Trouble Every Day

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.