Bill Madden

La, la, la, la, la…
La, la, la, la, la…

We are voyagers
Undeterred, unbowed
Who’ve come to tear
The status quo down
When our voices gather
And occupy as one
We’ll not be denied by
Bureaucrats or guns
La, la, la, la, la…
What is ours
La, la, la, la, la…
What is ours

A righteous uprising
For justice, not power
Brings us together
To claim what is ours
Behold the unwavering
Crowds who crash your gates
These are the dreamers
Insurgents of change
La, la, la, la, la…
What is ours
La, la, la, la, la…
What is ours

We’re here to claim
We’re here
We’re here to claim
What is ours
What is ours
What is ours
What is ours
La, la, la, la, la…

In her patterned
Dishabille
Of flowered flea
Market dresses
A naked limb
An arm, a leg
A breast, and yet her
Face not in the frame
Francesca
The mystery begins

Ghostly images
Appear like
Gossamer blurred
Apparitions
Velvet, fur
Taffeta, tulle
A shutter blinks
You dissolve into yourself
Francesca
Your secret is hidden

Life she said, is like
Old coffee-cup sediment

Almost thirty years
And now
I’m looking down
From a similar window
As you leapt
To the littered street
I wonder what release
Was in your mind
Francesca
That cold
That cold
That cold January

All she left
Are negatives
And silver gelatin
All she left
Are negatives
And silver gelatin

Nothing’s ever
Very easy
Nothing’s lucky
Circumstance
It’s all planned
And perfected
Futile kiddie panicky
Emotion gets you nowhere

Everyday you get
A little more indifferent
Every week
A little less amused
Your ego’s
Easily bruised
So when criticized a little bit
You quit right in the middle
O ye of little faith
All lost in her head
O ye of little faith
Nothing’s left to say
That ain’t been said

In a complex world
Of simplicities
Paradox
And linear thinking
You try so hard
To add the facts, but
In your chemical depression
You can only subtract
O ye of little faith
All lost in her head
O ye of little faith
Nothing’s left to say
That ain’t been said

O ye of little faith
All lost in her head
O ye of little faith
Nothing’s left to say
That ain’t been said

The white shirts
Arrived today uninvited
Without any shame
They took everything
I asked the man
Are you happy now
He said, it’s just a job
Nothing personal
Tell that to my child
Tell it to my pregnant wife
I’ve been sold out, now
I don’t even own my own life
Money, more money, more money, more
Hail to the kings of malfeasance
Money, more money, more money, more
God is greed, meet the new religion
New religion

What land is this
I stand upon
I don’t recognize
It anymore
So very, very good
For the few, I guess
‘Cuz it’s most certainly been
Damned for all the rest
How’d we ever get
To this perilous place
Together we have a chance
Apart we’ll all surely fade
Money, more money, more money, more
Hail to the kings of malfeasance
Money, more money, more money, more
God is greed, meet the new religion

Sooner than late, when
The masses discover the lies
For who is at fault, there will be
No quarter, nowhere to hide
Money, more money, more money, more
Hail to the kings of malfeasance
Money, more money, more money, more
God is greed, meet the new religion
New religion…

Knocked out
Unconscious
Bloodied up
Feeling nauseous
Who’s gonna save us
From ourselves

Back and forth
Ad nauseam
What happened to
Our perfect love
Who’s gonna save us
From ourselves

Silence and
Tears are cruel as
The lingering
Of your perfume
Who’s gonna save us
From ourselves

Angels are real
Bitches are too
Angels are real
But this feud is no illusion

Perfection’s
A bitter bliss
I long to steal
Your angry kisses
Who’s gonna save us
From ourselves

One last slow
Dance again
This masquerade
Is never ending
Who’s gonna save us
Who’s gonna save us
Who’s gonna save us
From ourselves

Who’s tending the garden
Who denies her malady
Who enables this destruction
From her gorgeous valleys
To her pristine peaks
Who sullies her dominion, where
Are the keepers of Eden’s gate
Time is waning for reparation
The zero hour
Was yesterday
Mother
Mother

Once sacred and majestic
Now desecrated by industry, when
Does a money grab and gamble
Go from a reckless bet
To a guarantee
Mother
Mother…

How sweet is life
When opportunity
Like forbidden fruit
Hanging from a tree
Teases and taunts
Swaying in the breeze
The fortunate find
Ripe among the leaves
Nobody said
Nobody said
Nobody said
It was gonna be
Easy
Easy

How brave is hope
If all we have is faith
How cruel is a dream
When despair's a life awake
I see the signs
In disparate degrees
Through vacuous eyes
Staring back at me
Nobody said
Nobody said
Nobody said
It was gonna be
Easy

Nobody said it was gonna be
Nobody said it was gonna be
Nobody said it was gonna be
Easy
Easy

I see them
Huddled in cardboard shelter
Under the bridge
With bags and shopping carts
Circumstance
Bad luck, fate or chance
In an instant
It can all come apart
They’re not invisible
Don’t be afraid
To look into their eyes
They’re not invisible
We are all our brother’s keeper
Though we often deny it

I see them
Curled up in fetal positions
Some hold cups
Shoeless in old socks
Signs and sunken eyes
Stare in our direction
Yet, we pretend
We don’t see them
They’re not invisible
Don’t be afraid
To look into their eyes
They’re not invisible
We are all our brother’s keeper
Though we often deny it
I see them
Aye-lie-lie-dee-dee-die-die
I see them
Aye-lie-lie-dee-dee-die-die
I see them
Aye-lie-lie-dee-dee-die-die
I see them

Long standing feuds
Don’t fade easily
At least in some
Immovable minds
Erstwhile friends I’m sure
Had good reason
But understand I too
Had mine
Faith, faith
Faith, we all need
Belief in something

Often far too late
We come to realize
Our time’s only a brief
Moment here
Ephemeral, finite
With no illusion
Love, laugh and embrace
All that’s dear
Faith, faith
Faith, we all need
Belief in something

Faith, faith
Faith, we all need
Belief in something
We all need
Belief in something
We all need
Belief in something
Belief in something
Belief in something

Waiting
As Sandy teases
Taunts of rain drops
Swirl in the wind

Cloud cover hidden
Sky foreboding
Suddenly opens
And all goes black
And in the darkness
I remember it so well
Deluge
Deluge

Faint apparitions
Ghost-like dancers
Fade and flicker
Sparkle and crack
And in the darkness
I remember it so well
Deluge
Deluge

It’s over
Changed forever
Lives and memories
Swept away
And in the darkness
I remember it so well
Deluge
Deluge…