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It Doesn't Matter Why It Is, It Doesn't Matter If It's Wrong IV

by John Elliott

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1.
There are many possible worlds, there are many possible worlds So we didn’t lose Betty, we didn’t lose Betty Betty is alive in another timeline Betty didn’t die in the tower, Betty didn’t die in the tower after all And Pete never went to the war And if Pete never went to the war Then he may not have any swords and I may have never met him If Pete never went to the war, that’s one more cycle ended One more violent cycle ended In another timeline Wallace never hears a buzzing sound In another timeline Charlie and Charlie are together 2012: the Mayans were right Hurricane Sandy was a timeline switch From that world to this, from that world to this In that world Mitt In that world Mitt wins And none of this happens
2.
I just wanna drive my car and go to the store Nothing more, nothing more Buy an açaí bowl and a phone or four Nothing more, nothing more I know I won’t be rich, but I don’t wanna be poor Nothing more, nothing more I want a place to be with a roof and a door Nothing more, nothing more Give me a job and a salary Direct deposit it straight to me I’ll use it for rent and for groceries Dignified and free I want a return to normalcy We need a return to normalcy I want a return to normalcy I feel it deep inside of me We need a return to normalcy I wanna go drinking with my pals I wanna creep up on all the gals You know, all these crazy changes are affecting me too Me too Me too Me too I’m affected I want a return to normalcy Products as far as I can see We’ll eat at a restaurant twice a week I’ll take you out dancing cheek to cheek I wanna get loaded up and drive Take out a payday loan and thrive It’s only several easy payments of $19.95 (There was a time) It’s almost all forgotten (There was a time) When each race knew their place (There was a time) The middle classes thrived (There was a time) The white folk could survive (There was a time) Survive! I want a return to normalcy Purchase a house with a college degree Buy a sedan and an SUV Have a couple kids or three We had a supplemental fridge We barely used it, but we did You know, all these crazy changes are affecting me too Me too Me too Me too I’m affected Me too Me too Me too I’m affected
3.
Evicted 03:24
Grab your toys kids and grab your clothes We gotta go, we gotta go Maybe to the shelter, maybe to my mom’s I don’t know, I don’t know Sheriff at the front door armed for a war A platoon of men in a moving van Grab what you can, leave the rest behind We’re gettin’ evicted You’re gonna have to change schools again and find new friends We’ll make do, we’ll make do I couldn’t pay the gas bill, couldn’t pay for heat Now our stuff is on the street, our life is on the street The place was a mess, the pipes were clogged and stuck I slave for my pay just to give it all up The landlord drives up in her fancy truck We’re gettin’ evicted Now my kids are hungry and my kids are cold I can’t sleep, I can’t sleep Seen seventy places full of cracks and mold Denied each time, denied each time Man at the last place dangles the key Says maybe we can have it if he can have me
4.
It’s hard to be white It used to be cool We used to be king We could do anything We could say, “Merry Christmas” We could worship our Lord Buy a Chevy or Ford Or a very loud motorbike It’s hard to be white It’s hard to be white We wrote all the rules And now they keep breaking And changing the bathrooms And killing policemen Who serve and protect And deserve our respect While they suffer and fight It’s hard to be white Faster and faster and more every day They’re erasing our culture away Now we get Spanish announcements on the store P.A. They used to go back, now they come here to stay Bills are due, money is tight It’s hard to be white We were doin’ it right in the suburbs Sleepin’ all night in the suburbs Livin’ the dream in the suburbs We were happy to be in the suburbs Keeping it clean in the suburbs Livin’ the dream in the suburbs If it’s war they want, then it’s war they get They better believe that our blood and spit And the tears we spilled to conquer this land And the savages we killed were all part of the plan Not for nothing we came, not for nothing we built Not for nothing we revolted, not for nothing we rebelled It’s easy to be victimized To take handouts and believe elitist lies And professors who teach you who to despise It’s easy to be the underdog It’s hard to be rich It’s hard to be right It’s hard to be white It’s hard to be rich It’s hard to be right It’s hard to be white
5.
If the violence won’t end and the killing won’t stop Then the next one who dies I hope is a cop And I hope that he suffers and I hope he can’t breathe And I hope it lasts long and I hope we can see And I hope that his cheek is pushed into the street And it grinds and it tears and it bleeds If it’s come to this, then it’s come to this Execute the officers and burn Minneapolis If it’s come to this, then it’s come to this Execute the officers and burn Minneapolis
6.
Company Man 03:48
