“Have mercy on the creatures in this sad burlesque”
I think Elvis has done a good job making his point with this list. Part of why I gave up on trying to please the establishment in any way (though I had tried so very hard to succeed playing by their rules) is because I understood that there would be no free artistic expression for me whatsoever unless I rebelled. Stifled creativity was a living death for me and living suppressed and silenced by the constant threats of retaliation they throw at us is no way to live.
I do what I do. They do what they do and then they expose themselves. I don’t think they can rule openly without their glamorous puppets out in front of them. We’ll see.
I figured I’ll do my art. I’ll tell my story. No one can take that from me. I know for a fact that I have lived before and I will live again. I knew and I still know that they can never kill my soul.
I appreciate Elvis Costello for his truth. I don’t think a person with his kind of talent has had it easy either. This system is very oppositional to the talented and many others besides.
I think a lot of the people who are just going along with everything no matter how degrading the compromise are selling their souls to the devil for almost nothing and what’s really sad about that is that they probably don’t even realize it. This is not the time to be very unconscious. I view brainwashing and its practitioners as a chief enemy.
"This Sad Burlesque"
I write in hopes that by the time you get this letter
We may live to see a change for the better
Or are we so devoted to these wretched selfish motives
When the cold facts and figures all add up
They cannot contradict this sad burlesque
This sad burlesque
With miserable failures making entertainment of our fate
Laughter cannot dignify of elevate
This sad burlesque
Now can they recall being young and idealistic
Before wading knee-deep in hogwash and arithmetic
The pitying smirk
The argument runs like clockwork
Will run down eventually and splutter to a stop
P.S. Well by now you know the worst of it
And we've heard all the alibis that they've rehearsed
The smug predictions
If it's not a contradiction
Keep faith in human nature
And have mercy on the creatures in this sad burlesque