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BORN TO WALK

Bruce Springsteen, now environmentally-aware, re-writes his old hits …

Original Bruce:


She’s a hot-stepping Hemi with a four on the floor
She’s a Roadrunner engine in a ‘32 Ford
Late at night when I’m dead on the line
I swear I think of your pretty face when I let her unwind

New improved Green Bruce:


She’s a slow-moving hatchback with continuously-variable transmission
She’s a gas-electric hybrid producing zero emissions!
Late at night, battery power’s restored
I swear I think of your pretty face when I plug in the cord

Original Bruce:


In the day we sweat it out in the streets of a runaway American dream
At night we ride through mansions of glory in suicide machines
Sprung from cages out on highway 9,
Chrome wheeled, fuel injected
and steppin’ out over the line
Baby this town rips the bones from your back
It’s a death trap, it’s a suicide rap
We gotta get out while we’re young
‘Cause tramps like us, baby we were born to run

New improved Green Bruce:


In the day we sweat it out in the streets ‘cos climate change is melting the ice
At night we ride to Greenpeace fundraisers in a bio-fuel mass-transit device
Sprung from depots out on highway 9,
Hemp-wheeled, full of hippies
and toein’ the envirofreak line
Moby this town rips the cress from your salad
It’s a crap song, it’s an unlistenable ballad
We gotta get loud now we’re old
‘Cause gramps like us, baby we were born to scold

Original Bruce:


Well, I had the carburetor, baby, cleaned and checked
With her line blown out she’s hummin’ like a turbojet
Propped her up in the backyard on concrete blocks
For a new clutch plate and a new set of shocks
Took her down to the carwash, check the plugs and point
Well, I’m goin’ out tonight. I’m gonna rock that joint

New improved Green Bruce:


Well, I had the carburetor, baby, thrown away
With her engine gone she’s harmless as a sack of hay
Propped her up in the backyard on fly-ash blocks
Removed the new clutch plate and the whole set of shocks
Took her down to the End-of-Life Vehicle Management Zone
I’m stayin’ home to read Kyoto Protocols

UPDATE. Mr. Bingley has gone Boss-wild in comments! “Sometimes it’s like someone took their Hummer, its engine throaty with brawn/And spent an hour doing donuts in the middle of my lawn ...”

Posted by Tim B. on 04/13/2005 at 11:20 AM
  1. I hope Christopher Guest reads this blog like Bruce reads Krugman and Dowd.
    Whore for the M S M
    Whore for the M S M
    Whore for the M S M
    I’m a dog running lackey of the M S M

    Posted by chinesearithmetic on 2005 04 13 at 01:27 PM • permalink

  2. Old Bruce I’m On Fire

    New Green Bruce:

    Hey little girl, is your daddy home?
    Will you please put down that damn cell phone
    ooh-ooh
    And pull back that curtain
    ooh-ooh-ooh
    Damn Halliburton

    Tell me now baby, don’t you think it’s alarmin’
    How celebrities contribute to Global Warmin’
    ooh-ooh
    With our greenhouse gasses
    ooh-ooh-ooh
    Pompous asses

    Sometimes it’s like someone took their Hummer, its engine throaty with brawn,
    And spent an hour doing donuts in the middle of my lawn

    At night I wake up with the sheets soaking wet
    Pursued in my dreams by a Swift Boat Vet
    ooh-ooh
    And when we tour he won’t come see us
    ooh-ooh-ooh
    Can’t get laid in a Prius...

