Oh, Cursed Fate!

The Lyrics

M.C.'s Back
(© 1993, Daniel C. Eaglin)
Intro:
She was gone for a while.  I don't quite know why.
I was always discreet.  Never even said, hi.
Maybe she needed a break, 'cause I'm sure she's aware
No matter the place, guys will stop, look and stare.

Refrain:
She's a mystery chick, enchanting and teasing.
M.C. for short, she's mentally pleasing.
Now M.C.'s back and she's coming on stronger.
Still plain yet alluring, her hair's slightly longer.
She's aware of her powers yet she's good and she's kind.
If she smiles at you once you'll go out of your mind.
She's a mystery chick, charming and true.
M.C. for short, she's too good for you.

1. M.C.'s returned and she's laughing and smiling.
   Charming and friendly and even beguiling.
   Not glamorous to look at yet somehow she glows.
   But don't be deceived; all of these things she knows.

2. Her Guess jeans are black and they fit her just right.
   She walks down the street an incredible sight.
   You'd think that other women'd want to smash in her face.
   The mystery is she's popular with the whole human race.

3. There she is talking on her mystery phone.
   She's all by herself but she's never alone.
   I wonder if she saw me as I walked past the booth.
   I know she saw right through me.  I acknowledge the truth.

4. The truth can be painful so I'm living a lie.
   Sometimes I think she sees me from the look in her eye.
   Of course, I'm in a crowd of 27 or more.
   Without really trying, she stings me right to the core.

5. There she is again.  Perhaps I'm losing my head.
   "Come over here a minute," is what I think she just said.
   It was someone else behind me she was motioning to.
   I'm still pretty transparent.  This I already knew.

6. With a wink and a smile she could get all she wanted.
   But M.C. takes the high road, she refuses to flaunt it.
   Despite all of this and my transparent state
   I'm sure that if she knew me she would think I was great.

7. M.C.'s back and I'm sure you'll agree
   Her front's not bad either.  And it's plain to see
   Though beauty's skin deep, M.C.'s goes all the way through.
   She's entrancing, mesmerizing, and important stuff too.


Vanity Of Vanities
(© 1994, Daniel C. Eaglin)
[Based on the Book of Ecclesiastes]
Refrain:
Vanity of Vanities, all things are vanity.
Pointless and futile, a test of your sanity.
Each day the sun rises, then it goes down.
The wind keeps on blowing, swirling around.
There's no point in talking.  All things have been said.
You work your whole life but you still end up dead.
Store up wisdom and knowledge but what do you gain?
The lives of the fool and the wise are both vain.

1. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning.
   The heart of the fool is in the house of mirth.
   Sorrow is better than laughter and joy.
   No amount of wealth can change a poor man's worth.
   Those that have riches can never enjoy them.
   They end up the same as the man who has naught.
   Their lifetime of toil is a chase after wind.
   True freedom and wisdom can never be bought.

2. A serpent may bite one who tears down a wall.
   Into his own pit, a digger may fall.
   A mover of stones may be crushed by their weight.
   And the chopper of wood may face a similar fate.
   When hands are lazy the rafters may sag.
   And when hands are slack the foundation may leak.
   No one can tell what the future may hold.
   The fool thinks he know that which no one may speak.

3. Rejoice while you're young and be glad in your youth.
   Follow your heart and the sight of your eyes.
   Before the sun darkens with the moon and the stars.
   And the dark cloud of age hovers over and cries.
   Then almond trees bloom and the locust grows sluggish.
   And the mourners go out in the street.
   When the silver cord snaps and the golden bowl breaks
   To dust you'll return and your maker you'll meet.


Passed Out In My Chair
(© 1994, Daniel C. Eaglin)
1. It's getting late.
   I should really make plans.
   I could just trust fate.
   It's out of my hands.
   Lock all the doors.
   And pull tight the shades.
   Imagine success
   By reading the trades.
   The sun goes down.
   It might disappear.
   What won't go away:
   Doubt worry, and fear.

Refrain:
It's Saturday night and I'm glued to the tube
Pounding forties of beer while I ponder and brood.
Time passes slowly.  I pass out in my chair.
Tell the medics they'll find me, still slumbering there.

2. A week goes by.
   Five days at the grind.
   No need to ask why.
   Time hasn't been kind.
   Waiting around
   For fortune and fame.
   You can't have it all
   Without playing the game.
   But once again
   The weekend is here.
   What else can you do.
   Pop open a beer.

