Well I'm about to get up sick
From watchin' my TV
Been checkin' out the news
Until my eyeballs fail to see
I mean to say that every day
Is just another rotten mess
And when it's gonna change, my friend
Is anybody's guess
So I'm watchin' and I'm waitin'
Hopin' for the best
Even think I'll go to prayin'
Every time I hear 'em sayin'
That there's no way to delay
That trouble comin' every day
No way to delay
That trouble comin' every day
Wednesday I watched the riot
Seen the cops out on the street
Watched 'em throwin' rocks and stuff
And chokin' in the heat
Listened to reports
About the whisky passin' 'round
Seen the smoke and fire
And the market burnin' down
Watched while everybody
On his street would take a turn
To stomp and smash and bash and crash
And slash and bust and burn
And I'm watchin' and I'm waitin'
Hopin' for the best
Even think I'll go to prayin'
Every time I hear 'em sayin'
That there's no way to delay
That trouble comin' every day
No way to delay
That trouble comin' every day
Well, you can cool it,
You can heat it
'Cause, baby, I don't need it
Take your TV tube and eat it
'n all that phony stuff on sports
'n all the unconfirmed reports
You know I watched that rotten box
Until my head begin to hurt
From checkin' out the way
The newsman say they get the dirt
Before the guys on channel so-and-so
And further they assert
That any show they'll interrupt
To bring you news if it comes up
They say that if the place blows up
They will be the first to tell,
Because the boys they got downtown
Are workin' hard and doin' swell,
And if anybody gets the news
Before it hits the street,
They say that no one blabs it faster
Their coverage can't be beat
And if another woman driver
Gets machine-gunned from her seat
They'll send some joker with a Browning
And you'll see it all complete
So I'm watchin' and I'm waitin'
Hopin' for the best
Even think I'll go to prayin'
Every time I hear 'em sayin'
That there's no way to delay
That trouble comin' every day
No way to delay
That trouble comin' every day
Hey, you know something people?
I'm not black
But there's a whole lots a times
I wish I could say I'm not white
Well, I seen the fires burnin'
And the local people turnin'
On the merchants and the shops
Who used to sell their brooms and mops
And every other household item
Watched the mob just turn and bite 'em
And they say it served 'em right
Because a few of them are white,
And it's the same across the nation
Black and white discrimination
Yellin' "You can't understand
me!"
'n all that other jazz they hand me
In the papers and TV and
All that mass stupidity
That seems to grow more every day
Each time you hear some nitwit say
He wants to go and do you in
Because the color of your skin
Just don't appeal to him
(No matter if it's black or white)
Because he's out for blood tonight
You know we got to sit around at home
And watch this thing begin
But I bet there won't be many live
To see it really end
'Cause the fire in the street
Ain't like the fire in the heart
And in the eyes of all these people
Don't you know that this could start
On any street in any town
In any state if any clown
Decides that now's the time to fight
For some ideal he thinks is right
And if a million more agree
There ain't no Great Society
As it applies to you and me
Our country isn't free
And the law refuses to see
If all that you can ever be
Is just a lousy janitor
Unless your uncle owns a store
You know that five in every four
Just won't amount to nothin' more
Gonna watch the rats go across the floor
And make up songs about being poor
Blow your harmonica, son!
Para mí esta canción es sencillamente
magnífica, es puro Rock!
La letra se centra en las
manifestaciones de Watts en Los Angeles, entre el 11 y 17 de agosto de 1965.
Estos disturbios fueron ocasionados por el racismo existente en EU y la gran
inequidad de su sistema económico. Luego del final de la segunda Guerra mundial
la población negra tuvo grandes dificultades de conseguir un trabajo estable y
acceder a una buena calidad de vida lo que influyo a su segregación en barrios
marginales.
Los disturbios de Watts (barrio negro)
fueron una de las expresiones de la delicada tensión en los años 60’s en medio
de las diferentes luchas por los derechos civiles de los negros y las
injusticias cometidas a estos, dichos movimientos fueron liderados por
diferentes personajes entre los que resaltan Martin Luther King y Malcom X. La
canción es una expresión muy clara de todo el movimiento y las circunstancias de
ese momento en particular en EU, sin embrago hay que ser muy claro y reconocer
que muchas de estas injusticias siguen permitiendo y presentándose en este país
y en muchos otros.
De las manifestaciones de Watts fueron
un escenario sumamente violento, fueron asesinadas 34 personas y muchísimas
terminaron heridas después de una semana entera de violencia entre la comunidad
y el cuerpo de policía de Los Angeles. Se usaron sus armas, se dispararon y
reinó el horror… debe ser impactante que en interior de una ciudad muy importante
de uno de los países más respetados e idolatrados del mundo se estalle una
guerra. Por medio de imágenes nos podemos dar una idea de lo que pasó en aquel
momento.
Indudablemente esta manifestación marca
momento muy importante y diciente para la historia de las luchas por los
derechos, sin embargo la letra no trata únicamente del hecho del disturbio sino
que va más allá y hace una crítica a los medios masivos de comunicación (the papers and TV and All that mass
stupidity… You know I watched that rotten box), las creencias
y prácticas religiosas (Even think I'll go to prayin'), los
imaginarios e ideales del país (There ain't no Great Society, As it applies to you and
me Our country isn't free). The Mothers no diferencian entre bando y bando de la lucha, ya que ambos son
responsables (No matter if it's black or White)…
sin embargo tampoco niegan las condiciones de vida de las comunidades negras y
reconocen el impacto que tendrán estas manifestaciones a lo largo de EU, las
cuales continuarían por varios años (si es que ya han terminado). Esta canción es
una de las pocas que tienen un mensaje directo a su audiencia.
En las futuros conciertos, Zappa cambiaría la primera frase por
Well I'm about to get up sick From watchin' MTV.
