The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #23432   Message #1500877
Posted By: Jim Dixon
05-Jun-05 - 11:11 PM
Thread Name: Lyr Req: Talking NPR Blues (Utah Phillips)
Subject: Lyr Add: THE TALKING NPR BLUES (Utah Phillips)
Might as well have the lyrics here, don't you think? Utah's website says "Pass it around."

THE TALKING NPR BLUES
By U. Utah Phillips

I turned on my radio, spun the dial,
Thought I'd listen to some news for a while.
I grabbed the knob, spun it around,
Got NPR… Here's what I found:

Real news? Hardly a trace,
Just one damn marathon market place.
The NASDAQ's up, the Dow's in the cellar,
And NPR sold out to Rockefeller.

Hostile takeover… Real hostile.

Well, I hear about all the anti-trust
And all the day-traders who bit the dust,
Mergers, buyouts and acquisitions,
Low down crooks in high positions,

Wheelers, dealers, and CEO's
Fired and paid off through the nose,
Buying yachts and fancy homes
With the bailout money from the savings and loans.

And I get pissed… Off, that is.

It's dot-com this and dot-com that.
The underwriters are getting fat
On airwaves stole from you and me
By a bunch of thieves called the FCC.

They don't give a damn what we want and need.
They've all caved in to corporate greed
And sold us out to the ruling class.
Well, the whole damn bunch can kiss my… Dot-Com!

This is a family show, folks.
The FCC says watch your language.
English.
What's yours?

I got tired of being treated like a veg
So I called up the station and canceled my pledge.
In a mighty act of liberation,
Sent the money off to my community station.

I said, "I love you, but if you blow it,
I'll sure as hell let you know it.
I'll knock the radio off the shelf,
Buy a transmitter, and do it myself."

Whitebeard the Pirate.

This is radio station H O B O
Broadcasting on a vagrancy of 60 to 90 days
Signing off
For now.