1944 - Down By Law

somewhere a pen is busy with hate tonight

jaded eyes and cynics bring me down

somewhere a kid is playing his heart out tonight

but he’ll get nowhere with the Berkeley in-crowd

well put-downs are so easy

like a novel without a soul

and every executioner wears a hood

when it’s time for heads to roll

well they’re just like new dictators

trying to tell us what to love

well their opinion they can take and shove

somewhere young rebels will meet up tonight

somewhere skateboarders and straightedgers will unite

they don’t need no magazine that’s filled with hate and lies

get enough from the world around them

they’re young but they are wise

but negativity’s easy

you just fire and walk away

and it’s the armchair general

who lives to fight another day

well their opinion they can take and shove

if this was 1944, they’d be pointing their guns at you

cause every fascist, left or right, has a fucked-up set of rules

but do they really think the kids are such fools?

Or do they even care?