“Call of the West” - Wall of Voodoo
He got the high sign so he jumped the bus
On the roads and why not through
The hot Mojave and the Jericho
He start his whole life anew
And what he'd left behind he hadn't valued
Half as much as some things he never knew
Right around sundown
He got dropped off on a street in town
Where a grey old man looked him up and down and said
"Son, this ain't no western movie matinee
You're a long way off from yippie yi yay
'Cause I can tell at a glance you're not from around these parts
Got a green look about you and that's a gringo for starts
Sometimes the only thing a western savage understands
Are whisky and rifles, and an unarmed man like you
You gotta keep on the move
Don't let that fancy paint job fool you"
Then an old-timer pulled him close and said
"You've come a long way, I know
You got a longer drive ahead
Through the bones of the buffalo
Through the claims of the western dead
And just like the spokes of a wheel
You'll spin 'round with the rest
You'll hear the drums and the brush of steel
You'll hear the call of the west, call of the west
You'll hear the call of the west, call of the west"
Harshly awakened by the sound of six rounds of light caliber rifle fore
Followed minutes later by the booming of nine rounds from a heavier rifle
But you can't close off the wilderness
Heard the snick of a rifle bolt, found himself peering down the muzzle of a weapon
Held by a drunken liquor store owner
"There's a conflict," he said
"There's a conflict between land and people
The people have to go, they've come all the way out here
To make mining claims, to do automobile body work
To gamble, to take pictures, to not have to do laundry, to own a minibike
To have their own CD radios and air conditioning
And good plumbing for sure
To sell time, life books and to work in a deli
To have some chili every morning
Maybe, maybe to own their own gas stations again
To take drugs and have some crazy sex
But above all, above all, to have a fair shake
To get a piece of the rock and a slice of the pie
And to spit out the window in your car
Not have the wind blow mess with your face"
Down from the high timberline to the desert's drive
Who'll risk dangling on some hangman's tree
To stake their claims on these prairie plains
While they say this lunch is not had for free?
Just like the spokes of a wheel
Who'll spin 'round with the rest?
They'll hear the drums and the brush of steel
And I'll hear the call of the west, call of the west
Yippie-yi-yo, yippie-yi-yo, yi-yay, yippie-yi-yo
I'll hear the call of the west, call of the west
Yippie-yi-yo, yippie-yi-yo, yi-yay, yippie-yi-yo
I'll hear the call of the west, call of the west
Yippie-yi-yo, yippie-yi-yo, yi-yay, yippie-yi-yo
I'll hear the call of the west, call of the west
Yippie-yi-yo, yippie-yi-yo, yi-yay, yippie-yi-yo
I'll hear the call of the west, call of the west
Yippie-yi-yo, yippie-yi-yo, yi-yay, yippie-yi-yo
I used to be somebody (yippie-yi-yo, yippie-yi-yo, yi-yay, yippie-yi-yo)
I used to be somebody, you hear me?
Do you hear me? (Yippie-yi-yo, yippie-yi-yo, yi-yay, yippie-yi-yo)
I've been there, I used to be somebody, goddamn you
I've been there before, don't walk away (yippie-yi-yo, yippie-yi-yo, yi-yay, yippie-yi-yo)
(Yippie-yi-yo, yippie-yi-yo, yi-yay, yippie-yi-yo)
(Yippie-yi-yo, yippie-yi-yo, yi-yay, yippie-yi-yo)
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