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Lager All That's Left?

from Monkey Paw Situation by Walter Ehresman

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–written for the Flying Dog Brewery Hunter S. Thompson Memorial Beer Poetry Contest, August 2008. The inimitable Ralph Steadman was the judge. I didn’t win (it might have helped if I’d said something nice about their beer, or mentioned it at all).

Watch video here:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mK8iHK9sEU

lyrics

Lager All That’s Left?
(© 2008 Walter Ehresman)


When.........

hypnotic bread and circuses deliver dopamine;
When the spleen and the medulla trump the fore-parts of your brain;
When the gentry and the nobles boldly sink all thoughts of shame,
and there is no club left in the bag when power is the game.

When we only accept rulers with no higher tier of smarts,
and we celebrate the venal and there is no place for heart;
When even selfish motives in the rank and in the file
cannot see the bigger picture and won’t reach that Golden Mile.

When altruism has no chance to even make the list;
When empathy is spat on, and when kindness counts for shit;
When the psychopathic checklist has become a voting guide
and all the commerce lions paint it proudly on their hides.

When trying to shine truth beyond the lazy mental fog
is like algebra to stingrays......is like telling jokes to dogs;
When nations say our people earn the leaders that they get--
I haven’t quite determined how to answer that one yet.

When pondering these questions causes an onslaught of thirst,
and depression points to Ouzo ‘cause you know it tastes the worst;
But you hike your sagging pride and order foamy, cold and wet,
and you scream unto the heavens “is this lager all that’s left?”


Like Richard Pryor said: who you gonna believe, me or your lyin’ eyes?

credits

from Monkey Paw Situation, released May 1, 2009
Walter Ehresman: recitation; keyboards, opti-freak; lager.

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Walter Ehresman San Miguel De Allende, Mexico

Called "the quintessential Austin DIY artist" by famed local disc jockey Charlie Martin , Walter Ehresman was an eccentric presence in the Austin music scene from the '80s until his 2015 move to Mexico. A prolific songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and recording artist...and a restless musical spirit, always looking for something new, expressed with fearlessly honest, socially-conscious lyrics. ... more

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