The Official Social Protest Songs

I. Familial Norms

Wasted, wornout baby, way to go,
You messed up the morning you cried;
The doctor announced your death,
Said you could’ve done worse.

Honey, in the morning when I leave,
Kiss the baby, tell her she’s loved;
We only have 1.5 more to go,
A station wagon and a dog.

Chorus I:
Corporation Mama, teach me the stocks,
Businessman Daddy, when will the interest rates rise?
We’re on a collision course toward nothing,
Tax shelters, IRAs, we know the solution
Beating out evolution’s path.

II. On Equal Terms

TV antennae sprouting atop consistent shingle madness,
Smoking charcoal eats leftover curtain stains;
Tailored tomorrows, discount store no-credit everyday bargains,
Paid in forgotten ambitious selection,
Hold out green angels, golden apples, some god’s heaven,
Earthy images of monkeys raping Mother Nature’s plan.

Chorus II:
Network communication,
The Master equals Media Man,
Presidential, precedential,
Sunday evening, July eighty-four.

Repeat Chorus I
Repeat Chorus II

[Published in Gallery 1985, a Walters State Community College publication, spring 1985]