h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

...nothing in particular , a thread for bits of song lyrics, snatches of poetry, ascii art, and smiley abuse.

We (who? maybe I) should stick to small excerpts, so the moderators don't have to worry about copyright.



I'd like to start with a couple of bits from David Bowie's 'Bewlay Brothers', which popped into my head after I got home from it all last night:

"And so the story goes they wore the clothes
They said the things to make it seem - improbable
The whale of a lie like they hope it was...

. . .

"Now my Brother lays upon the Rocks
He could be dead, He could be not
He could be - You
He's Chameleon, Comedian, Corinthian and Caricature..."

All in all, it's just a
'Nother brick in the wall...

Memories Can't Wait
---------------------------

Do you remember anyone here?
No you don't remember anything at all
I'm sleeping, I'm flat on my back
Never woke up, had no regrets

There's a party in my mind...And it never stops
There's a party up there all the time...They'll
party till they drop
Other people can go home...Other people they can split
I'll be here all the time...I can never quit

Take a walk through the land of shadows
Take a walk through the peaceful meadows
Try not to look so disappointed
It isn't what you hoped for, is it?
There's a party in my mind...And I hope it never stops
I'm stuck here in this seat...I might not stand up

Other people can go home...Everyone else will split
I'll be here all the time...I can never quit

Everything is very quiet
Everyone has gone to sleep
I'm wide awake on memories
Their memories can't wait.

--------------------------
Talking Heads, of course. The last remaining vestige of my youthful musical tastes... Devo's been ousted.

Speaking of which...

He's a man on a mission
He's a boy with a gun
He's got a picture in his pocket of the lucky one...

Who doesn't know
He's a big mess
I mean a really big mess
A big big mess he's all mixed up

And it is my nature to fight.
Whatever I've said is a challenge,
And it must be denied.

But it's easy to see no one wins.
If someone had won, we'd have heard long ago.
No one wins.

-from 'Row' by Rheostatics, a great Canadian band

-----------------------------

You know there's always more than one way,
To say exactly what you mean to say.

-someone Top 40, I don't know the band, but the line reminds me of, speaking of the Talking Heads...

------------------------------

There's a million ways
To get things done,
There's a million ways
To make things work out.

"I know that this is vitriol, / No solution, spleen venting, / But I feel better having screamed; / Don't you?"

REM



"I won't disturb you with the details, because they would..."
"What?"
"Disturb you."

from Life, the Universe and Everything, Chapter 2

Time for a little Frank Zappa (it's always time for a little Zappa!)

Don't know much about dancin'
That's why I got this song
One of my legs is shorter than the other
'N' both my feet's too long
'Course now right along with 'em
I got no natural rhythm
But I go dancin' every night
Hopin' one day I might get it right
I'm a dancin' fool, I'm a
Dancin' fool
I hear that beat; I jump outa my seat,
But I can't compete, 'cause I'm a
Dancin' fool, I'm a
Dancin' fool

(a bit from Dancin' Fool, of course)

The planet of my dreams
The EARTH, my EARTH
Is bulging at the seams
The EARTH, my EARTH
It's full of many schemes
And as the sunlight beams
The glory of our sciences
And militant alliances
Reveal their BASIC WORTH
Along the mounds of dead appliances!

The planet of my dreams
The EARTH, my EARTH
I hear its muffled screams
The EARTH, my EARTH
and though it often seems
From televison beams
That ignorance is rampant there
And Govermental Goons don't care
I know that I shall not despair
And CHEAT like ALL THE REST
I'll just keep on
With what I do the best!

(and some of the lyrics from Planet Of My Dreams)

Rheostatics, from "In This Town"
--------------------------------

I love you... because you don't know why,
You don't know why you feel resentful,
And you weep... and sometimes you are cruel.

I love you...Because you took a stand
For those of us who are the weaker,
'Cause we're not fakes.
We are the wild, and we are the screwed.

You and I... might have a lot to learn;
But we're shot out of the Earth and we tumble into holes.

In the interim
We're spinning and
We don't know how to fall.
All the idiots WHO'RE talking don't know anything at all...
All the famous idiots WHO'RE talking
Don't know anything at all.



Pink Floyd, from "Outside The Wall"
-----------------------------------

And when they've given you their all,
Some stagger and fall, after all it's not easy
Banging your heart against some mad bugger's wall.



and, on CM's behalf,

Embrace, from My Weakness is None of Your Business
--------------------------------------------------

Because my weakness is none of your business
But bad will always collect to one big melting pot
And all my weakness is none of your business
Somehow it always collects to one big melting pot

one more:

Talking Heads, from "People Like Us"
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

People like us, who will answer the telephone
People like us, growing big as a house
People like us
Gonna make it because,
We don't want freedom,
We don't want justice,
We just want someone to love.

...and times are hard, for people like us

This post has been removed.

I wonder what that was...

That was me with a substantial extract in violation of BBC copyright law. Just some good Sting quotes...

à propos of...

...an MSN greeting card I received.



"You've been down this road before
Which is not to say you're bored
Or that you shouldn't want for more
It's just your expectations
Should be lower"

-from Low Expectations, by Edwyn Collins



"It ain't me babe;
It ain't me you're looking for, babe."

-Dylan

(thought of quoting "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right", but... nah.)

...I was just stalki - did I say stalking? I meant passing through.. couldn't help but notice this thread (thank you Tony)

I should have known better,
Than to expect it all.
You want everything,
And you end up grabbing at air.

I had so much to give,
So much hope, we held each other high.
But the heroes are gone,
And all that's left is you and me.

I learned the hard way,
That life should be easy,
But I want you to know it was hard to show,
The things that I know now.

And all that's left is you and me,
And here we are,
Nowhere

Ride - Nowhere

This is the only place I can say it. Although I woulnd't mind talking with them again - I remember some good conversations - it's probably a bad idea. This line reminds me lately... Anyone subscribed here will probably understand.


Jenny said when she was just five years old,
'You know my parents are gonna be the death of us all...'

-Velvet Underground