We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

fireman (Part 2 of "The Drug Years")

by Paul Roessler

/
  • Streaming + Download

    Includes high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more. Paying supporters also get unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app.
    Purchasable with gift card

      name your price

     

1.
So like an old car that limps along the tires are good but the engines gone So we in our little way somehow go on parts of us working and some others all wrong Sometimes the body goes on after the mind has died sometimes the body dies but the mind survives Sometimes the head is dead but the brain remains sometimes the heart is willing but the feet are lame And somewhere headless corpses are dancing pirouettes and lighting cigarettes And bald men comb their ghostly hair amputees foxtrot through the air Sometimes the body goes on after the mind has died Sometimes the body dies but the mind survives Sometimes the head is dead but the brain remains Sometimes the heart is willing but the feet are lame The Politician says his lines but his eyes are flat and there's nothing behind And the teacher teach but the kids can't learn and the bibles are pounded and the books are burned And the trumpet blows and we toast our health, we march to war but it's against ourselves and Plugging our ears stabbing our eyes what we can't ignore we learn to deny And somewhere severed heads spin like tops to carnival(cannibal?) music that never stops And vicious little mutants (doctors?) with 99 eyes operate on anything they can immobilize And somewhere eyeless mutants are watching... Sometimes the body goes on after the mind has died Sometimes the body dies but the mind survives Sometimes the head is dead but the brain remains Sometimes the heart is willing but the feet are lame And when they both go you can't be far behind Although I don't know some people do just fine...
2.
Rolling Over 05:37
Cause in this life you were raped by god And torn to pieces by an angry mob If you saw the stairway we had bought You’d take it all in grab your works and do it again I hope that you’re laughing Looking down and laughing I bet you can’t stop laughing Cause if you’re not laughing you’re rolling over in your grave You always had the utmost respect for me (Yeah and wishes are horses and money grows on trees) You were more than kind to everyone else (The miracle is no one else killed themselves) Your crazy energy everywhere you went (You barely kept your depression in check) The whole world was shocked by your suicide (No one knew or cared who you were when you died) I hope that you’re laughing Looking down and laughing I bet you can’t stop laughing Cause if you’re not laughing you’re rolling over in your grave Tonight there’s a little anniversary that I keep Listen to old Bowie and try not to sleep I watch “The Boy with Green Hair” on TV And wonder what the fuck it all means Now I’ve changed a lot since I was a young man And I’m killing myself as fast as I can But even if I’m nimble as Jumpin Jack Flash Still can’t keep up with Darby Crash I hope that you’re laughing Looking down and laughing I bet you can’t stop laughing
3.
A million and one aches and pains all starting in a sick corner of your brain All your sorrows and your fears your disappointments and your tears Take all the medicine that you want it won’t help you with what you’ve got You ask the doctor what do you expect him to say? What do you want to hear and how much you got to pay? It’s all in your head, everything is psychosomatic Psycho, psycho, psychosomatic You’ve never been sick a day in your life unless it got you out of something Take good care of yourself, watch what you eat, get plenty of sleep I don’t do any of these things Now take that bad thought stab it in your breast, it’ll be real, it’ll be the best excuse you could have There’s no exception to the rule, everything you catch, think, say or do It’s all in your head… I’m gonna give you the cure, better be sure, here comes your pill…catch it! Heal yourself, no one else can There are no germs or worms, there’s just bad turns, lessons learned and last stands It’s all in your head…
4.
All you white collar criminals I see you all each one You’re all moms and dads and uncles and aunts And somebody’s daughters and sons You all do unto others before they do it to you You want to be the best that you can be And do as little as you can do You make so much money You’d better look busy But you’re worth every penny ‘Cause the market has been iffy Your future looks bright and you sleep well at night And never in your wildest dreams do you question what it all means You must not think so negatively Doodoodoodoodoodoodoodoodoo If I’m wrong how come I’m rich? All you white collar criminals you know you’ve got it made You really don’t do that much at all and you’re still very, very well paid You just kiss a little ass, give a back a stab, stand around and rap, take a nap But not the rap. Listen to the grapevine, always have the right time, look out for #1, Keep the world overrun with parasites, doublespeak, closed minds, outright lies You’re future looks bright and you sleep well at night And never in your wildest dreams do you think what the numbers mean You must not think so negatively
