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21st Century Paranoid Blues
copyright 2010 Dan Sullivan

There's private eyes eyeballing
Everyone they meet
There's sensors in the hallways
And cameras on the street
There's Mailmen sending tips
To the F. B. I.
There's men with black binoculars
Scanning the sky

I don't mean to panic you
I'm just tellin' the truth
It ain't paranoia if they're coming after you


The Judge is in his chamber
It's time for his nap
There's three men in suits
And they're planting wire taps
A man on TV says
"If you break it, you own it"
They listen to your calls
And you don't even know it

I don't mean to panic you
I'm just tellin' the truth
It ain't paranoia if they're coming after you

There's a bug on your computer
Sees every move you make
They can watch where you go
See every road you take
There's satellites to track you
In your home and in your car
There's an app on your cell phone
Tells them right where you are

I don't mean to panic you
I'm just tellin' the truth
It ain't paranoia if they're coming after you

There's drama queens and Brahmins
Chanting in a foreign tongue
There's hobos takin' No Doz
In the yard with railroad bums
They're headin' for the highways
They're leaving by train
The Bankers took the money
And they're getting away

I don't mean to panic you
I'm only tellin' the truth
It ain't paranoia if they're coming after you

There's houses underwater
In Detroit and New Orleans
Now don't go blaming God
For what happens on the Street
No one went to prison
Who'd have ever believed
A jail could be so crowded
There'd be no room for those thieves

I don't mean to panic you
I'm only tellin' the truth
It ain't paranoia if they're coming after you

Clark Kent eyes
Pat downs and watch lists
Old ladies and babies treated
Like they're terrorists
They say we must adjust to
Those things we can't avoid
If you stand up for your rights
They'll call you paranoid

I don't mean to panic you
I'm only tellin' the truth
It ain't paranoia if they're coming after you

hi Dan,

Put togethere pretty well and a interesting look at how we are.
I especially like this part...

There's hobos takin' No Doz
In the yard with railroad bums

If I didn't know better I'd say BOB DYLAN wrote that, by the way thats a HUGE compliment

Calvin


http://www.soundclick.com/bands/0/calvinstewart

This flows well, Dan. Good imagery/examples. Scary scenario for sure.

The only lines that seemed weaker than the rest of the lyric are

The Judge is in his chamber
It's time for his nap

(Unless of course the couplet has a strong underlying meaning, which I've managed to miss. )

It's not clear (to me) what the significance of the judge is and the fact he's taking a nap. (I can think of a few meanings, but would like to have less ambiguity.) Given that court judges are often - probably usually - selected because their conservative personal/religious beliefs are the same as the head(s) of government, perhaps this aspect could be played up: e.g. telling how the judge was selected so that his judgements would reflect and uphold the sinister "Big Brother" policy that's increasingly in place. Maybe something like (this is just an example)

High Court judges handpicked
Sitting in the government lap

Anyway...just a thought. Keep or sweep.

Donna

LOVE IT, Amigo!

My Head Tune scans-smoother when a few Syls get-added, like so/(KOS):

V1: "Scaning UP the sky"

CH:
"I'm just telling YA the truth/
It ain't ALWAYS paranoia WHEN they're coming after you"

V2:
"Time for his DAILY nap/
3 BLACK-SUITED AGENTS
Are out planting wire taps"

I'm not familiar with the "Break It You Buy It" Guy..BUT here's a GREAT Place to pen in some REALITY:
"NO Plane hit the Pentagon/
OR those 5 Frames woulda SHOWN IT"

KOS, & "KUDOS" Overall. It's a bit of a shame we live in an era where even Britney Spears can't pick her nose in-private.

Good Luck with this'n'...tho it'll prolly get banned "For National Security".

Best Wishes & a Big Guy-Hug,
Stan

Calvin, Thanks for the compliment. This song is definitely influenced by the Master. I've been studying Dylan's lyrics recently and trying to absorb some of his sense of meter and rhythm and the way he constructs a narrative. We can learn a lot from the Masters.

Donna, Thanks for your comments and suggestions. The line about the Judge napping in his chamber is an allusion to the apparent willingness of the Judiciary to look the other way while the government chips away at the our Constitutional rights and due process protections.

Thanks for listening and chiming in with your thoughts.

Stan the Tampa man, Glad you liked it.

I tell ya, I anguished over inserting "you" or "ya" in the chorus where it goes "I'm just telling (you/ya)the truth" and I still might if I get around to doing a rough recording of it.

General Colin Powell was the one who famously argued before the first Gulf War (I believe) that if you break it you buy it.

Thanks for listening, my friend.

Ah yes, now I see it. Actually, it's much along the same train of thought I was on. The judiciary is in the government's pockets (or closer ). The same old, same old, eh?

Donna

Hi Dan,

I like it; it's nice to see something contemporarily meaningful too!

