Recorded in 1987 on my Tascam 4 track. I was 24.
Something in my life
says I'm losing control.
Like the moth flies to light,
I'm can't seem to let go.
Behind me is darkness,
and I'm all alone.
Yes, I'm all alone.
When I was boy,
about the age or two or three,
I rescued a dove
from a clump of small trees.
It was so soft and warm
and I know it smiled at me,
yes, I know it smiled at me.
But now I'm a man
and I've got to play the part.
Shave off that beard my boy
strong face, strong heart.
Go out and get em
just knock em right down,
and you know that they're dead
when they don't make a sound.
This throbbing in my head
tells me I'm still alive.
You've got to keep moving
if you want to survive.
Who is this man?
Why does he want to cause me harm?
I never hurt his children,
I don't even know who they are.
So tell me why am I fighting
for some cloth on a pole.
This is my life,
so dammit, give me back control.
Repeat
So dammit give me back control...
Something in my life
says I'm losing control.
Like the moth flies to light,
I'm can't seem to let go.
Behind me is darkness,
and I'm all alone.
Yes, I'm all alone.
When I was boy,
about the age or two or three,
I rescued a dove
from a clump of small trees.
It was so soft and warm
and I know it smiled at me,
yes, I know it smiled at me.
But now I'm a man
and I've got to play the part.
Shave off that beard my boy
strong face, strong heart.
Go out and get em
just knock em right down,
and you know that they're dead
when they don't make a sound.
This throbbing in my head
tells me I'm still alive.
You've got to keep moving
if you want to survive.
Who is this man?
Why does he want to cause me harm?
I never hurt his children,
I don't even know who they are.
So tell me why am I fighting
for some cloth on a pole.
This is my life,
so dammit, give me back control.
Repeat
So dammit give me back control...
Contributed by Frank Cable (Composer) - 2014/1/19 - 04:34
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The song is about losing control of one's life in the name of patriotic duty, which was and remains the catch phrase for military domination of the world by the United States.
I can say this freely because my Uncles all served in the military and suffered physically and mentally. My father was a Marine for 23 years and later worked on nuclear submarines for another 20 years. He suffered physically and died prematurely due to exposure to Agent Orange (Dioxin).
It was within this context that I wrote this song as I contemplated losing my life to this American war machine/ Military Industrial complex.
This is a very poor quality recording, made on a 4-track cassette recorder. It was made before digital recording technology- My apologies.
Cloth on a Pole