vrijdag 28 oktober 2011

Ukulele Anthem

Ik heb eerder dit video gepost van Amanda Palmer maar de tekst is zo ontzettend cool dat ik het nogmaals hier gaat posten met de tekst erbij. Go Amanda!


sid vicious played a four-string fender bass guitar and couldn’t sing 
and everybody hated him except the ones who loved him 
a ukulele has four strings, but sid did did not play ukulele 
he did smack and probably killed his girlfriend nancy spungen
 
if only sid had had a ukulele, maybe he could have been happy 
maybe he would not have suffered such a sad end 
he maybe would have not done all that heroin instead 
he maybe would’ve sat around just singing nice songs to his girlfriend
 
so play your favorite cover song, especially if the words are wrong 
‘cos even if your grades are bad, it doesn’t mean you’re failing 
do your homework with a fork
and eat your fruit loops in the dark
and bring your etch-a-sketch to work
and play your ukulele

 
ukulele small and forceful 
brave and peaceful
you can play the ukulele too it is painfully simple

play your ukulele badly, play your ukulele loudly 
ukulele banish evil
ukulele save the people 

ukulele gleaming golden on the top of every steeple
 
lizzie borden took an axe, and gave her father thirty whacks 
then gave her mother thirty-one, and left a tragic puzzle 
if only they had given her an instrument, those puritans 
had lost the plot completely
see what happens when you muzzle

a person’s creativity
and do not let them sing and scream 

and nowadays it’s worse ‘cause kids have automatic handguns 
it takes about an hour to learn how to play the ukulele 
about same to teach someone to build a standard pipe bomb
YOU DO THE MATH

 
so play your favorite cover song, especially if the words are wrong 
‘cos even if your grades are bad, it doesn’t mean you’re failing 
do your homework with a fork
and eat your fruit loops in the dark

and bring your flask of jack to work
and play your ukulele

 
ukulele, thing of wonder 
ukulele, wand of thunder 
you can play the ukulele, too
in 
london and down under 
play joan jett, and play jacques brel
and eminem and neutral milk hotel 
the children crush the hatred 
play your ukulele naked
and if anybody tries to steal your ukulele, let them take it

 
imagine there’s no music, imagine there are no songs 
imagine that john lennon wasn’t shot in front of his apartment 
imagine if john lennon had composed “imagine” on the ukulele
maybe folks would have more clearly got the message
 
you may think my approach is simple-minded and naïve 
like if you want to save the world then why not quit and feed the hungry 
but people for millennia have needed music to survive 
and that’s why i’ve promised john that i will not feel guilty
 
so play your favorite beatles’ song 
and make the subway fall in love
they’re only $19.95, that’s not a lot of money 
play until the sun comes up
and play until your fingers suffer 

play LCD soundsystem songs on your ukulele
quit the bitching on your blog 
and stop pretending art is hard 
just limit yourself to three chords 
and do not practice daily 
you’ll minimize some stranger’s sadness 
with a piece of wood and plastic 
holy fuck it’s so fantastic, playing ukulele
eat your homework with a fork
and do your fruit loops in the dark
bring your etch-a-sketch to work 
your flask of jack 
your vibrator 
your fear of heights 
your nikon lens 
your mom and dad 
your disco stick 
your soundtrack from “karate kid” 
your ginsu knives 
your rosary 
your new rebecca black CD 
your favorite room 
your bowie knife 
your stuffed giraffe 
your new glass eye 
your sousaphone 
your breakfast tea 
your nick drake tapes 
your giving tree 
your ice cream truck 
your missing wife 
your will to live 
your urge to cry 
remember we’re all going to die 
so PLAY YOUR UKULELE