BRUCE COCKBURN WITH A TWIST
-- A Life Like Mine --
Index



Rewrite of "Get Up Jonah," by Doug Holtby

Note: poking good natured fun at the Humans listserv and comments thereon.


Woke up thinking about mixing vibes
It didn't take long, I don't know much about mixing vibes.
Saw the candle wax on my bedroom rug again
You'd think they'd have something that would take that stuff off
Doesn't Mister Clean have any Pheremones?
Smell your perfume on the pages of my Bible
Why is it always Psalm 51 and never Romans 8.
Horses want feeding, always want feeding
Some need shoes, but the last ferrier pulled out last night
and won't be back for a week.
Morning chores, endless inexorable chores,
Sometimes the darkness is your friend.

CHORUS:
These are the small circumstances
That Humans face all the time
I don't know why they don't go out
And get a life like mine.

Freeway moves like a blood clot, aneurysms of belated businessclones.
Missed my Costco exit, need a pallet of strings for the tour.
Enough nylon to stretch a tent, revival meeting or carnival peep show,
Only time for the inconvenience store, Dangerous narrow aisles and muzak
squirting in my ears like cobra venom.
Five and a half bucks for four litres of milk,
Pimpled sixteen year old clerk's face,
corporate camoflage for bovine mammary scam.
If numchuks weren't outside in the glove-box, I'd know what to do right now.

These are the small circumstances
That humans face all the time.
I don't know why they don't go out
And get a life like mine.

(Instrumental Break: Peruvian Dog Whistle Solo)

Check the death mail, flyers and bills
Daughter's tuition due, Can't get student loan, Old man
pulls in too much, spraying his soul from Birmingham to Europa.
Revenue Canada disallowed farm subsidy, Lead crop on shooting range won't qualify.
University registrars and tax auditors welcome to visit that range.
And all the musical friends on the internet, Can't make contact with my Commodore 64.
I'm outta here! Argentina, New Guinea, Baffin Island, No more pacing this cage when...

These are the small circumstances
That Humans face all the time
I don't know why they don't go out
And get a life like mine.

Index
This page is part of The Cockburn Project, a unique website that exists to document the work of Canadian singer-songwriter and musician Bruce Cockburn. The Project archives self-commentary by Cockburn on his songs and music, and supplements this core part of the website with news, tour dates, and other current information.