Bridge:
Line 'em up.  Shoot 'em down.  Vision's gettin' blurry.
Maybe soon.  Things'll change.  Ain't no need to worry.


Terminal Condition
(© 1994, Daniel C. Eaglin)
Intro:
Pow!  There goes another.
Retribution for my brother.

1. On a hot summer night in the middle of June
   Hoping that the winter snow would turn up soon.
   Went to the minimart for drinks and ice.
   Gave the man the money and he counted it twice.
   As we left he kept staring like he knew who we are.
   Then the cops pulled us over before we got very far.
   He shouted come out slowly and assume the position.
   Should've known better.  Cops ain't gonna want to listen.

   But my brother spoke up.
   Now he's in terminal condition.

Refrain:
Pow!  There goes another.
Pow, pow, pow, just like the others.
Pow!  There goes another.
Retribution for my brother.

2. You can't be real sure unless it's happened to you.
   Presumed to be guilty, not a thing you can do.
   Turned bitter and angry locked up in jail.
   Wond'ring how our justice system had come to fail.
   In the land of the free and in the land of the wary.
   In the home of the brave we're all so contrary.
   You can write to the papers and do all kinds of wishin'.
   Your best bet baby:  make a good Act of Contrition.

   But my brother can't help,
   'Cause he's in terminal condition.

3. Now the sight of a badge makes me go for my piece.
   I'm leaving a trail of the lately deceased.
   Running and gunning.  I don't really care.
   Just doing their jobs.  Hey, life isn't fair.
   The last one looked up at me.  His expression said why.
   It's all been for my brother.  Time to die, cop, die.
   I've only got one purpose.  A weird kind of ambition.
   Wanted state to state.  This will be my final mission.

   But my brother won't know.
   He's in a terminal condition.


Don't Hate Me
(© 1994, Daniel C. Eaglin)
Refrain:
Don't hate me 'cause I'm different.
I'm very much like you.
It's a scary proposition.
Just accept that it's true.
Open your eyes
And you'll realize
You're blocking out the things
In yourself you despise.

1. I know that you all hate me
   And I've come to accept it.
   As punishment I'm gargling
   With a strong antiseptic.
   That's the way it's always been
   And it'll never change.
   No one can be trusted
   'Cause all people are strange.
   People are strange.  People are strange.
   Nobody can be trusted
   'Cause they're all pretty strange.

2. An outcast and pariah
   Is how I'm treated by all.
   I changed the way I look.
   I lost my good old boy drawl.
   But I can't change what's inside.
   I still gotta be me.
   All the world's gone insane.
   Only I've got sanity.
   My sanity.  My sanity.
   All the others lost their minds.
   Still got my sanity.


Nightly Vengeance
(© 1994, Daniel C. Eaglin)
Intro:
The innocent cry out for their suffering to end.
There's one who stands out upon whom they all depend.

1. Cruisin' the streets of the burned out city.
   Seen far too much.  No room left for pity.
   Watch as the strong take control of the weak.
   Unspoken questions mock the answers I seek.
   A voice in the night cries for help in the dark.
   Not even safe in the neighborhood park.
   The devilish ones give no thought to what's right.
   But they'll tremble in fear before vengeance tonight.

Refrain:
Zarathos is not a threat.
His body's safely turned to stone.
The world owes an enormous debt
To the one who gave his flesh and bone.
Yet evil ones still have their way.
In time they'll be forced to atone.
Until then, at the end of each day
Nightly vengeance I'll provide on my own.

2. For every drop of innocent blood
   The guilty will pay with their own crimson flood.
   Make them feel all the pain they inflicted.
   It was their choice to live out the life of the wicked.
   Bullies with badges are not to be found.
   They're hassling the helpless in this criminal's town.
   But vengeance exists and it won't be held back.
   The villains can't hide.  They have fueled its attack.


Pointless Filler #27
(© 1993, Daniel C. Eaglin)
1. Get outta my way.
   I'll make you pay.
   Horses eat hay.
   Dead people decay.

   It's a sunshine day
   In the middle of May.
   Speak no Francois?
   The American way.

2. Phone's got little ringer.
   Can't think of a zinger.
   Don't give me the finger.
   I'm not much of a singer.

   Friends tend to linger.
   Bees got a stinger.
   Don't care much for Winger.
   Don't date a swinger.

3. Who really cares
   For tigers & bears?
   Eat apples and pears.
   Sell IBM shares.

   What really scares
   Are cold, evil stares.
   Chocolate eclairs
   Are mine and not theirs.