He’s a slave catcher company man armed with weapons of war He’s a meat-head murderer company man with a pension and perks galore It’s easy to hate, it’s fun to despite, a man such as he Armed to the teeth Armed to do battle with the homeless and the poor What else is he for? He’s a slave catcher company man armed with weapons of war He’s a meat-head murderer company man with a pension and perks galore He upholds and he enforces laws of racist filth Laws unjust and wrong Armed to the teeth Armed to do battle with with the homeless and the poor What else is he for? Laws created by men of means Men of unjustifiable, unquantifiable wealth Men who buy and pay men like these To strut through the streets and extract petty fees like petty thieves To intimidate black and brown children and hunt and kill citizens In the home of the sick and the land of the trapped In a uniform slick and a ridiculous cap This is the world we made and accept This is the world we made and accept This is the world we made and accept This is the world we made and accept This is the world we made and accept For so long Since we settled on farms and we grew extra food and we needed an asshole to guard it That’s how policing started When we settled on farms and we grew extra food and we needed an asshole to guard it That’s how policing started He’s a slave catcher company man armed with weapons of war He’s a meat-head murderer company man with a pension and perks galore
7.
I’m a Q-duder, I’m a YouTuber I’m in deep state probate I live in Arizona, I live in Arizona (Enjoy the show) CNN can eat my ass (Murder the blacks) Suck my dick and sniff my gas (Record it on your phone) I live in Arizona, I live in Arizona (It’s prophecy, not crime) I post and I tweet (Suck my white behind) I eat meat I tithe motherfucker, I tithe Now let me log in and own some libard, fuckface, they/them, transfag, snowflake, deep state trolls I’m on a fuckin’ roll I live in Arizona I trust the plan It’s the calm before the storm Where we go one we go all Enjoy the show (I trust the plan) We gotta focus on the family (I trust the plan) Stock up and get swole (I trust the plan) It’s apocalyptic Super Bowl (I trust the plan) By hook or by crook we’ll learn the truth about Sandy Hook (I trust the plan) It’s the calm before the storm (I trust the plan) Where we go one we go all (I trust the plan) Where we go one we go all (I trust the plan) No one can stop what is coming (I trust the plan) No one can stop what is coming (I trust the plan) No one can stop what is coming (I trust the plan) No one can stop what is coming (I trust the plan) No one can stop what is coming (I trust the plan) Where we go one we go all (I trust the plan) Where we go one we go all (I trust the plan) Where we go one we go all (I trust the plan) Where we go one we go all
8.
Heads will roll, heads will roll, heads will roll I’m ready for the executions, I’m ready for the executions Bullets in the brains I’m ready for the executions Bullets between the eyes I’m ready for the executions, I’m ready for the retributions I’m ready for the executions Bullets between the eyes Bullets in the brains Public executions in the town squares Everybody gonna be there 18 and over, 18 and over You can put in on your Instagram You can put it on your Tik Tok too Explicit warning, adult advisory Bullets in the brain, bullets in the brain Public executions Heads are gonna roll Public executions Bring a blanket, bring a snack Bring a camera, bring a flask Everybody will be there 18 and over Bullets between the eyes Public executions Parents are advised, parents are advised Everybody will be there At the city hall or in the town square 18 and over Public executions, public executions We’ll make it look nice, make it official Officers in uniforms carrying flags We’re only following footsteps Public executions, bullets in the brains Bullets between the eyes On the nightly news Put the highlights up on YouTube For everyone to see, for everyone to feel You can hear the applause, you can see ‘em all kneel You can watch ‘em all beg, when they know that it’s real You can see ‘em all feel, you can tell that it’s real A public execution, bullets between the eyes 18 and over Parents are advised A public execution, bullets in the brains Bring a picnic and camera and an umbrella if it rains A public execution, bullets between the eyes Get dressed up nice Parents are advised A public execution, bullets in the brains Bring a picnic and camera and an umbrella if it rains A public execution, bullets between the eyes Public executions, bullets in the brains Public executions, bullets between the eyes Public executions, bullets in the brains Public executions, bullets between the eyes Public executions, bullets in the brains
9.
We are who we were, we grow and we learn, we learn and evolve and transform We are who we were, we grow and we learn, we learn and evolve and transform So who was Ned before? Who was Ned before? Before he moved to the Mohawk Valley… He was born in the fifties, grew up in the sixties Came out in ‘78 He was a product of privilege and a product of wealth He was poised to be rich and be great He got his degrees from universities in finance and business galore He moved to New York and got a job at the top of a tower, cocked to the core As the 80s began he was hungry and able He invested impressive amounts His bosses were pleased, he fudged all his fees He believed a man’s worth is what counts And so it was and so it went for twenty-plus odd years Ned the hard-ass banker man Ned the stressed out suit, the downtown dweller Those decades were fast and those decades were dark Monstrous fortunes were made Ned fell in love with a man in the park and the man had the gay plague Nobody knew how to treat it or beat it Reagan ignored it was real Ned’s lover died alone