    Posted by Mr. Bingley on 2005 04 13 at 01:49 PM • permalink

  3. We all know springsteen can say any lefty crap he wants and we wont give a shit :)

    Posted by max power on 2005 04 13 at 01:54 PM • permalink

  4. Señor Bingley es en fuego!

    Posted by chinesearithmetic on 2005 04 13 at 01:57 PM • permalink

  5. Does thisd mean that Exxon sign shouldn’t have given Jungleland light?

    Posted by chinesearithmetic on 2005 04 13 at 02:09 PM • permalink

  6. Hey, Tim and Andrea. Can you sing? There’s a tour waiting for you, assuming Mr. Bingley signs the release.

    Posted by Gary from Jersey on 2005 04 13 at 02:53 PM • permalink

  7. Old Bruce: Glory Days

    New Green Bruce:

    I had a friend named Ronnie Raygun
    Back in the 80s
    While Sagan worried ‘bout the Nuclear Winter
    Ol’ Ronnie feared a nuclear freeze
    Saw him the other night at the tiki bar
    He was singin’ a sad sad song yeah
    About lost ozone and El Ninos
    Cryin’ “where have all the glaciers gone?"

    Rising tides
    They’ll sweep you away
    Rising tides
    Whether you speak Dutch or Malay
    Rising tides, rising ti-i-ides

    Posted by Mr. Bingley on 2005 04 13 at 03:22 PM • permalink

  8. Original Bruce

    New Bruce:

    Well there she sits buddy justa gleaming in the sum
    There to greet a greenie when the protest’s done
    The rest of the family walks, hope it ain’t far
    Wish I could fit them in my ‘lectric car

    Short and squat, barely fits a man
    Kinda like riding in a sardine can
    Well buddy when I die throw my body on a fire
    And generate some juice to fuel my ‘lectric car

    ‘Lectric car, ‘lectric car
    Short and squat, ugly as a scar
    Those people stuck behind are flippin’ me the bird
    ‘Cause I’m creepin’ up the highway like a big old turtle herd

    James Dean in that Mercury ‘49
    Junior Johnson runnin’ thru the woods of Caroline
    Even Burt Reynolds in that black Trans-Am
    Ed Begley’s gonna send’em to a green education camp

    ‘Lectric car, ‘lectric car
    Without an extension cord it won’t go far
    When I take a hill that little motor whines
    Maybe I can convert to run on turpentine

    I used to get the girls like every other punk
    Taking advantage after getting’ them drunk
    Now there’s no more point cruisin’ at the bars
    There ain’t no backseat in my ‘lectric car

    ‘Lectric car, ‘lectric car
    Like trying to drive in a mason jar
    Maybe I’ll get my mojo back
    By trading it in on a Cadillac

    Posted by Ken Summers on 2005 04 13 at 03:35 PM • permalink

  9. hahaha

    nicely done, ken!

    Posted by Mr. Bingley on 2005 04 13 at 03:38 PM • permalink

  10. And may I say the same for you, sir!

    Posted by Ken Summers on 2005 04 13 at 03:42 PM • permalink

  11. How can anyone take seriously a rock star called Bruce?

    Posted by Toryhere2 on 2005 04 13 at 06:05 PM • permalink

  12. Old Bruce: Brilliant Disguise

    Green Bruce:

    Bill and Al sent teams to Kyoto
    We thought they had the fix on
    But in the Senate Chambers
    Our guys oh baby they ran from Exxon
    Oh sure our data’s confusing
    I’ll grant some of our theories are sketchy
    But we’ve PhDs goddammit!
    We’re smart, you’re morons,
    So stop your kvetching.
    Oh Al you didn’t work
    To turn the “nays” into “ayes”
    And now there’s no treaty
    Just a Kyoto surprise

    Tonight my tofu is cold
    It’s illegal to fire up my stove
    God have mercy on the man
    Who crosses Karl Rove...

    Posted by Mr. Bingley on 2005 04 13 at 06:07 PM • permalink

  13. Slightly off topic:

    do any of you american guys know how to “bore out” a low flow showerhead? I had my first “low flow” experience this morning and am very very unhappy.

