You'll Be Taken (Poem with Music)
Lyrics:
You’ll Be Taken
The man is standing on the side of the road
With his dog and holding up his radar
I asked him why he was here to get growled at
He told me he was looking for the next star
I squinted at the horizon and watched the sun escape
It was so embarrassed it started spinning sideways
The disk flipped and struck me in the elbow
The machine’s beeping and spreading its rays
The dog doesn’t look too disturbed and falls out
Down the drain with its leash and collar
Which gives the man two free hands
A pretty good situation for a nightcrawler
I wouldn’t see him again until he was carrying
Two sacks while walking the unmowed part of the sidewalk
The birds are mocking him and demolishing their homes
The bottles clang together in the bag and rock
The carpet for him is never rolled out
And instead he must tangle with the weeds
Get in his shoelaces and twist him up
Then you’ll know just what he needs
You’ll be burned if you’re really that concerned
Everything around you has been godforsaken
All these years out here and what’ve you learned
If you don’t defend yourself you’ll be taken
The fire hydrant trips up the case manager
Who’s just trying to lighten their workload
After the boss crossed off every mark
Whenever productivity slowed
Something that happens every year around this time
Since the raging river wipes out the guard
That stands in the way of the foggy headlights
Belonging to the vehicle whose insides are charred
The couple was looking for a safe place
Where they could get away from the prying eyes
Placed above the window lock and the siren
Which howled at the industry’s wise
They worked on it with all the wrong tools
And left their equipment inside their bodies
So the vivisection wielded some strange ideas
That we exported straight to the Saudis
The oil was burnt up and the whistle blew
The dirty men filed past the remains
Which were still safely buckled in there
The fluid still pumping through their veins
You’ll be burned if you’re really that concerned
Everything around you has been godforsaken
All these years out here and what’ve you learned
If you don’t defend yourself you’ll be taken
But I did everything right and was good
To everyone both the rich and the poor
Why am I being judged and condemned
By the camera operating bulletproof voyeur
My expectations were admittedly a little high
But I did not expect to be treated like this
Can I have a little respect please
If you’re not careful I’ll go straight to the Swiss
I’ve heard they have all the nice things there
I don’t want to commit too soon
My letter of interest and intent stays in the drawer
And I don’t plan on getting it out until June
The deadlines spray into my living room
Breaking all my fancily framed photographs
That I’d hung to impress the census taker
Because I heard she liked arts and crafts
The place was a mess when she got there
I had to explain why I’d collected so many garbage cans
She smiled and tried to get me to go to her car
But I refused
You’ll Be Taken
The man is standing on the side of the road
With his dog and holding up his radar
I asked him why he was here to get growled at
He told me he was looking for the next star
I squinted at the horizon and watched the sun escape
It was so embarrassed it started spinning sideways
The disk flipped and struck me in the elbow
The machine’s beeping and spreading its rays
The dog doesn’t look too disturbed and falls out
Down the drain with its leash and collar
Which gives the man two free hands
A pretty good situation for a nightcrawler
I wouldn’t see him again until he was carrying
Two sacks while walking the unmowed part of the sidewalk
The birds are mocking him and demolishing their homes
The bottles clang together in the bag and rock
The carpet for him is never rolled out
And instead he must tangle with the weeds
Get in his shoelaces and twist him up
Then you’ll know just what he needs
You’ll be burned if you’re really that concerned
Everything around you has been godforsaken
All these years out here and what’ve you learned
If you don’t defend yourself you’ll be taken
The fire hydrant trips up the case manager
Who’s just trying to lighten their workload
After the boss crossed off every mark
Whenever productivity slowed
Something that happens every year around this time
Since the raging river wipes out the guard
That stands in the way of the foggy headlights
Belonging to the vehicle whose insides are charred
The couple was looking for a safe place
Where they could get away from the prying eyes
Placed above the window lock and the siren
Which howled at the industry’s wise
They worked on it with all the wrong tools
And left their equipment inside their bodies
So the vivisection wielded some strange ideas
That we exported straight to the Saudis
The oil was burnt up and the whistle blew
The dirty men filed past the remains
Which were still safely buckled in there
The fluid still pumping through their veins
You’ll be burned if you’re really that concerned
Everything around you has been godforsaken
All these years out here and what’ve you learned
If you don’t defend yourself you’ll be taken
But I did everything right and was good
To everyone both the rich and the poor
Why am I being judged and condemned
By the camera operating bulletproof voyeur
My expectations were admittedly a little high
But I did not expect to be treated like this
Can I have a little respect please
If you’re not careful I’ll go straight to the Swiss
I’ve heard they have all the nice things there
I don’t want to commit too soon
My letter of interest and intent stays in the drawer
And I don’t plan on getting it out until June
The deadlines spray into my living room
Breaking all my fancily framed photographs
That I’d hung to impress the census taker
Because I heard she liked arts and crafts
The place was a mess when she got there
I had to explain why I’d collected so many garbage cans
She smiled and tried to get me to go to her car
But I refused