5.
2 Hollywood 03:54
Hey James Dean don’t you know it’s all a dream It’s all cake and ice cream it’s only Hollywood Hey Clara Bow jumping out everyone’s window Didn’t she know it’s only Hollywood It’s just so Hollywood And for everyone who writes his name across the sky There’s a million more like you and I Dreamers and wandering drunks Who never seem to amount to much Hey little tramp who’s your fourteen year old queen Looks like Babylon to me Fast asleep in your black limousine It’s just so Hollywood. So very Hollywood. And for everyone who writes his name across the sky There’s a million more like you and I Dreamers and besotted drunks who never seem to amount to much Neverwas and Used-to-be play out tiny tragedies And microscopic victories down in Hollywood It’s too, too Hollywood So very Hollywood
6.
Hey spare a quarter for a blind man An angel who fell I fought bravely in the war between heaven and hell I stood toe to toe against the foul and the strange The things that I saw. They burned out my eyes I lost the will to live and the strength to die So many gone- the brave and the pure I think that we won I never was sure Now castaway here with a shipwrecked head After we slaughtered our enemies Strangers and friends We died at our own hands Mended our wounds Buried ourselves in deep ancient Sacred tombs I guess I oughta know The closest thing to pure evil You ever touched Was yourself and no one else And you liked it, you liked it You liked it so much The streets of this planet Choke me like ghouls I wake up drowning In stinking fetid pools Left sad behind stranded But a detour for the Well dressed unconscious fools So many gone- the brave and the true I think that we won now I don’t know about you Now castaway here with a shipwrecked head After we slaughtered our enemies Strangers and friends Additional vocals: Jeff Parker
7.
Hiway 61 04:27
Hiway 61 by Bob Dylan Oh God said to Abraham, "Kill me a son" Abe says, "Man, you must be puttin' me on" God say, "No." Abe say, "What?" God say, "You can do what you want Abe, but The next time you see me comin' you better run" Well Abe says, "Where do you want this killin' done?" God says, "Out on Highway 61." Well Georgia Sam he had a bloody nose Welfare Department they wouldn't give him no clothes He asked poor Howard where can I go Howard said there's only one place I know Sam said tell me quick man I got to run 0L' Howard just pointed with his gun And said that way down on Highway 61 Well Mack the Finger said to Louie the King I got forty red white and blue shoe strings And a thousand telephones that don't ring Do you know where I can get rid of these things And Louie the King said let me think for a minute son And he said yes I think it can be easily done Just take everything down to Highway 61 Now the fifth daughter on the twelfth night Told the first father that things weren't right My complexion she said is much too white He said come here and step into the light he says hmm you're right Let me tell the second mother this has been done But the second mother was with the seventh son And they were both out on Highway 61 Now the rovin' gambler he was very bored He was tryin' to create a next world war He found a promoter who nearly fell off the floor He said I never engaged in this kind of thing before But yes I think it can be very easily done We'll just put some bleachers out in the sun And have it on Highway 61
8.
Old People 05:32
Old People turn grey decay say things like: “these kids today” “There’s gonna be hell to pay” “You don’t say” Old people can’t keep the pace so they try to delay the race They move so cautious they move so slow can’t tell if they stop or they go Old people whatever age too scared to leave their cage They’ve seen it all they’ve done it all They used to run now they can barely crawl But they’ve learned from their mistakes It isn’t when you’re born It’s how you ride the storm It isn’t how long you been that counts It’s how tight you bite and how far you pounce Old people turn grey decay say things like: “Remember when” “When I was your age” “Back in my day” “Crime doesn’t pay” “We learn from our mistakes”
9.
You’re a traitor to your country if you don’t fight in this war You’ll be shot at dawn with no blindfold on so you better hup two three four You must pledge allegiance to the thief he’s a murdering psychopathic freak The soldiers all fight for both sides until they shoot themselves and die The End is Coming Coming forever and everyone is going to come together You must wear your uniform with pride as you rape the enemy countryside Forget about any free rides they don’t exist we’ve already tried History’s a nightmare we seem doomed to repeat You can’t wake up from this one this time you’re not asleep The End is Coming Coming forever and everyone is going to come together
10.
Crossroads 04:46