    Posted by knuckleheadwatch on 2005 04 13 at 06:33 PM • permalink

  14. basicall i want a 69 chevy with a 396 fuelie heads and a hurst on the floor kind of showerhead

    Posted by knuckleheadwatch on 2005 04 13 at 06:36 PM • permalink

  15. Battlestar: reach up, firmly grasp low-flow showerhead, twist to the left until it comes loose. Then go to the hardware store, buy a normal showerhead, and return to your bathroom. Remove normal showerhead from packaging and attach to pipe. (This is of course assuming that you are allowed to purchase normal showerheads in your country of origin.)

    Posted by Andrea Harris, Administrator on 2005 04 13 at 06:39 PM • permalink

  16. You could also check if your water pressure is normal or set too low.

    Posted by Andrea Harris, Administrator on 2005 04 13 at 06:40 PM • permalink

  17. You could also bore it out by reading to it Andrea Dworkin books…

    Posted by Mr. Bingley on 2005 04 13 at 06:41 PM • permalink

  18. Tim,

    Nice, but considering that “protocols” has quite a close rhyme in “assholes” I think you missed a golden opportunity.

    Take it away Mr Bingley.

    Posted by fidens on 2005 04 13 at 06:42 PM • permalink

  19. Andrea

    My ‘47 model showerhead cracked it mid shower this morn so I went to the evil capitalist hardware store that was open and 6am to find they only now come in low flow in Sydney.

    Mr Bingley
    You are truely “on fire” this morn.

    Posted by knuckleheadwatch on 2005 04 13 at 06:45 PM • permalink

  20. fidens, thanks! i used ‘protocols’ here, but not, i will admit, as part of the rhyme scheme. a few other possibilities do come to mind, however…

    Posted by Mr. Bingley on 2005 04 13 at 06:47 PM • permalink

  21. Fuckin’ brilliant. people.

    I’d love to contribute, but I’m off to Mopngolia tomorrow

    Posted by jlc on 2005 04 13 at 06:47 PM • permalink

  22. i’m awfully glad my boss don’t surf.

    Posted by Mr. Bingley on 2005 04 13 at 06:47 PM • permalink

  23. Great job, Mr. Bingley. And since my own rhyming skillz aren’t mad at all (they’re not even upset), I will instead draw some ASCII art of you on your first virtual tour:

    ___________________
    || Mr. Bingley ||
    || L I V E ||
    || ||
    || _ _o, _ ||
    || |O| | |O| ||
    ||_|o|_______|o|_||
    ||\o/\o/\o/\o/\o/||
    ||\o/\o/\o/\o/\o/||
    ||\o/\o/\o/\o/\o/||
    ||\o/\o/\o/\o/\o/||
    </pre>

    Posted by david on 2005 04 13 at 07:03 PM • permalink

  24. BattlestarGallactica:

    Look in the threaded end of the showerhead, where it screws onto the shower neck coming out of the wall; there should be both: a washer that fits around the inside edge of the flange; and a plastic disk with a small hole in the middle. The plastic disk is your restrictor, and should just pull out with a dental pick (those things have a thousand uses and everybody should have one) or a bent finishing nail. Sometimes the washer comes out first, but make sure to put it back before putting the showerhead back. Best to test it by turning on the water with the curtain or door closed and you not in clothes you would mind getting wet. Good luck!

    Posted by Rob C. on 2005 04 13 at 07:10 PM • permalink

  25. Springsteen!?  Is he still alive?

    Posted by RebeccaH on 2005 04 13 at 07:16 PM • permalink

  26. THANK YOU Rob C

    I’ll see if I can post pictures tommorrow morn

    Posted by knuckleheadwatch on 2005 04 13 at 07:18 PM • permalink

  27. I LOVE Springsteen but simply must redeem myself for the off topic transgression – plus I cant resist

    No Surrender

    Well Kyoto turned out the gas
    and I packed up all my tools
    I get more than 3 miles per gallon baby
    but I feel like such a fool
    Tonight I hear the alternative green theatre drummer sound
    I wonder if I still have a heart
    and is it aloud to pound

