight tomb / Forget that the tree bears good fruit to eat / Chop it down and burn it for temporary heat / I’m not putting you down, don’t get me wrong / I realize the number of trips other than the one I’m on / But I demand the same and I most surely condone / That you all realize it and leave me alone / Glowing members of the radiant mush / Squeeze down hard and feel the bones crush / Mechanical children in a metal town / Open your eyes and watch the rats drown / There’s never been a book of rules, and those / That say there is are fools, the rain falls / Softly on the barren trees / Across the ocean blows a little breeze / Soon my factory’s gonna shut down / I’ll go back to the accepting ground / But until that day this walking mire / To greater heights will aspire

SATURDAY MORNING
C’mon everybody you know what I mean / Won’t spell it out for you it’s so plain / We’re gonna play some numbers this you’d better believe / Yes we surely are and we’re gonna achieve / Don’t start talking about bangin’ the walls / It isn’t gonna happen these are well-guarded halls / Don’t start talking about how thing’s gonna change / You know we don’t believe you, we think you’re deranged / Just give us your money and tell us we’re swell / We’ll play some tunes for you and then go to hell

MEAT PUPPETS
Meat puppets…etc., etc.

PLAYING DEAD
I’m dead, got nothing to lose / The biggest fucker around’s gonna give himself the blues / Trying to make trouble for a dead man / What’s that, you’re mistaken / The spot you wanted most has already been taken / And it’s been taken by your own self / No reason for a hasty retreat / You’re dead just a little bit too / Perhaps you’ve forgotten all the things you can’t do / Like letting your belly get swollen / From lack of food / And every broken rock or bone / Or blue-green god tree or the smell of damp / Or the touch of you reminds me / Of the you we once knew

LITTER BOX
We’re all in the gutter but I’m looking the rats / And when I’m hungry I don’t fuck around / And I’m not afraid to strew around my scraps / Here’s a rat carcass for your front lawn / Your personal possessions I don’t give a darn / Maybe you can keep it to keep warm / Don’t blame me for what goes out my window / I know it was out there in the first place / And besides, I did it for our own good

ELECTROMUD
It’s the only dance there is / You’ll be judged when you’re through / This is a dance contest / This is a marathon / Do the electromud / You’ve got no choice / Sensitize your body / Do the electromud / Come on don’t you doubt us / We’re all much too ignorant / If you’ve gotta go to the bathroom / Then go for christ’s sake

THE GOLD MINE
Poor little negro / Sitting in a tree / Eating his favorite / Cocoa leaves / Along came some fellows / Takin’ him away / Take away his culture / Put him on a plane / Poor little negro / Sitting in the states / He’s about to try his / First chocolate shake / Poor little negro / Puking in the sink / He’s regained his culture / Finally found a link

All lyrics by Derrick Bostrom, except:
“Melons Rising” by Cris Kirkwood
“Playing Dead” and “Meat Puppets” by Curt Kirkwood

Lyrics reprinted with permission
All songs ©1982 Meat Puppets Music (BMI)
All rights reserved

Posted by Derrick Bostrom on Saturday, December 24th, 2005 at 2:36 pm.