*"AMERICA, WHERE ARE YOU NOW...."- STEPPHENWOLF'S "THE MONSTER"



A YOUTUBE FILM CLIP OF STEPPHENWOLF PERFORMING MONSTER. AH, THOSE WERE THE DAYS.




COMMENTARY/CD REVIEW



STEPPENWOLF: 16 GREATEST HITS, STEPPENWOLF, DIGITAL SOUND, 1990



America where are you now?

Don't you care about your sons and daughters?

Don't you know we need you now

We can't fight alone against the monster



The heavy rock band Steppenwolf, one of many that was thrown up by the musical counter-culture of the mid to late 1960's was a cut above and apart from some of the others due to their scorching lyrics provided mainly, but not solely, by gravelly-voiced lead singer John Kay. Not all the lyrics worked, then or now. Not all the words are now some forty years later memorable. Certainly some of the less political lyrics seem entirely forgettable. As does some of the heavy decibel rock sound that seems to wander at times. But know this- when you think today about trying to escape from the rat race of daily living then you have an enduring anthem "Born To Be Wild" that still stirs the young (and not so young). If Bob Dylan's "Like A Rolling Stone was one musical pillar of the youth revolt of the 1960's then" Born To Be Wild" was the other.



And if you needed (or need) a quick history lesson about the nature of American society in the 1960's, what it was doing to its young, where it had been and where it was heading (and seemingly still is as we fight against the Iraq and Afghan wars) then the trilogy under the title "The Monster" (the chorus which I have posted above) said it all. Then there were songs like "The Pusher Man" a song that could be usefully used as an argument in favor of decriminalization of drugs (although not drug pushers) and other then more topical songs like "Draft Resister" to fill out the album. The group did not have the staying power of others like The Rolling Stones but if you want to know, approximately, what it was like for rock groups to seriously put rock and roll and a hard political edge together give a listen.



Words and music by John Kay, Jerry Edmonton, Nick St. Nicholas and Larry Byrom



(Monster)



Once the religious, the hunted and weary

Chasing the promise of freedom and hope

Came to this country to build a new vision

Far from the reaches of kingdom and pope

Like good Christians, some would burn the witches

Later some got slaves to gather riches



But still from near and far to seek America

They came by thousands to court the wild

And she just patiently smiled and bore a child

To be their spirit and guiding light



And once the ties with the crown had been broken

Westward in saddle and wagon it went

And 'til the railroad linked ocean to ocean

Many the lives which had come to an end

While we bullied, stole and bought our a homeland

We began the slaughter of the red man



But still from near and far to seek America

They came by thousands to court the wild

And she just patiently smiled and bore a child

To be their spirit and guiding light



The blue and grey they stomped it

They kicked it just like a dog

And when the war over

They stuffed it just like a hog



And though the past has it's share of injustice

Kind was the spirit in many a way

But it's protectors and friends have been sleeping

Now it's a monster and will not obey



(SUICIDE)



The spirit was freedom and justice

And it's keepers seem generous and kind

It's leaders were supposed to serve the country

But now they won't pay it no mind

'Cause the people grew fat and got lazy

And now their vote is a meaningless joke

They babble about law and order

But it's all just an echo of what they've been told

Yeah, there's a monster on the loose

It's got our heads into a noose

And it just sits there watchin'



Our cities have turned into jungles

And corruption is stranglin' the land

The police force is watching the people

And the people just can't understand

We don't know how to mind our own business

'Cause the whole worlds got to be just like us

Now we are fighting a war over there

No matter who's the winner

We can't pay the cost

'Cause there's a monster on the loose

It's got our heads into a noose

And it just sits there watching



(AMERICA)



America where are you now?

Don't you care about your sons and daughters?

Don't you know we need you now

We can't fight alone against the monster



(c) Copyright MCA Music (BMI)

All rights for the USA controlled and administered by

MCA Corporation of America, INC



--Used with permission--



Born To Be Wild



Words and music by Mars Bonfire



Get your motor runnin'

Head out on the highway

Lookin' for adventure

And whatever comes our way

Yeah Darlin' go make it happen

Take the world in a love embrace

Fire all of your guns at once

And explode into space



I like smoke and lightning

Heavy metal thunder

Racin' with the wind

And the feelin' that I'm under

Yeah Darlin' go make it happen

Take the world in a love embrace

Fire all of your guns at once

And explode into space



Like a true nature's child

We were born, born to be wild

We can climb so high

I never wanna die



Born to be wild

Born to be wild



(c) MCA Music (BMI)

All rights for the USA controlled and administered by

MCA Corporation of America, INC



--Used with permission--



THE PUSHER



From the 1968 release "Steppenwolf"



Words and music by Hoyt Axton



You know I've smoked a lot of grass

O' Lord, I've popped a lot of pills

But I never touched nothin'

That my spirit could kill

You know, I've seen a lot of people walkin' 'round

With tombstones in their eyes

But the pusher don't care

Ah, if you live or if you die



God damn, The Pusher

God damn, I say The Pusher

I said God damn, God damn The Pusher man



You know the dealer, the dealer is a man

With the love grass in his hand

Oh but the pusher is a monster

Good God, he's not a natural man

The dealer for a nickel

Lord, will sell you lots of sweet dreams

Ah, but the pusher ruin your body

Lord, he'll leave your, he'll leave your mind to scream



God damn, The Pusher

God damn, God damn the Pusher

I said God damn, God, God damn The Pusher man



Well, now if I were the president of this land

You know, I'd declare total war on The Pusher man

I'd cut him if he stands, and I'd shoot him if he'd run

Yes I'd kill him with my Bible and my razor and my gun



God damn The Pusher

Gad damn The Pusher

I said God damn, God damn The Pusher man



(c) Irving Music Inc. (BMI)



--Used with permission--
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