    Well we made a promise that we forgot to remember
    No retreat baby no surrender
    Like soldiers in the greenies’ sights who aren’t allowed to defend
    well retreat baby we’ll surrender

    When our young faces grow sad and old and hearts of fire grow cold
    We’ll swore blood brothers against the wind
    I’m ready to grow young again
    And hear Dworkins voice calling us home across the open yards
    Well you aint got no place of our own
    With those videos and your pink guitar

    Old brothers in the stormy night with nothing to defend
    well retreat baby we’ll surrender

    Now on the street tonight the lights grow dim
    The Kyoto Protocols are closing in
    There’s a war outside still raging
    you say it ain’t ours anymore to win
    I wish I’d sleep beneath peaceful skies in my lover’s bed
    with a wide open country in my eyes
    and those romantic dreams in my head

    Posted by knuckleheadwatch on 2005 04 13 at 07:53 PM • permalink

  28. Born in the USA

    Green:

    I used to be a big Chrysler fan
    No car of mine would ever be from Japan
    But in the 80s my Cordoba was shit
    I used to fear I’d never get rid of it

    Runs on ethanol
    My car runs on ethanol
    Winters it will sputter and stall
    But chicks dig my new Protocol

    Jimmy Carter’s malaise brought an embargo
    While Lileks played in his yard up in Fargo
    It took twenty years to create Kyoto
    And so I went out and bought a Toyoto

    Runs on ethanol
    My car runs on ethanol
    Winters it will sputter and stall
    But chicks dig my new Protocol

    Tried to get a job at the refinery
    Hiring man said “son, we’re CFC-free”
    I said “man, I will work on commission”
    He said “sorry, that went out the door with fission"

    Runs on ethanol
    My car runs on ethanol
    Winters it will sputter and stall
    But chicks dig my new Protocol

    Posted by Mr. Bingley on 2005 04 13 at 08:20 PM • permalink

  29. nicely done battlestar!

    i’m from and currently live in nj, so at least that’s my excuse…

    Posted by Mr. Bingley on 2005 04 13 at 08:23 PM • permalink

  30. "Like soldiers in the greenies’ sights who aren’t allowed to defend
    well retreat baby we’ll surrender”

    that’s beautiful

    Posted by Mr. Bingley on 2005 04 13 at 08:24 PM • permalink

  31. Thanks MB

    My excuse is that I saw Bruces Boxed set for $9.99 on sale (at a department store in suburban Sydney)

    and convinced my old man to buy it on the grounds that it worked out to be only 23cents per song or some such.

    Posted by knuckleheadwatch on 2005 04 13 at 08:27 PM • permalink

  32. Don’t forget that Mellencamp has also moved to the darkside calling for a Kerry win.  I was going to muck around with “Rain on the Scarecrow” but being a farmer my heart just wasn’t in it. 
    I think his grandpa would have felt betrayed not to mention all those other farmers that Mellencamp used to sing about.
    Still a fan but wounded.

    Posted by youngy on 2005 04 13 at 08:28 PM • permalink

  33. this cracked me up

    Sometimes it’s like someone took their Hummer, its engine throaty with brawn,
    And spent an hour doing donuts in the middle of my lawn

    Posted by knuckleheadwatch on 2005 04 13 at 08:29 PM • permalink

  34. ’Cuz tramps like us,
    Baby we can take the bus…

    Posted by richard mcenroe on 2005 04 13 at 08:58 PM • permalink

  35. jlcydro:

    Ahh yes, scenic Mopngolia. Have a nice trip.

    I can not rhyme.

    I would just have to do some tortured and deep free style.

    Posted by terryelee on 2005 04 13 at 09:26 PM • permalink

  36. Let us know how the shower works, Battlestar! I actually prefer the low-flow showerhead as it conserves hot water, and doesn’t make my fragile girly skin all hurty. The drawbacks are the “massage” setting on the shower head just sort of feels like a faucet turned all the way on. In fact, not so much.