Ending:
Cheese, cheese, cheese, cheese. (No dogs allowed.)


Alone In Misery
(© 1994, Daniel C. Eaglin)
1. You sit there alone, contemplating it all.
   The dust-covered shelves.  The hole in the wall.
   How did you get to this sorry state?
   Was it something you did or a matter of fate?
   The voices inside scream out for relief
   From a lifetime of pity and self-centered grief.
   But you turn to a bottle in your isolation
   To forget for a moment your sad situation.

Refrain:
Alone at last.  Filled with regrets.
You blame yourself.  A lifetime of debts.
But you're not the first.  Throughout all history.
Many lives were spent Alone in misery.

2. There's someone else there in your dimly lit room.
   Someone with whom to share sad tales of gloom.
   Darkness bears down on your surprise guest
   As you start to explain, get things off of your chest.
   Your friend seems to mock whatever you say
   So jump to your feet to make sure that he'll pay.
   But he moves as you move.  He's just your reflection.
   Losing touch with what's real.  Time for self-vivisection.

3. Go to a movie, then go out to a bar.
   Get lost in a crowd and wish on a star.
   Leopards can't change the spots on their skin.
   If you ever stop losing there's a chance you might win.
   Round every corner are others who fell.
   Keep your Johnny Bench rookie.  It's too good to sell.
   Misery loves company.  Who knows who said it.
   Be careful what you wish for.  There's a good chance you'll get it.


Apathy
(© 1993, Daniel C. Eaglin)
Refrain:
Apathy.  Livin' in a one man show.
Apathy.  Self-involvement's all I know.
Apathy.  Believe the truth:  nobody cares.
Apathy.  Empty thoughts and vacant stares.

1. You call me names.
   So I strike back.
   No more talking.
   Now you're whacked.
   Nobody cares.
   Just part of life.
   You're here.  You're gone.
   Cuts like a knife.

   Bodies stacked up in the street.
   Their rotting corpses at your feet.
   There's no more friends or brotherhood.
   Shot down in your own neighborhood.
   Watch your back and guard your stash.
   Arm yourself or lose your cash.
   No one sows; they only reap.
   They'll cut you down while you're asleep.

2. There are no rules.
   We make our own.
   Whole world's become
   A danger zone.
   No one will help
   Stop Your decay.
   Your best response:
   Just go away.

   Politicians steal our dreams
   And turn against us with their schemes.
   Apathy among the masses:
   The working and the middle classes
   Lets the man retain his power
   And the riches of his ivory tower.
   Lock your doors and hide inside. 
   Nobody cares.  All hope has died.


Epworth Ave.
(© 1994, Daniel C. Eaglin)
Intro:
When you start thinking back on the places you've known
You've got to admit that there's no place like home.
[It's not Farmers Blvd.  It's a place we called...]

Refrain:
Epworth Ave.  Hey, what you gonna do.
Livin' in the middle of the street.
Near to schools and stores.  Never had no chores.
Feel that lower East Side beat.
It's only 5 blocks long.  You know you can't go wrong.
The one-way signs point out the way to drive.
It rains but never pours.  No need to lock you doors.
On Epworth you'll be glad to be alive.

1. Remember all the good things
   Like backyard gyms and porch swings.
   There was football in the street.
   And most the yards were pretty neat.
   Playing Headlights Hit The Deck;
   Promote a pawn and holler, check.
   At one end, the state hospital for those no longer sane.
   You could fish for blue gill in its ponds, bike through its curvy lanes.
   Walnut Hills had tennis courts and necking girls and dudes.
   Up at Elsie's we'd buy candy and all kinds of snackin' foods.
   Everything a kid could ever want was well within our grasp.
   But as so often is the case, our time was quickly past.

2. The paper in your mail rack.
   Get out of line you'd get smacked.
   But it wouldn't make you nuts.
   It just proved that you had guts.
   If you climbed the blue spruce tree
   City skyline's what you'd see.
   Back then driveways, yards and sidewalks were all the space you'd need.
   When "too many dogs" was just a dream of futuristic greed.
   Older kids could guzzle beer while barbecuing meat.
   And in the winter throwing snowballs at cars racing down the street.
   The R.T.A. provided access to any place.
   It all was well within our reach from Epworth's central base.

Outro:
There are those who keep living in their Epworth.  Others leave it behind.
You can do what you like with yours, my friend.  I'll do what I like with mine.