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C.I.A. Lyrics
Sometimes the rain upon the sea
Can make the gray look green to me.
And when I'm into all that gray,
I'll make the morning last all day.
And when I've been down to New South Wales
And both my brothers've been in jail,
Ah, but my sister - she got free
Now she's across that great gray sea.
Now I've been hard, too hard to find,
But there's no paranoia in my mind.
There've been no comrades dropping dimes,
It's just I'm working overtime.
And I know that in the end,
I'll come clean to all my friends.
'Cause we all know we all have sinned,
And we all know we're going to again.
And when I was late in checking in,
And I couldn't say where I'd been,
Well, I bet you knew,
'Cause you sometimes do,
And here we go 'round again...
See, Molly always knows just what to bring,
When Reb's in town, she always rings.
You wanna know what Tommy has to say?
Is Terre feeling better these days?
You can ask - take a look,
We're all pretty open books.
What I satand for, I mostly stand behind,
And what I am,
I mostly can't hide.
And when we were late in getting in,
We couldn't say where we'd been.
But maybe you knew,
Like you sometimes do -
I've got no need to pretend.
But C.I.A.,
Only you know what you've done.
My father works from 6 to 8,
And he ain't given up his faith,
And so I haven't given up myself,
Though I sure could use a little help.
Now it don't take the writing of a song,
To tell you what I was doing in '01.
Buy what I fear that I might never see,
Is where you were back in '73.
And why Mal, he ain't around,
Or if Everardo was ever found.
Or why Frankie says that history's race is run,
When we all know it's just erased by those who've won.
And when I was late in weighing in,
And I couldn't say where I'd been,
Well, you thought you knew,
Like you sometimes do,
But you got it wrong again...
But C.I.A.,
Only you know what you've done.
C.I.A.,
Only you know what youve done.
Can make the gray look green to me.
And when I'm into all that gray,
I'll make the morning last all day.
And both my brothers've been in jail,
Ah, but my sister - she got free
Now she's across that great gray sea.
But there's no paranoia in my mind.
There've been no comrades dropping dimes,
It's just I'm working overtime.
I'll come clean to all my friends.
'Cause we all know we all have sinned,
And we all know we're going to again.
And I couldn't say where I'd been,
Well, I bet you knew,
'Cause you sometimes do,
And here we go 'round again...
When Reb's in town, she always rings.
You wanna know what Tommy has to say?
Is Terre feeling better these days?
We're all pretty open books.
What I satand for, I mostly stand behind,
And what I am,
I mostly can't hide.
We couldn't say where we'd been.
But maybe you knew,
Like you sometimes do -
I've got no need to pretend.
Only you know what you've done.
And he ain't given up his faith,
And so I haven't given up myself,
Though I sure could use a little help.
To tell you what I was doing in '01.
Buy what I fear that I might never see,
Is where you were back in '73.
Or if Everardo was ever found.
Or why Frankie says that history's race is run,
When we all know it's just erased by those who've won.
And I couldn't say where I'd been,
Well, you thought you knew,
Like you sometimes do,
But you got it wrong again...
Only you know what you've done.
Only you know what youve done.
Song Info
Submitted by
moreproductive On Apr 13, 2007
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'Frankie says that history's race is run,' is a reference to Francis Fukuyama, and his book, The End of History. He argued that liberal democracy and capitalism was the final form of human government
Everardo was a Guatemalan guerilla leader who was killed by the C.I.A.
My favorite song on Living with the Living. It's more complex than a simple indictment of the C.I.A.--all the lines in defense of the narrator (and his friends) are sung with just the slightest hint of desperation. Sustained moral ambiguity from beginning to end. Although at other times I think differently. For being such a catchy and repetitious song, it's awfully hard to pin down.
Maybe it's about how the CIA can do as they will, and regardless of the outcome, good or bad, they have the power to know whatever they want, and do what they will without much reprocussion. I agree with the desperation bit; he's saying that whatever bad he's done he doesn't deserve to be locked away or spied on.
Interesting how the lyrics reference the year '01...
That's when the Patriot Act first went into effect.
"You wanna know what Tommy has to say? Is Terre feeling better these days?"
Tom Scharpling and DJ Terre T?
On Marc Maron's podcast, Tom did mention that his wife was sick for a time.
On Marc Maron's podcast, Tom did mention that his wife was sick for a time.
'Frankie says that history's race is run,' is a reference to Francis Fukuyama, and his book, The End of History. He argued that liberal democracy and capitalism was the final form of human government