    Posted by Andrea Harris, Administrator on 2005 04 13 at 09:26 PM • permalink

  37. youngy:

    I was a farmer when Cougar stopped being Cougar and just became Mellancamp. I went to the farm aid concerts and was “involved” in the farm movement...that was about as big a joke as the anti war movement.

    Those farmers would by and large disown him. He is from Seymour In, a small town not far from where I live. There was only one blue county in Indiana and it was not Seymour.

    Posted by terryelee on 2005 04 13 at 09:30 PM • permalink

  38. yes battlestar, let us know if your efforts are successful. But i’m not sure we need photos…

    Posted by Mr. Bingley on 2005 04 13 at 09:30 PM • permalink

  39. richard:

    that was just hideous.

    but I am laughing.

    Posted by terryelee on 2005 04 13 at 09:31 PM • permalink

  40. Will do Boss

    The Greenies have gone so wild in my Council that i’m thinking of striking back with verison of “American Chopper”—showing people how to “mod” their houses to get around stupid greeny regulations.

    Posted by knuckleheadwatch on 2005 04 13 at 09:31 PM • permalink

  41. Highways jammed with broken Prius
    When the last transformer fried!
    Mileage don’t mean a thing
    When the battery has died!
    Oil still makes the outlets work, but hey, don’t raise a fuss.
    ‘cuz tramps like us,
    baby we can take the bus!

    Posted by richard mcenroe on 2005 04 13 at 09:39 PM • permalink

  42. The funny thing is you dont actually have to touch the lyrics to “Dancing in the Dark" to make it green.

    Maybe the boss has been a closet green all along but just couldn’t buy a Prius in 1984

    Posted by knuckleheadwatch on 2005 04 13 at 09:52 PM • permalink

  43. Thanks terryelee, I used to wonder about those farm aid concerts.  Farming is bloody tough when the prices aren’t right but I do think that free trade should help (hopefully) our two coutries get the balance right.  If only the EU would play ball.
    It’s like out here when Paul Kelly, a singer/songwriter who sung about ordinary Australians, went all lefty and disowned many of his fan base.  Still love his music though.

    Posted by youngy on 2005 04 13 at 09:59 PM • permalink

  44. what’s the plural of “prius”?

    Priii?

    Priae?

    Posted by Mr. Bingley on 2005 04 13 at 10:03 PM • permalink

  45. what’s the plural of “prius�?

    Priapic.

    Posted by Rob Crawford on 2005 04 13 at 10:18 PM • permalink

  46. I’d go with Prii, as the pronunciation of that roughly approximates your average salon leftist’s high-pitched whine…

    Posted by PW on 2005 04 13 at 10:41 PM • permalink

  47. Pure gold, guys.

    Posted by Sortelli on 2005 04 13 at 10:42 PM • permalink

  48. PW — I believe it’s pronounced “pree-yiiiiiiii” with at least one sinus blocked.

    Posted by richard mcenroe on 2005 04 13 at 10:48 PM • permalink

  49. The tone on this blog has gone down recently (just look at this thread) ... I’m heading over to Paul & Carl for some relief.
    Good day.

    Posted by Stevo on 2005 04 13 at 10:50 PM • permalink

  50. and it rhymes with “sooo-eeeeeee!!!!!!” from Deliverance

    Posted by Mr. Bingley on 2005 04 13 at 10:50 PM • permalink

  51. Gosh. The tone here isn’t high enough for Master Stevo. Or else all this mockery of the Groaner from Jersey has depressed him. It’s so hard to tell and frankly I don’t care.

    Posted by Andrea Harris, Administrator on 2005 04 13 at 11:32 PM • permalink

  52. PW — Now that I think on it, you seldom see more than one Prius at a time.  The owners don’t like to run together since it kills the illusion they’re special.

