Phil Ochs — Tape from California

[Verse 1] Who's that coming down the road A sailor from the sea He looks a lot like me I'd know him anywhere, had to stare Feathers on his fingertips A halo 'round his spine He must have lost his mind He should be put away, right away In the corner of the night He handed me his water pipe His eyes were searching deep inside my head Here's what he said [Chorus] Sorry I can't stop and talk now I'm in kind of a hurry anyhow But I'll send you a tape from California [Verse 2] New York City has exploded And it's crashed upon my head I dove beneath the bed Fighting biting nails, turning pale The landlord's at my window And the burglar's at my door I can't take it anymore I guess I'll have to fly, it's worth a try Someone's banging on the wall But there's no party to recall Singer of the shadows of his soul So he's been told [Chorus] Sorry I can't stop and talk now I'm in kind of a hurry anyhow But I'll send you a tape from California [Bridge] From the mirror of my mantel to the velvet on my vest Trapped upon a stolen stage, a Barrymore at best My rhymes are all repeating, my ballads are growing blind Words have turned to water, the women turned to wine [Verse 3] The draft board is debating If they'd like to take my life I'd sooner take a wife and raise a child or two Wouldn't you? Peace has turned to poison And the flag has blown a fuse Even courage is confused And now all the brave are in the grave Century is bending Have a very happy ending To the victor go the ashes of the spoil The seeds in the soil [Chorus] Sorry I can't stop and talk now I'm in kind of a hurry anyhow But I'll send you a tape from California [Verse 4] The flower power Fuller Brush man's Farming out his friends I stabbed him with my stem And then I tapped his toes with my rose He crawled around inside himself Now he's crawling after me Dropping acid in my tea He wants to save my soul Rock and roll One of us must understand It's not the drug that makes the man Then a poster of a movie star walked by He must have been high [Chorus] Sorry I can't stop and talk now I'm in kind of a hurry anyhow But I'll send you a tape from California [Bridge] Half the world is crazy and the other half is scared Madonnas do the minuet for naked millionaires The anarchists are rising while we're racing for the moon It doesn't take a seer to see the scene is coming soon [Verse 5] So who's that coming down the road A sailor from the sea He looks a lot like me I'd know him anywhere, had to stare Now a fire 'round his fingertips A song around his spine He must have found his mind He should be put away, anyway Surrounded by the slaughter Now I'm boarding at the border When the echoes of my ecstasy appear Wish I was here [Chorus] Sorry I can't stop and talk now I'm in kind of a hurry anyhow But I'll send you a tape from California