It Doesn’t Matter Why It Is, It Doesn’t Matter If It’s Wrong IV

“It Doesn’t Matter Why It Is, It Doesn’t Matter If It’s Wrong IV” was released in October 2020 and is the fourth installment in an ongoing series of loosely related, quadrennial recordings that are released during presidential election years in the United States. All songs by John Elliott (BMI) 2020.

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Alternate Timeline

There are many possible worlds, there are many possible worlds

So we didn’t lose Betty, we didn’t lose Betty

Betty is alive in another timeline

Betty didn’t die in the tower, Betty didn’t die in the tower after all

And Pete never went to the war

And if Pete never went to the war

Then he may not have any swords and I may have never met him

If Pete never went to the war, that’s one more cycle ended

One more violent cycle ended

In another timeline Wallace never hears a buzzing sound

In another timeline Charlie and Charlie are together

2012: the Mayans were right

Hurricane Sandy was a timeline switch

From that world to this, from that world to this

In that world Mitt

In that world Mitt wins

And none of this happens

A Return to Normalcy (2020)

I just wanna drive my car and go to the store

Nothing more, nothing more

Buy an açaí bowl and a phone or four

Nothing more, nothing more

I know I won’t be rich, but I don’t wanna be poor

Nothing more, nothing more

I want a place to be with a roof and a door

Nothing more, nothing more

Give me a job and a salary

Direct deposit it straight to me

I’ll use it for rent and for groceries

Dignified and free

I want a return to normalcy

We need a return to normalcy

I want a return to normalcy

I feel it deep inside of me

We need a return to normalcy

I wanna go drinking with my pals

I wanna creep up on all the gals

You know, all these crazy changes are affecting me too

Me too

I’m affected

I want a return to normalcy

Products as far as I can see

We’ll eat at a restaurant twice a week

I’ll take you out dancing cheek to cheek

I wanna get loaded up and drive

Take out a payday loan and thrive

It’s only several easy payments of $19.95

(There was a time) It’s almost all forgotten

(There was a time) When each race knew their place

(There was a time) The middle classes thrived

(There was a time) The white folk could survive

(There was a time) Survive!

I want a return to normalcy

Purchase a house with a college degree

Buy a sedan and an SUV

Have a couple kids or three

We had a supplemental fridge

We barely used it, but we did

You know, all these crazy changes are affecting me too

Me too

I’m affected

Me too

I’m affected

Evicted

Grab your toys kids and grab your clothes

We gotta go, we gotta go

Maybe to the shelter, maybe to my mom’s

I don’t know, I don’t know

Sheriff at the front door armed for a war

A platoon of men in a moving van

Grab what you can, leave the rest behind

We’re gettin’ evicted

You’re gonna have to change schools again and find new friends

We’ll make do, we’ll make do

I couldn’t pay the gas bill, couldn’t pay for heat

Now our stuff is on the street, our life is on the street

The place was a mess, the pipes were clogged and stuck

I slave for my pay just to give it all up

The landlord drives up in her fancy truck

We’re gettin’ evicted

Now my kids are hungry and my kids are cold

I can’t sleep, I can’t sleep

Seen seventy places full of cracks and mold

Denied each time, denied each time

Man at the last place dangles the key

Says maybe we can have it if he can have me

It’s Hard To Be White

It’s hard to be white

It used to be cool

We used to be king

We could do anything

We could say, “Merry Christmas”

We could worship our Lord

Buy a Chevy or Ford

Or a very loud motorbike

It’s hard to be white

We wrote all the rules

And now they keep breaking

And changing the bathrooms

And killing policemen

Who serve and protect

And deserve our respect

While they suffer and fight

It’s hard to be white

Faster and faster and more every day

They’re erasing our culture away

Now we get Spanish announcements on the store P.A.

They used to go back, now they come here to stay

Bills are due, money is tight

It’s hard to be white

We were doin’ it right in the suburbs

Sleepin’ all night in the suburbs

Livin’ the dream in the suburbs

We were happy to be in the suburbs

Keeping it clean in the suburbs

Livin’ the dream in the suburbs

If it’s war they want, then it’s war they get

They better believe that our blood and spit

And the tears we spilled to conquer this land

And the savages we killed were all part of the plan

Not for nothing we came, not for nothing we built

Not for nothing we revolted, not for nothing we rebelled

It’s easy to be victimized

To take handouts and believe elitist lies

And professors who teach you who to despise

It’s easy to be the underdog

It’s hard to be rich

It’s hard to be right

It’s hard to be white

It’s hard to be rich

It’s hard to be right

It’s hard to be white

Burn Minneapolis

If the violence won’t end and the killing won’t stop

Then the next one who dies I hope is a cop

And I hope that he suffers and I hope he can’t breathe

And I hope it lasts long and I hope we can see

And I hope that his cheek is pushed into the street

And it grinds and it tears and it bleeds

If it’s come to this, then it’s come to this

Execute the officers and burn Minneapolis

If it’s come to this, then it’s come to this

Execute the officers and burn Minneapolis

Company Man

He’s a slave catcher company man armed with weapons of war

He’s a meat-head murderer company man with a pension and perks galore

It’s easy to hate, it’s fun to despite, a man such as he

Armed to the teeth

Armed to do battle with the homeless and the poor

What else is he for?