Two amoebas at the crossroads Waiting for a human being One of them was a skeptic But the other he believed The first one said “lets go to bed I don’t see why we wait `Everything you attribute to them I put down to fate No one’s ever seen them Or their footprints in the sand No one’s ever heard one speak or Witnessed one first hand” “When I close my eyes I hear beautiful music That seems to come from another plane When I’m alone I feel a presence that I cannot explain When I look out on our drop of water I feel there must be something more When I think about my life ending it just seems like Walking through another door” “I’m aware of your hallucinations but I am not to blame You think me unenlightened but I think you’re just lame The wishful thinking of the ignorant and blind The warning signs of a species in decline One-celled organisms shouldn’t waste their time” “I see cities reaching for the sky in my dreams” “You are just a machine” “I hear spirits whispering in mountain streams” “You are just a machine” “I hear ancient children’s laughter echoing down through time” “You are just a machine” “Everywhere I look I see eternity” “You are just a machine”
11.
Peyote 06:12
Don’t worry about my welfare just worry about your own Don’t mind me I’m just talking to the termites in your throne As if this great land was something that someone like you could own Irrigated with our blood and fertilized with our bones Your hacienda on the hill might seem a bitter pill But bitter is reading your history as it happens to us still Coming down the dragon bird Feathers red and blue and green King snake skin like a pimp chain gold Selling rocks to horse man’s foal Standing on a stolen beach By the great white swan they rode Peyote! The more you talk the less you say Talking monkeys yak all day Peyote come take me away Here are too many policeman Go to Hollywood and start a band Peyote give us back the land Peyote!
12.
When I was still just a little kid I said “fuck all this rich man bullshit Don’t want to be grow up just like my folks Drinking at the club telling racist jokes I want to be one of the salt of the earth I want to be a man of zero worth Don’t want it easy don’t want to have it made I want to be alone desperate and afraid” I’m a hard living daddy I’m a bum lookin buck I’m a no money honey I’m Mr. Down on his Luck I look like a robber cause I got nervous hands I look like a rapist cause I can’t afford new pants I want to do with less I always want to want some more I want to hide when the bill collector comes to my door I want to be poor. Seems like everything costs so much more Feels good to be pure It’s great down at the welfare place The people there spit right in my face But I know they like me fine If it wasn’t for me they’d be in the same line Anyone can put on a suit and wear it It’s harder to tighten your belt and grin and bear it Squeezing the little man till he bleeds Is old school cool catch the new disease We’re broke folks with a second hand vision We’re powerless and in submission We got nothing to lose we can’t make the evening news Our futures are pawned our dreams are shattered Nothing that we do even matters It’s a glorious life if you can hack it The bottom forgotten in the lowest tax bracket I want to do with less I always want to want some more I want to hide when the bill collector comes to my door I want to be poor. Seems like everything costs so much more Feels good to be pure
13.
Fireman 03:51
The summer was a long one We prayed for rains that wouldn’t come And we sat still as lizards will In our one room lizard prison cell Staring straight ahead I thought Of cooler days and even rain Running over fresh young skin The deep end and jumping in But it would never be the same The sun had burned the rain away She swiveled her eyes and flicked her tongue I thought she’d always been the hot blooded one Her heart hot coals her face just glare Shimmering air rose from her hair She set fires when she was bored She cooked and burned the midnight oil She was the spark the flame the torch She was the match that set my blood to boil

about

96-97. The internet hadn't happened yet. The bands I had played in in the 70s and 80s seemed forgotten. I got an occasional touring gig with Leah Andreone or Prick and would play rock star for a month here or there, but mostly I was a handyman for people kind enough to give me work. The kids were teenagers, I was 38. Washed up.
I was a drug addict.
My friend Pete Evans gave me a 1/4' eight track and my friend Greg Hurley gave me a box of used tapes he rescued out of the trash. I retreated into my garage and made this.
It is my most punk rock album, loud and wild. Funny and sad.
Now I am an old insomniac, listening to music from decades ago.
It still sounds good to me.

credits

released April 2, 2021

All words music and instruments by Paul Roessler except #7 written by Bob Dylan

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Paul Roessler Los Angeles, California

Paul Roessler is a musician, composer and producer who lives in Los Angeles

contact / help

Contact Paul Roessler

Streaming and
Download help

Redeem code

Report this album or account

If you like Paul Roessler, you may also like: