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Recorded August-September 1983, released March 1984.
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1. Meltdown (At Madame
Tussaud's)
2. We Don't Need No Colour Code
3. Am I In Sync?
4. Meat The Press
5. Over My Dead Body
6. Sin For a Season
7. Guilty By Association
8. Hero
9. Jenny
10. Baby Doe
Meltdown Remixes were included on the CD version of this album
1. Meltdown (At Madame Tussaud's)
Meltdown at Madame Tussaud's--the queen is losing face
meltdown at Madame Tussaud's--a national disgrace
it's the middle of the night at the London shrine
could have been the janitor, could have been divine
someone said the thermostat never did work
now we've got the temperature going berserk
Meltdown at Madame Tussaud's--the queen is losing face
meltdown at Madame Tussaud's--a national disgrace
celebrities, statesmen, history's elite
they're dripping in the hallways, they're starting to secrete
they're pouring out the pores, they're shrinking on the spot
someone take a photograph--get 'em while they're hot
Meltdown at Madame Tussaud's--the president looks alarmed
meltdown at Madame Tussaud's--a general's been disarmed
feverish at Fleet Street--story of the year
"Get the Facts--House of Wax Photo Souvenir"
"Shameful" Says the Times. "Maybe Done By Vandals"
panic on Wall Street--put your stock in candles
I thought I heard a ghost say
"had my hands in my pockets on the Judgment Day
nobody told me there's fire in the hole
had the world by the tail but I lost my soul"
Meltdown at Madame Tussaud's--a rock & roll hotel
meltdown at Madame Tussaud's--they're blending very well
Elvis and the Beatles have seen a better day
better off to burn out than to melt away
Dylan may be fillin' the puddle they designed
is it gonna take a miracle to make up his mind?
Meltdown at Madame Tussaud's--athletes on the flood
meltdown at Madame Tussaud's--they're running out the door
bad boy McEnroe couldn't keep his cool
now he's with the rest of 'em, wading in the pool
"Howard Hughes--Billionaire" says the written guide
pity that his assets have all been liquefied
"Celebrity status only got in the way
had my hands in my pockets on the Judgment Day
you can't take it with you--there's fire in the hole
had the world by the tail but I lost my soul"
Meltdown at Madame Tussaud's--the queen is losing face
meltdown at Madame Tussaud's--a national disgrace
down in the dungeon--the Chamber of Horrors
look at all the criminals soften to the cores
they're mixing with the head of state floating down the lane
good, bad, there they go down the same drain
Back to Top
2. We Don't Need No Colour Code
Down Carolina way
lived a man name o' Big B.J.
B.J. went and got a school
founded on caucasian rule
bumper sticker on his Ford
says "Honkies If You Love The Lord"
chorus:
We don't need no colour code
take your rules and hit the road
Judgment Day is goin' down
better burn your cap and gown
White man speak with forked tongue
white supremists eat their young
bigotry is on the loose
ignorance is no excuse
I know Jesus loves that man
even with a Greenville tan
(chorus)
Marching to Pretoria
colour codes in churches huh?
following a fascist creed
whose translation do you read?
true believers won't be snowed
we don't need no colour code
(chorus)
Back to Top
Synthesizer rock ruled Jessica's feet
as a slave to that ubiquitous beat
visions of the big screen danced in her head
"In a matter of time," she said
Jessie never got her Hollywood roll
and the pogo nights have taken their toll
she can do The Monkey off o' the cuff
but her mind has a missing link
chorus:
Am I in sync?
paint a picture on a subway train
carve my name in a video game
out looking for the camera crews
sell my soul for a second on the evening news
live 'til the bubble pops
hold my breath when the big one drops
immortality is what I'm buying
but I'd rather be immortal by not dying
Laboratory rats made Roger a fink
and the laws of science drove him to drink
working for the taste of public acclaim
and a cute the bore his name
Nobel Prizes would have been nice
but he lost his mind to renegade mice
Roger traded dreams of "Man Of The Year"
for an understanding shrink...
(chorus)
Back to Top
In a ninety-floor Manhattan address
lives a watchdog called the National Press
and around his collar's written the line
"The Protector Of Our Hearts And Minds"
Hark! Hark! The dog will bark
and we believe this hierarch
but read between the lines and see
this dog's been barking up the wrong tree
Meat The Press
When the ratings point the camera's eye
They can state the facts while telling a lie
and then watchdog shows to the viewers at ten
he's a bloodhound with a pad and pen
can't pin the blame--he's out of reach
just call the dog "His Royal Leech"
we held the rights for heaven's sake
'til we gave this sucker an even break
Meat The Press
When the godless chair the judgment seat
we can thank the godless media elite
they can silence those who fall from their grace
with a note that says "we haven't the space"
well lookee there--the dog's asleep
whenever we march or say a peep
A Christian can't get equal time
Unless he's a looney committing a crime
listen up if you've got ears
I'm tired of condescending sneers
I've got a dog who smells a fight
and he still believes in wrong and right
Meat The Press
Back to Top
After the Nazis we were baited by the Russian bear
our "liberators" wanted Poland for a thoroughfare
I was a victim of December 1981
I took a final beating from the blunt end of a Russian gun
You plant your missiles while our people wait in line for bread
you hang an army tank above us by a bloody thread
you bought our government they crawl like bleating sheep to you
we know from history that human life is cheap to you
chorus:
Over my dead body redemption draweth nigh
over my dead body I hear a battle cry
try and blow out the fire--you're fanning the flames
we're gonna rise up from the ashes 'til we're ashes again
You make a mockery of all that we hold sacred here
you drive us underground in hopes that we will disappear
we seek our sanctuary where the altar candle burns
our dignity's a legacy the cross of Jesus reaffirms
(chorus)
After the Nazis we were baited by the Russian bear
our "liberators" wanted Poland for a thoroughfare
rise up my brothers don't despair the Iron Curtain's rod
someday we'll draw the string assisted by the hand of God
I was a victim of December 1981
I took a final beating from the blunt end of a Russian gun
you made a memory--the memory will multiply
you may kill the body but the spirit--it will never die
(chorus)
Back to Top
There's a sweaty hand handling his cocktail napkin
"come on up and see me" is scribbled with a gold pen
"but you'd better ring twice"
seven months after his little indiscretion
he sits with his wife at a therapy session
for a little advice
"if the healing happens as the time goes by
tell me why I still can't look her in the eye"
"God I'm only human, got no other reason..."
sin for a season...
There's a shaky hand shaking with the hand of her hostess
drank a little much, but she'll drive herself home
if she can make it to her care
she never saw the sign or the boy with his daddy
driving home late from their very first ballgame
and they don't get far
now the years run together as her guilt goes wild
she still sees the body of an only child
"God I'm only human, got no other reason..."
sin for a season...
Wealthy lips say "keep us from the Evil One"
while the praying hands with deliberate cunning
on the carcass of the cold
gonna get the Good Lord to forgive a little sin
get the slate cleaned so he can dirty it again
and no one else will ever know
but he reaps his harvest as his heart grows hard
no man's gonna make a mockery of God
"I'm only human, got no other reason..."
sin for a season...
Back to Top
So you need a new car? let your fingers take a walk
through the business guide for the "born again" flock
you'll be keeping all your money in the kingdom now
and you'll only drink milk from a Christian cow
don't you go casting your bread to keep the heathen well-fed
line Christian pockets instead--avoid temptation
guilty by association
Turn the radio on to a down-home drawl
hear a brylcream prophet with a message for y'all
"I have found a new utensil in the devil's toolbox
and the heads are gonna roll if Jesus rocks
it's a worldly design! God's music should be divine!
try buying records like mine--avoid temptation"
guilty by association
So you say it's of the devil and we've got no choice
because you heard a revelation from the "still small voice?"
if the Bible doesn't back it then it seems quite clear
perhaps it was the devil who whispered in your ear
It's a Telethon Tuesday for "The Gospel Club"
"send your money in now or they're gonna pull the
plug!"
just remember this fact when they plead and beg
When The Chicken Squawks Loudest Gonna Lay A Big Egg
you could be smelling a crook
you should be checking The Book
but you'd rather listen thank look--the implication
guilty by association
Back to Top
8. Hero
When the house fell asleep there was always a light
and it fell from the page to the eyes of an American boy
in a storybook land I could dream what I read
when it went to my head I'd see
I wanna be a hero
chorus:
Hero
it's a nice-boy notion that the real world's gonna destroy
you know
it's a Marvel comicbook Saturday matinee fairytale, boy
Growing older you'll find that illusions are brought
and the idol you thought you'd be was just another zero
I wanna be a hero
Heroes died when the squealers bought 'em off
died when the dealers got 'em off
welcome to the "in it for the money as an idol" show
when they ain't as big as life
when the ditch their second wife
where's the boy to go?
gotta be a hero
(chorus)
When the house fell asleep
from a book I was led to a light that I never knew
I wanna be your hero
and he spoke to my heart from the moment I prayed
here's a pattern I made for you
I wanna be your hero
Back to Top
9. Jenny
On a Saturday night all the girls run free
singing "bury me not on the lone prairie"
but where do you go when you finish broken-hearted?
back to the dust where you started
Jenny cut her teeth in a midwest shack
as a shantytown girl on the wrong end of the tracks
her mama taught her everything she'd need to get along
and her Sunday School teacher taught her right and wrong
raised to be respectable but born to be poor
it was all she'd ever known but she figured there was more
when she came of age Jenny made herself a vow
"I'm gonna get out and I don't care how"
It appeared every Autumn on the courthouse lawn
and the leaves never fell till the carnival was gone
Michael was a barker for an arcade ride
with a smooth-talk tongue and a wandering eye
"get your tickets here for the Halls O'Mirrors maze
if you can't get out I know I couple ways"
he caught Jenny's eye but her thoughts looked down
all she wanted was a ticket going out of that town
chorus:
Oh how I wanna bury you
bury you and run away--done away
how I wanna bury your memory
why don't you let me be?
Michael stole a kiss then he whispered at last
"you're a little old-fashioned so forget about your past
these Bible belt folks think living is a sin
so they all start dying from the day they're born again"
and there atop the Ferris wheel the colours were a blur
the morning said he loved her but she wasn't really sure
he made her promise not to leave until he came to get her
she promised him but she should have known better
(chorus)
On a train--stowaway
Jesus loves you still and your mama wants you home
but oh bridges burn
when you carry your shame and you think you can't return
(chorus)
When they finally found her body on a cold dog day
it was in a cattle car buried in the hay
a note in the pocket of her calico dress
said "I'm guilty as sin but I can't confess"
once you know the truth you can hide it on a shelf
but unless you bring it down you can't live with yourself
in her right hand Jenny held the Bible of her mother
Jenny had a pistol in the other
On a Saturday night all the girls run free
singing "bury me not on the lone prairie"
but where do you go when you finish broken-hearted?
back to the dust where you started
Back to Top
10. Baby Doe
Unfolding today
a miracle play
this Indiana morn
the father--he sighs
she opens her eyes
their baby boy is born
"We don't understand
he's not like we planned"
the doctor shakes his head
"abnormal" they cry
and so they decide
this child is better dead
I bear the blame
believers are few
and what am I to do?
I share the shame
the cradle's below
and where is Baby Doe?
A hearing is sought
the lawyers are bought
the court won't let him eat
the papers applaud
when judges play God
this child is getting weak
They're drawing a bead
reciting their creed
"Respect A Woman's Choice"
I've heard that before
how can you ignore
this baby has a voice
I bear the blame...
it's over and done
the presses have run
some call the parents brave
behind your disguise your rhetoric lies
you watched a baby starve
Back to Top