He’s a slave catcher company man armed with weapons of war

He’s a meat-head murderer company man with a pension and perks galore

He upholds and he enforces laws of racist filth

Laws unjust and wrong

Armed to the teeth

Armed to do battle with with the homeless and the poor

What else is he for?

Laws created by men of means

Men of unjustifiable, unquantifiable wealth

Men who buy and pay men like these

To strut through the streets and extract petty fees like petty thieves

To intimidate black and brown children and hunt and kill citizens

In the home of the sick and the land of the trapped

In a uniform slick and a ridiculous cap

This is the world we made and accept

For so long

Since we settled on farms and we grew extra food and we needed an asshole to guard it

That’s how policing started

When we settled on farms and we grew extra food and we needed an asshole to guard it

That’s how policing started

He’s a slave catcher company man armed with weapons of war

He’s a meat-head murderer company man with a pension and perks galore

WWG1WGA (Enjoy the Show)

I’m a Q-duder, I’m a YouTuber

I’m in deep state probate

I live in Arizona, I live in Arizona

(Enjoy the show) CNN can eat my ass

(Murder the blacks) Suck my dick and sniff my gas

(Record it on your phone)

I live in Arizona, I live in Arizona

(It’s prophecy, not crime) I post and I tweet

(Suck my white behind) I eat meat

I tithe motherfucker, I tithe

Now let me log in and own some libard, fuckface, they/them, transfag, snowflake, deep state trolls

I’m on a fuckin’ roll

I live in Arizona

I trust the plan

It’s the calm before the storm

Where we go one we go all

Enjoy the show

(I trust the plan) We gotta focus on the family

(I trust the plan) Stock up and get swole

(I trust the plan) It’s apocalyptic Super Bowl

(I trust the plan) By hook or by crook we’ll learn the truth about Sandy Hook

(I trust the plan) It’s the calm before the storm

(I trust the plan) Where we go one we go all

(I trust the plan) No one can stop what is coming

(I trust the plan) Where we go one we go all

Public Executions

Heads will roll, heads will roll, heads will roll

I’m ready for the executions, I’m ready for the executions

Bullets in the brains

I’m ready for the executions

Bullets between the eyes

I’m ready for the executions, I’m ready for the retributions

I’m ready for the executions

Bullets between the eyes

Bullets in the brains

Public executions in the town squares

Everybody gonna be there

18 and over, 18 and over

You can put in on your Instagram

You can put it on your Tik Tok too

Explicit warning, adult advisory

Bullets in the brain, bullets in the brain

Public executions

Heads are gonna roll

Public executions

Bring a blanket, bring a snack

Bring a camera, bring a flask

Everybody will be there

18 and over

Bullets between the eyes

Public executions

Parents are advised, parents are advised

Everybody will be there

At the city hall or in the town square

18 and over

Public executions, public executions

We’ll make it look nice, make it official

Officers in uniforms carrying flags

We’re only following footsteps

Public executions, bullets in the brains

Bullets between the eyes

On the nightly news

Put the highlights up on YouTube

For everyone to see, for everyone to feel

You can hear the applause, you can see ‘em all kneel

You can watch ‘em all beg, when they know that it’s real

You can see ‘em all feel, you can tell that it’s real

A public execution, bullets between the eyes

18 and over

Parents are advised

A public execution, bullets in the brains

Bring a picnic and camera and an umbrella if it rains

A public execution, bullets between the eyes

Get dressed up nice

Parents are advised

A public execution, bullets in the brains

Bring a picnic and camera and an umbrella if it rains

A public execution, bullets between the eyes

Public executions, bullets in the brains

Public executions, bullets between the eyes

Public executions, bullets in the brains

Public executions, bullets between the eyes

Public executions, bullets in the brains

How Ned Came To The Mohawk Valley

We are who we were, we grow and we learn, we learn and evolve and transform

So who was Ned before?

Who was Ned before?

