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YOU ARE WHAT YOU IS

 The Meek Shall Inherit Nothing

Notes and Comments
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Well, I heard that some sheik
Has bought New Jersey last week
'N you suckers ain't gettin' nothin'
Is Hare Rama really wrong
If you wander around
  See Hare Rame comments in Can't Afford No Shoes section of OSFA N&C
 
You say yer life's a bum deal
'N yer up against the wall...
Well, people, you ain't even got no
Deal at all
'Cause what they do
In Washington
They just takes care
of NUMBER ONE
An' NUMBER ONE ain't YOU
You ain't even NUMBER TWO
From: Evil Bob <evilbob@tbag.tscs.com>
  This seems rather straight-forward providing you are aware of the common phrase "To look out for Number One" (which refers to selfishness and seeing after one's own needs first - i.e. the Number One thing on your agenda is yourself). The whole phrase not only rhymes but is amusing in the sense that he's making the factual observation that you don't know where you stand in relation to the guys in Washington. After all, you ain't Number One on their list and, as if you were hopeful, you ain't even Number Two.
  But as you might have guessed there's more here and one of the clues is the fact that the words NUMBER ONE and NUMBER TWO are in caps. Another semi-obscure part of the Iconography of Americana is the use of the phrase NUMBER ONE and NUMBER TWO to refer to the 2 ways humans go to the bathroom. NUMBER ONE refers to pissing and NUMBER TWO refers to shitting (and TWO rhymes with doo-doo). This all comes down to us Americans from our experience in school. Some say that back in the 50s, if you were sitting in the middle of class and wanted to go to the bathroom you raised one finger if you had to go do a NUMBER ONE and you raised two fingers if you had to go do a NUMBER TWO. The teacher then excused you from class and you went and did your business. I never underwent this bizarre type of classroom discipline myself, but by the time I was 9 years old I was well aware of this terminology and it's excretory usage.
  Anyway, now that I've had to take all that boring space to explain this stupid little joke, what FZ is saying here is that, to the guys in Washington - you ain't SHIT.
From: Vladimir Sovetov <sova@arf.ru>
  The idea is vividly illustrated in THING-FISH version of this song by kid's ditty
Push de button, pull dat chain,
Out come dat lil' brown
Choo-choo train!
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Those Jesus Freaks
Well, they're friendly but
The shit they believe
Has got their minds all shut
An' they don't even care
When the church takes a cut
From: Evil Bob <evilbob@tbag.tscs.com>
  This is a reference to the Christian practise of "tithing". A "tithe" is a percentage of your income (usually 10%) that you "dedicate to God" and foolishly hand over to your church.
From: Cliff Heller <fnord@panix.com>
  CC: Broadway the Hardway: "Jeezo Bucks"
  I think it's important at this point to mention that this song, and the medley it heads off on this album marks the point where Frank began to directly challenge the intelligence and integrity of Organized Religion, particularly the TV Evangelist variety. This theme dominated his social commentary throughout the 80's.
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Laugh till ya choke
On Billy Graham
From: Evil Bob <evilbob@tbag.tscs.com>
  Billy Graham is perhaps the most famous Christian evangelist of modern times. He has been at it for a very long time. Though it is not generally known, he owes a great deal of his success to his proximity to powerful American political interests.
From: Cliff Heller <fnord@panix.com>
  Most notably one Richard Nixon. Billy Graham was his "personal" reverend. This relationship probably marked the beginning of the ties between the republican party and evangelical religion.
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SOME TAKE THE BIBLE...
(Aw gimme half a dozen for the hotel room!)
From: Evil Bob <evilbob@tbag.tscs.com>
  This is another double entendre. In the main it refers to the practise of a Christian missionary organization known as The Gideon Society. They are known primarily for the fact that most hotels and motels in the US have a copy of the Bible in every room (usually it's in one of the dresser drawers, but when my wife and I travel it ends up in the hall outside). These Bibles are placed in the rooms compliments of The Gideon Society and inside every copy is a little blurb about The Gideon Society and its important holy work. Some people take the Bible with them when they check out of the hotel and this is encouraged by The Gideon Society. In a way this harks back to a section of 200 Motels when Jeff Simmons steals everything in the motel room.
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SOVA NOSE Any proposal? I'd like to hear!
Provocation, compilation and design © Vladimir Sovetov, 1994-2004
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