    Posted by richard mcenroe on 2005 04 13 at 11:45 PM • permalink

  53. Andrea — Laughter is to lefties like water is to the Wicked Witch of the West…

    Posted by richard mcenroe on 2005 04 13 at 11:46 PM • permalink

  54. We were doing fine till somebody had to go and mention John Bougar Mellonhead.

    Posted by Ken Summers on 2005 04 14 at 12:21 AM • permalink

  55. In these desperate times, Bruce is no longer Working On The Highway, he’s Working On Kyoto.

    Planet’s getting hotter, least that’s what I think
    Blame those IC engines, spewing out their stink
    Yeah, planet-raping bastards, driving SUVs
    They’re choking Mother Gaia, wasting energy

    My stats degree will land me some big juicy grants
    I’ll prove the planet’s warming, even if the info’s scant
    Ice-core figures ,tree-ring records, parse them dirty-quick
    Soon I’ve got them looking like a crazy curvy hockey stick

    Working on Kyoto, piling up the bullshit
    Working on Kyoto, numbers I will make fit
    Working on Kyoto, data I must omit
    Working on Kyoto, working on Kyoto


    (OK, some of the lines are off syllable-wise, you try making sense of The Boss’ structure)

    Posted by Crispytoast on 2005 04 14 at 01:50 AM • permalink

  56. Terryelee — No freestyle unless you can rhyme “effulgent.”

    Posted by richard mcenroe on 2005 04 14 at 02:35 AM • permalink

  57. "The Buses of Philadelphia”

    I queued, didn’t matter,
    Couldn’t tell what I felt,
    So hot I thought my ass would melt,
    Gave a buck to the driver,
    Tried to find my own place.
    Oh brother, gonna leave me wastin´ away
    On the buses of Philadelphia?

    I sat down the back by a guy with BO,
    My Chevy Trailblazer vanished and gone.
    Thought of days at the wheel, a rush in the veins,
    Of gunning that guzzler, smashed out of my brain.

    On the streets of Philadelphia.

    Ain’t no Barrichello gonna greet me,
    It’s just you and I my friend
    And my clothes now fit me once more,
    I’ve jogged a thousand miles
    But I’d rather pretend

    That the night has fallen and I’m back in my crate,
    But I’m here next to smelly on the 808,
    So receive me brother environmentalists
    Or will we leave each other alone like this
    On the buses of Philadelphia?

    Mr. Bingley, you’re the Boss.

    Posted by Inurbanus on 2005 04 14 at 06:09 AM • permalink

  58. What about Dancin’ Round In Bark?

    ARRGH! I’m on fire!!

    Posted by Habib on 2005 04 14 at 06:56 AM • permalink

  59. David, the ASCII tribute brings a tear to my eye!

    Posted by Mr. Bingley on 2005 04 14 at 09:07 AM • permalink


  60. Some liberal monotone all alone Rolling Stone
    Doctor from the East
    Says’s turn down the microphone, I’ll shout it out all alone
    It’s what they’ll expect the least.

    Yeeaargh.

    Blinded by the right, dressed up like a douch another metrosexual in the night.

    Yeah, Ok, so I’m no Bingley.

    Posted by joe bagadonuts on 2005 04 14 at 11:52 AM • permalink

  61. Excellent, excellent post and comments.

    Does this mean that Bruce will stop using the Chevy Suburban to take the wife, kids, and all their pool and beach crap to the beach club? Yeah, I believe it when I see it…

    Posted by rollobollo on 2005 04 14 at 01:00 PM • permalink

  62. Joe bagadonuts

    I tried and tried to do something with “blinded by the light” its very hard - I think you’ve done well

    Andrea

    Before I got home Bride of Battlestar had already unscrewed the showerhead, flipped out the circlip with her nailfile and taken the greenie low-flow restrictor out. Altogether much to “nuanced” for my liking. I really wanted to use a power tool to bore that sucker out.

    Had a super shower this morn anyway.

    Cheers

    Posted by knuckleheadwatch on 2005 04 14 at 06:42 PM • permalink

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