Love the Hobo line:

There's drama queens and Brahmins
Chanting in a foreign tongue
There's hobos takin' No Doz
In the yard with railroad bums
They're headin' for the highways
They're leaving by train
The Bankers ARE TAKING ALL the money
And they're getting CLEAN away

Chorus lead-in:
THE FED IS A COUNTERFEITING OPERATION
BRINGING DOWN THIS MIGHTY NATION

CHORUS
I don't mean to panic you
I'm only tellin' the truth
It ain't paranoia if they're coming after you
CONSPIRACY or THEORY, IT'S UP TO YOU TO CHOOSE (there's no time to lose)
I've got the 21st Century paranoid blues

P.S.
I agree with Donna regarding the Judge lines
only because they don't measure up to all the rest and aren't very definitive of the point you were making there.

PPS.
JUDGES WRITING LAWS FROM THE BENCH
WHEN THEY'RE NOT TAKING NAPS
There's DARTH VADER SWAT TEAMS
And MEN planting wire taps
A man on TV says
"If you break it, you own it"
TheY'RE LISTENING to your calls
And you don't even know it

Terry, Thanks for having a listen and the suggestions. I bet you been listening to Alex Jones on the Internet.

I appreciate the time and thoughts you put into your suggestions. The line about the Judge has left more than just you scratching your head. So you aren't alone out in left field on that one.

How about this. "The Judge is in his chamber/ Wake him from his nap/ There's 3 men in suits/And they're planting wiretaps"

Hey Dan,

I love this!! If you're up for it a I have a few suggestion, kos of course.

There's private eyes eyeballing
Everyone they meet
There's sensors in the hallways
And cameras on the street
There's Mailmen sending tips
To the F. B. I.
There's men with black binoculars
STARING AT the sky

I don't mean to panic you
I'm just tellin' the truth
It ain't paranoia if they're coming after you


The Judge is in his chamber
TAKING A WHISKEY nap
There's three men WEARING suits
And planting MORE wire taps
A man on TV'S SAYING
BE COOL DON'T PITCH A FIT
They'RE listenING to your calls
And you don't even know it

I don't mean to panic you
I'm just tellin' the truth
It ain't paranoia if they're coming after you

There's a bug on your computer
Sees every move you make
They can watch where you go
See every road you take
There's satellites to track you
In your home and in your car
There's an app on your cell phone
Tells them EXACLTY where you are

I don't mean to panic you
I'm just tellin' the truth
It ain't paranoia if they're coming after you

There's drama queens and Brahmins
Chanting in a foreign tongue
There's hobos takin' No Doz
In the yard with railroad bums
They're headin' for the highways
They're HERE leaving by train
The Bankers took the money
they're ABOUT TO get away

I don't mean to panic you
I'm only tellin' the truth
It ain't paranoia if they're coming after you

There's houses underwater
In Detroit and New Orleans
Now don't go blaming God
For what happens on the Street
No one went to prison
WHO'D have ever believed
A jail could be so crowded
There'd be no room for thieves--Deleted those

I don't mean to panic you
I'm only tellin' the truth
It ain't paranoia if they're coming after you

Clark Kent eyes -- I think this verse is the weakest of them all
Pat downs and watch lists
Old ladies and babies treated
Like they're terrorists
They say we must adjust to
Those things we can't avoid
If you stand up for your rights
They'll call you paranoid

I don't mean to panic you
I'm only tellin' the truth
It ain't paranoia if they're coming after yoU

Okay so I got a little carried away, I didn't mean to rewrite your song! It's just that I really love it! It's very long were you planning on keeping all of it?

Dottie

Dottie, Thank you for you enthusiasm and suggestions. If I can make a decent rough work-tape of the song in the next week I'll post it. And yeah, it's a little longer than many songs. Maybe this is compensating for some of the short ones I write.

DAN--

I LIKE IT--But, you're scaring me with the PAT DOWNS and OLD FOLKS' treatment,
I got FLY next weekend myself--Remember: "A LITTLE TRUTH NEVER HURTS AS MUCH AS ALL THE LYING".

WRITE ON--

Mackie

The eyes in the back of my head aren't mine, their homeland security, and I can't find the black box on my car, that tells the fuzz how fast I was going when I crashed, but it's there,
and they want to put a chip in all of our arms, so that if we become crime victims it's easier to find us, but don't that chip make us all victims of a crime!! We used to let God watch over everything, now we got folks playing God and watching over everything we do. They're taking notes on this comment..you can bet, and the noose is tightening around another rebel poet or two...I'll see you in the pen Dan... in the far southwestern corner hall where the cameras don't reach, we'll write grafitti on the walls
and shake the status quo with some real biting commetary.
~~~MFB III

Really like it, Dan.

Everyone's said all the good stuff so far looks like!


Nice job!

Linda

Hi Dan,

My cover is blown re. AJ. He's the best!

About the judge . . .
To say he's in his chamber, seems to be making an important statement, but whatever it is isn't defined . . . and when you say "wake him from his nap" you make part of the audience anticipate finding out why, in the next line.

But the next two lines just detail more of the intrusiveness of the police state in keeping with the rest of the song.

It isn't clear that the judge is an honorable one that's willing to help, a dozy one or what you probably intend; i.e., that he is one of the ones "they" have stacked the Supreme Court with.

The judge bends the rule of law, when he's not taking naps
The Patriot act allows more illegal wire taps