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On Down the Road

from Maxims, Mantras & Moral Tales by Sam Steffen

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lyrics

I awoke—it was the Hour of Rest, I didn’t get any but I gave it my best
The telescreen cried, “What a beautiful day!” while outside my window all I saw was the gray
Smoke rising out of the fires below where sooner or later they tell me everyone goes
Whether you’re willing or unprepared, it doesn’t make a difference to the Man Upstairs

I clocked in, took my place on the line, made the same old motion til it was quittin time
I got paid, went out on the town, drank a few free ones and bought a few rounds
It got late; I came home around one, got to thinking again how this has never been fun
Last thought I had before I dropped off to sleep was that if this is my life, then I’ve got to be

On down—the road
Don’t look now but you got a long way to go

They’re putting something in the water, it’s makin everyone smile; you don’t notice it until you’ve been without it awhile
And I’m sick now—I been puking my guts, but it’s a small price to pay to keep from goin nuts
Utopia: that’s the name of the Brand on every can, cup and bottle in the Fatherland
Where you’re free to be free, here, if only in dreams—so long as it doesn’t interrupt the machine

I met the devil under an old willow tree—he didn’t look like such a bad fellow to me
He said, “Good and Evil: you know you cain’t always tell. One man’s heaven is just another man’s hell—
Folks always ask me why I do what I done, I tell em it’s cause I got punished before I knew how come
They took my dignity, liberty, all that was mine; way I see it, I’m just making up for lost time—

chorus

In real life, there ain’t no progress at all; you get over the fence—you’re still facin a wall
your country’s the dirt underneath of your nails, your name’s just a word for when your history fails
and tomorrow, it will all be the same, the farmers will starve as they wait for the rain
the sword’s as corrupt as the soil it plowed, you can ask for permission, but you’re never allowed

You want trouble? Here, let me give you my card—you live in a bubble and you think your life’s hard
You’re down on your knees and you’re trying to pray, but your prayers’ve been answered, 24 hours a day
We proved it; we got misery beat, you can’t argue with numbers, just rinse and repeat
Or else increase your dosage, take as much as you need; if nothing changes call me, if you need me, I’ll be—

Chorus

credits

from Maxims, Mantras & Moral Tales, released October 3, 2021

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Sam Steffen Boise, Idaho

Sam Steffen is a Pennsylvania-bred, Boise-based singer-songwriter whose songs are the torch-wood for a new generation of folk music that has learned from the best stuff in the tradition and aims in spite of everything to keep the human spirit alive and kicking. A versatile musician and skilled finger-picker, Sam is at heart a story-teller, and a prolific one. ... more

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