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about

The Bust
Of all the heavy handed lyrics on part one, this one seems perhaps the heavy-handiest. (Peanuts Christmas special reference, sorry.) But it was based, if not on an actual truth, then at least on an emotional one.

I grew up with police being viewed in a negative light. Marty and Mark had both been rousted and beaten at various times. I was often stopped and questioned as a teenager, but was never arrested.

One of my brothers lived a county away, and was raising a large number of kids. A neighbor had called to complain about their stereo being too loud. When the cops came, my brother mouthed off to them, they smacked him around and took him to the station. His kids were all underaged and there was no other adult present, so they all got taken to the station- in handcuffs- as well. The youngest of them was about 8. They were locked in a room at the station with no toilet, given no food or water, and kept there for the better part of a day before something could be done about it. They were eventually released. Nothing ever happened to the officers in charge of this debacle.

When I heard about this, I wrote various protest-y kinds of songs. This was the only one that stuck, probably more because of the music than the lyrics. I'm not anti-cop; I'm anti-BAD-cop. People who don't use this level of authority well should have to answer for it.

lyrics

The black and white rolls up the road
You feel so very far from home
There's no way out, the law's the law
Don't you know KID?

See, they just don't care what you do,
Since it ain't really up to you
The orders come and orders never lie, KID.

They can't look at themselves
So they point straight at you
They've seen your type before
You're just another kid stoned and breaking the law

And you rob
And you steal
Or you kill
Or you deal...it's all the same to them.


The cuffs are on
The club comes down
They kick you as you hit the ground
That's OK, you gave 'em shit,
Don't you know, kid?

They take their anger to the streets
They've got nobody else to beat
Your rights are just a fallacy,
Don't you know kid?

G.S., early '82

credits

from Darkland Express part one, released April 29, 2016
GS: guitar, bass, acoustic drums, vocals

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Greg Segal Portland, Oregon

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