in the hospital Ned taught himself not to feel He was lucky to live, he was not infected He buried his hurt and his pain He lost himself in his work, his stocks went berserk And Ned rose to Wall Street fame Yes, it’s safe to say Y2K was a bust By then Ned was a billionaire He was overweight and overworked and a heart attack waiting to happen He was a company man He was a company man He was a company man On the morning it happened Ned had an appointment in his office on the 69th floor He got in at eight, he never was late Whatever he had he could always make more He happened to look out and up and at Tower One at 8:46 The airplane came fast, flew in with a flash And Ned thought, “I can’t believe this” His co-workers screamed, his bosses appeared They all knew that danger was near Ned thought, “If airplanes are targeting towers we gotta get folks out of here” Then commotion ensued and the folks were confused An announcement came on the P.A. “Listen to me, this is the Port Authority You’ll be safe if you stay where you are. The South Tower is good, the South Tower is strong You’ll be safe if you stay at your desk.” The people calmed down, the people relaxed It’s good to know what to expect But Ned wasn’t buying it, Ned wasn’t sure Ned simply did not agree He looked out a window to the south and the west at the Statue of Liberty He spotted the plane, he watched it fly in in a terrible trajectory He watched it crash into the South Tower ten floors about him at 9:03 Oh Ned, Oh Ned Thousands of people will be dead The building exploded, the deafening noise assaulted their ears and their minds And folks who were wealthy and folks who were not Were suddenly all terrified Ned saw it happen and Ned saw the danger and Ned’s intuition kicked in: “We’ve gotta get people through hallways to stairways, we’ve gotta get people out now” He calmed them all down They were cooled by the sound of a man who was steady and clear He brought them together down 69 floors and he sang to them, quelling their fears They emerged from the building at 9:51 In the sun they were blinking and fine They were walking away, feeling almost okay, when the tower collapsed at 9:59 They all ran for cover, they jumped in an alcove, with Ned again in the lead In the smoke and the ash, through the screams and the terror and the coughs Not a single employee was lost He was a company (wonderful) man He was a company (wonderful) man He was a company (wonderful) man An era was over, the towers were gone The city was never the same Ned went to his boss at the end of the month and said, “I gotta get out of the game” He sold his place and he moved upstate where the air was quiet and clear In the Mohawk Valley he started over again while the country collapsed into fear It took several years to release and unwind and to find the sweetness in a simpler life But Ned had the cash and Ned had the time to heal his heart and transform his mind And do his part to end the cycle of violence
10.
I have a dream we can return to our way of life before the war I have a dream, I have a dream We can return to normalcy I have a dream, I have a dream I have a dream, I have a dream I have a dream we can return to normalcy Not heroics, but healing Not nostrums, but normalcy Not revolution, but restoration Not agitation, but adjustment Not surgery, but serenity Not the dramatic, but the dispassionate Not experiment, but equipoise Not submergence in internationality But sustainment in triumphant nationality There are major strikes in meat-packing and steel Fear of these radicals and terrorists is real There are race riots in Chicago There are anarchists on Wall Street The Germans and Catholics are outraged at the British Fear of these radicals and terrorists is real Fear of these radicals and terrorists is real After this Red Summer we need to wash our hands clean I was there when Eugene crossed the line In this timeline the white folks stoned him and the child drowned and died In another timeline Eugene survived I was there I was there Not heroics, but healing (Bring us back to normalcy) Not nostrums, but normalcy (Bring us back to normalcy) Not revolution, but restoration (Bring us back to normalcy) Not agitation, but adjustment (Bring us back Warren G) Not surgery, but serenity (Bring us back to normalcy) Not the dramatic, but the dispassionate (Bring us back to normalcy) Not experiment, but equipoise (Bring us back to normalcy) Not submergence in internationality (Bring us back Warren G) Not heroics, but healing (Bring us back to normalcy) Not nostrums, but normalcy (Bring us back to normalcy) Not revolution, but restoration (Bring us back to normalcy)

about

“It Doesn’t Matter Why It Is, It Doesn’t Matter If It’s Wrong IV” is the fourth installment in an ongoing series of loosely related, quadrennial recordings that are released during presidential election years in the United States. For more information on the series visit: www.thehereafterishere.com/itdoesntmatterwhyitisitdoesntmatterifitswrong. Thank you for listening!

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released October 23, 2020

written and recorded by John Elliott in June 2020.

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John Elliott San Francisco, California

“John Elliott is the Andy Kaufman of folk music.”

“Post Seinfeld, Post 9/11 Eyebrow Rock.”

“Well crafted and artful songs by a potentially disturbed individual.”

Singer/songcyclist.
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