Hey Haley

Survivor

1. Greed
2. Survivor
3. Colorado
4. Vanessa
5. Landlord
6. Punk Song
7. Brian’s Song
8. FBI
9. Child
10. Grace
11. Prostitute
12. Saturn Return
13. The Lost Generation
14. Message to Mumia
15. Don’t Stop Believin’

Survivor is Fifteen’s last studio album, and a beautiful one. It’s also the latest addition to my collection, and I haven’t stopped listening to it for three months. Jeff’s lyrics hit the nail on the head on a wide range of themes - many of which you can tell just from looking at the song names. Numbers 13 and 14 are readings given from and to Mumia Abu-Jamal. The last song is a male-female acoustic cover of the Journey song that is cut off after about a minute when a guy starts knocking really loudly and says “Hey guys… guys… hey guys - Cynthia just pulled up. You better stop before she comes in and hears you and kicks your ass.”

Greed

They say, they say, you should want to be richer than everyone
They say, they say, you should want to have more than everyone
They say, they say, you should want to be better than
everyone
They say, they say, they say you’re never good enough anyway 

Better get down on your knees, boy
Better pray to our god his name is Greed
Better get down on your knees, boy
Better pray to our god his name is…

They say, they say, you should want to have power over everyone
They say, they say, you should want to control everyone
They say, they say, you should want to be better than
everyone
They say, they say, they say you’re never good enough anyway
Better get down on your knees, boy
Better pray to our god his name is Greed
Better get down on your knees, boy
Better pray to our god his name is…GREED

I get on my knees and I thank God today, for not making me a rich man
I get on my knees and I thank God today, for not making me a politician
I get on my knees and I thank God today, ’cause I’m the envy of no one
Worker amongst workers, Man amongst men.
They say, they say, hey.

 

Colorado
Colorado is about America. Admittedly, the lyrics “Americans are stupid”, sung in a single emphasized line, are bold, even for Fifteen. But hey, it’s not something I’ve never thought before, especially considering the kinds of stupid Americans he’s talking about. The last paragraph really made me think.

Got the news from Colorado
About a couple of kids
Who went to school and tried to kill everyone
They said they did it just for kicks.
I saw the president on the tv
He said, “We really gotta do something about this.”
He said, ” We gotta end this culture of violence.”
And he went on to explain why we need to drop bombs
On all the Serbian kids.

Maybe it’s too many burgers,
Maybe it’s too much beer.
Maybe it’s in the water,
Maybe it’s in the fear.
Maybe it’s too much pollution,
Maybe we are just dumb.
But it really seems to me that…
Americans are stupid.
We’ll fall for anything and everything
The only thing worse than a stupid American
Is someone who actually gets it
And decides to do nothing

Saw the news from Havana
An economic embargo
It started 39 years ago
They said it would get rid of Fidel Castro
I saw Jesse Helms on the tv
He said it just needs more time.
If we deny the people of Cuba food and medicine,
Then everything will work out just fine.

Maybe it’s too many burgers,
Maybe it’s too much beer.
Maybe it’s in the water,
Maybe it’s in the fear.
Maybe it’s too much pollution,
Maybe we are just dumb
But it really seems to me that
Americans are stupid
We’ll fall for anything and everything
The only thing worse than a stupid American
Is someone who actually gets it
And decides to do nothing

We believe,
That if we have beliefs,
Then we don’t gotta do nothing.
We believe,
That it we have beliefs,
Somehow they will magically change everything.
We believe,
That if we have beliefs,
Someday everyone will realize that they were wrong.
We believe,
That if we have beliefs,
We don’t gotta do nothin’, nothin’, nothin’.

Child
Vanessa and Grace, who each get a special song on this album, are Jeff’s two daughters. In this song, probably my favorite, Jeff questions social issues through the lens of a parent, repeatedly asking the question, “What does a child need?”. I could not find these lyrics online and had to transcribe them myself, so there might be some minor mistakes.

I was watching the baby today, and a question arose for me
A little voice just popped in my head, and it said,
“What does a child need?”
What does a child need?
What does a child need? 

Does she need industry?
Does she need a daddy who’s gone 40 hours a week?
Does she need tv to tell her she’s ugly?
Does she need a school to tell her her only value is her future productivity?
Does she need a church to tell her, “Do what we say, cough up the money, or God is going to torture you for eternity.”?
Does she need parents whose hearts are numb from booze and work and drugs and tv? …and tv…

What does a child need?
What does a child need?
What does a child need?
What does a child, what does a child, what does a child need?

I was watching Vanessa today, and a question arose for me
A little voice just popped in my head, and it said,
“What does a child need?”
What does a child need?
What does a child need?

Does she need technology to isolate her from the Earth that grants her all her needs?
Does she need a society whose only priorities are fear and greed?
Does she need a society who judges the quality of its food by its relative toxicity?
Does she need a periphery of people she’s never met for a community?

What does a child need?
What does a child need?
What does a child need?
What does a child, what does a child, what does a child need?

A child needs air that is clean to breathe
A child needs water that is clean to drink
A child needs food that is clean to eat
A child needs parents whose hearts are clean and minds are free

What does a child, what does a child, what does a child need?