Sunday, January 12, 2014

Lyrics for Sunday, The Book Thief, CBGB, Lewis Ginter

Life During Wartime
By David Byrne

Heard of a van that is loaded with weapons
Packed up and ready to go
Heard of some grave sites, out by the highway
A place where nobody knows
The sound of gunfire, off in the distance
I'm getting used to it now
Lived in a brownstone, lived in the ghetto
I've lived all over this town

This ain't no party, this ain't no disco
This ain't no fooling around
No time for dancing, or lovey dovey
I ain't got time for that now

Transmit the message, to the receiver
Hope for an answer some day
I got three passports, a couple of visas
You don't even know my real name
High on a hillside, the trucks are loading
Everything's ready to roll
I sleep in the daytime, I work in the nighttime
I might not ever get home

This ain't no party, this ain't no disco
This ain't no fooling around
This ain't no Mudd Club, or C.B.G.B
I ain't got time for that now
Heard about Houston? Heard about Detroit?
Heard about Pittsburgh, P. A.?
You oughta know not to stand by the window
Somebody might see you up there
I got some groceries, some peanut butter
To last a couple of days
But I ain't got no speakers, ain't got no
Headphones, ain't got no records to play

Why stay in college? Why go to night school?
Gonna be different this time
Can't write a letter, can't send a postcard
I can't write nothing at all
This ain't no party, this ain't no disco
This ain't no fooling around
I'd like to kiss you, I'd love you hold you
I ain't got no time for that now

Trouble in transit, got through the roadblock
We blended with the crowd
We got computer, we're tapping phone lines
I know that that ain't allowed
We dress like students, we dress like housewives
Or in a suit and a tie
I changed my hairstyle, so many times now
I don't know what I look like!
You make me shiver, I feel so tender
We make a pretty good team
Don't get exhausted, I'll do some driving
You ought to get you some sleep
Get you instructions, follow directions
Then you should change your address
Maybe tomorrow, maybe the next day
Whatever you think is best

Burned all my notebooks, what good are
Notebooks? They won't help me survive
My chest is aching, burns like a furnace
The burning keeps me alive
Try to stay healthy, physical fitness
Don't want to catch no disease
Try to be careful, don't take no chances
You better watch what you say

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We woke to dreary rain and heavy fog that lasted most of the day, which turned us all into slugs, even Adam who originally had plans to go watch a high school basketball game and join friends at an indoor pool. Everyone was lazy in the morning and felt like a sitting-around activity instead of a running-around activity, so we went to see The Book Thief, which is excellent. I wasn't sure they could maintain the tone of the book given its unusual narration and jumps in time, plus several subplots loosely linked to the main character, but it's very well done and the acting is terrific; the kids are very impressive.

We had hot dogs and french fries for dinner and since Adam now has all his grades for the first semester, we decided we should all watch another movie. Since the boys voted for something funny or at least not depressing, we watched CBGB, which stars Alan Rickman and has several other known-from-genre actors (Rupert Grint, Malin Akerman, Justin Bartha, Ashley Greene). I don't know enough about the club or the punk scene to have strong opinions on whether they got everything right, but I enjoyed the music and the performances (the young Police scene is fabulous). A few more winter lights pics from Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden:
















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