Before he moved to the Mohawk Valley…

He was born in the fifties, grew up in the sixties

Came out in ‘78

He was a product of privilege and a product of wealth

He was poised to be rich and be great

He got his degrees from universities in finance and business galore

He moved to New York and got a job at the top of a tower, cocked to the core

As the 80s began he was hungry and able

He invested impressive amounts

His bosses were pleased, he fudged all his fees

He believed a man’s worth is what counts

And so it was and so it went for twenty-plus odd years

Ned the hard-ass banker man

Ned the stressed out suit, the downtown dweller

Those decades were fast and those decades were dark

Monstrous fortunes were made

Ned fell in love with a man in the park and the man had the gay plague

Nobody knew how to treat it or beat it

Reagan ignored it was real

Ned’s lover died alone in the hospital

Ned taught himself not to feel

He was lucky to live, he was not infected

He buried his hurt and his pain

He lost himself in his work, his stocks went berserk

And Ned rose to Wall Street fame

Yes, it’s safe to say Y2K was a bust

By then Ned was a billionaire

He was overweight and overworked and a heart attack waiting to happen

He was a company man

On the morning it happened Ned had an appointment in his office on the 69th floor

He got in at eight, he never was late

Whatever he had he could always make more

He happened to look out and up and at Tower One at 8:46

The airplane came fast, flew in with a flash

And Ned thought, “I can’t believe this”

His co-workers screamed, his bosses appeared

They all knew that danger was near

Ned thought, “If airplanes are targeting towers we gotta get folks out of here”

Then commotion ensued and the folks were confused

An announcement came on the P.A.

“Listen to me, this is the Port Authority

You’ll be safe if you stay where you are.

The South Tower is good, the South Tower is strong

You’ll be safe if you stay at your desk.”

The people calmed down, the people relaxed

It’s good to know what to expect

But Ned wasn’t buying it, Ned wasn’t sure

Ned simply did not agree

He looked out a window to the south and the west at the Statue of Liberty

He spotted the plane, he watched it fly in in a terrible trajectory

He watched it crash into the South Tower ten floors about him at 9:03

Oh Ned, Oh Ned

Thousands of people will be dead

The building exploded, the deafening noise assaulted their ears and their minds

And folks who were wealthy and folks who were not

Were suddenly all terrified

Ned saw it happen and Ned saw the danger and Ned’s intuition kicked in:

“We’ve gotta get people through hallways to stairways, we’ve gotta get people out now”

He calmed them all down

They were cooled by the sound of a man who was steady and clear

He brought them together down 69 floors and he sang to them, quelling their fears

They emerged from the building at 9:51

In the sun they were blinking and fine

They were walking away, feeling almost okay, when the tower collapsed at 9:59

They all ran for cover, they jumped in an alcove, with Ned again in the lead

In the smoke and the ash, through the screams and the terror and the coughs

Not a single employee was lost

He was a company (wonderful) man

An era was over, the towers were gone

The city was never the same

Ned went to his boss at the end of the month and said, “I gotta get out of the game”

He sold his place and he moved upstate where the air was quiet and clear

In the Mohawk Valley he started over again while the country collapsed into fear

It took several years to release and unwind and to find the sweetness in a simpler life

But Ned had the cash and Ned had the time to heal his heart and transform his mind

And do his part to end the cycle of violence

A Return to Normalcy (1920)

I have a dream we can return to our way of life before the war

I have a dream, I have a dream

We can return to normalcy

I have a dream, I have a dream

I have a dream we can return to normalcy

Not heroics, but healing

Not nostrums, but normalcy

Not revolution, but restoration

Not agitation, but adjustment

Not surgery, but serenity

Not the dramatic, but the dispassionate

Not experiment, but equipoise

Not submergence in internationality

But sustainment in triumphant nationality

There are major strikes in meat-packing and steel

Fear of these radicals and terrorists is real

There are race riots in Chicago

There are anarchists on Wall Street

The Germans and Catholics are outraged at the British

Fear of these radicals and terrorists is real

After this Red Summer we need to wash our hands clean

I was there when Eugene crossed the line

In this timeline the white folks stoned him and the child drowned and died

In another timeline Eugene survived

I was there

Not heroics, but healing (Bring us back to normalcy)

Not nostrums, but normalcy (Bring us back to normalcy)

Not revolution, but restoration (Bring us back to normalcy)

Not agitation, but adjustment (Bring us back Warren G)

Not surgery, but serenity (Bring us back to normalcy)

Not the dramatic, but the dispassionate (Bring us back to normalcy)

Not experiment, but equipoise (Bring us back to normalcy)

Not submergence in internationality (Bring us back Warren G)

Not heroics, but healing (Bring us back to normalcy)

Not nostrums, but normalcy (Bring us back to normalcy)

Not revolution, but restoration (Bring us back to normalcy)

All words written by John Elliott 2020.