Comfortable Disappearance

I think anyone who reads this probably has a good feeling about my feelings towards the war on ‘terrrr” (i.e. terror). If not, you can reference the cynicism in Mr. Mark Twain’s The War Prayer. Particulary the piece:

Lord our God,
help us to tear their soldiers
to bloody shreds with our shells;
help us to cover their smiling fields
with the pale forms of their patriotic dead…

But the real purpose of this post is another “Song of the (insert arbitrary time-frame here).” I (thanks to my good-friend Travis) have fallen in love with the Talking Heads. The Heads first record ‘77, released in 1977 showed the Heads’ potential. They had a large impact on music during their career. This song, “Life During Wartime,” was from their (in my opinion) incredible record Fear of Music. Ironically titled, Fear of Music opened with the afro-beat “I Zimbra,” and proved to be a stark departure from their previous efforts. At any rate, “Life During Wartime” (released in 1979) portrays lead singer’s David Byrne’s feelings about going into a Presidency lead by Ronald Reagan amidst the cold war (better and more thorough review of the song at AllMusic.com.

“Life During Wartime” by the Talking Heads from Fear of Music:

Heard of a van that is loaded with weapons,
packed up and ready to go
Heard of some gravesites, out by the highway,
a place where nobody knows
The sound of gunfire, off in the distance,
I’m getting used to it now
Lived in a brownstore, lived in the ghetto,
I’ve lived all over this town

This ain’t no party, this ain’t no disco,
this ain’t no fooling around
No time for dancing, or lovey dovey,
I ain’t got time for that now

Transmit the message, to the receiver,
hope for an answer some day
I got three passports, a couple of visas,
you don’t even know my real name
High on a hillside, the trucks are loading,
everything’s ready to roll
I sleep in the daytime, I work in the nightime,
I might not ever get home

This ain’t no party, this ain’t no disco,
this ain’t no fooling around
This ain’t no mudd club, or C. B. G. B.,
I ain’t got time for that now
Heard about Houston? Heard about Detroit?
Heard about Pittsburgh, P. A.?
You oughta know not to stand by the window
somebody might see you up there
I got some groceries, some peant butter,
to last a couple of days
But I ain’t got no speakers, ain’t got no
headphones, ain’t got no records to play

Why stay in college? Why go to night school?
Gonna be different this time
Can’t write a letter, can’t send a postcard,
I can’t write nothing at all
This ain’t no party, this ain’t no disco,
this ain’t no fooling around
I’d like to kiss you, I’d love you hold you
I ain’t got no time for that now

Trouble in transit, got through the roadblock,
we blended with the crowd
We got computer, we’re tapping pohne lines,
I know that ain’t allowed
We dress like students, we dress like housewives,
or in a suit and a tie
I changed my hairstyle, so many times now,
I don’t know what I look like!
You make me shiver, I feel so tender,
we make a pretty good team
Don’t get exhausted, I’ll do some driving,
you ought to get some sleep
Get you instructions, follow directions,
then you should change your address
Maybe tomorrow, maybe the next day,
whatever you think is best
Burned all my notebooks, what good are
notebooks? They won’t help me survive
My chest is aching, burns like a furnace,
the burning keeps me alive
Try to stay healthy, physical fitness,
don’t want to catch no disease
Try to be careful, don’t take no chances,
you better watch what you say