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Family Lyrics
Here's father, his heart screwed on
Yes, here he's got it I'm sure
'Cause he lost his life in an accident
Found his heart in the man next door
What exactly is gonna happen
He says with his transplant mouth
Will my borrowed brain still compute the same
Or will my daughter stop her sleeping out
Here comes the girl, she's got her head screwed on
But it ain't screwed on right
Her ambition is to be a prostitute
But the breaks just weren't right
What exactly is gonna happen, tell me
When her father finds out
That his virgin daughter has bordello dreams
And that he's the one she wants to try out
Yeah
There is 'Ma, she is living dangerously
As I said she'll try anything twice
She thinks she can run right to the whirlpool's edge
And stop herself just in time
What exactly is gonna happen
When she finally fizzles out
and the lovers will just be sucked into
To see what the colors of death are all about
Here's the son, yes his legs are screwed on
Yeah, they're screwed on pretty tight
But his brain is loose and it ain't no use
He's already lost the fight
What exactly is gonna happen
When he's finally realized
That he can't play his guitar like E.G. Jim
Or write St. Augustine if he tried
What exactly is gonna happen
When the family finds out
That they've been in orbit now for a thousand years
And need a thousand more to climb out
Yes, here he's got it I'm sure
'Cause he lost his life in an accident
Found his heart in the man next door
He says with his transplant mouth
Will my borrowed brain still compute the same
Or will my daughter stop her sleeping out
But it ain't screwed on right
Her ambition is to be a prostitute
But the breaks just weren't right
When her father finds out
That his virgin daughter has bordello dreams
And that he's the one she wants to try out
As I said she'll try anything twice
She thinks she can run right to the whirlpool's edge
And stop herself just in time
When she finally fizzles out
and the lovers will just be sucked into
To see what the colors of death are all about
Yeah, they're screwed on pretty tight
But his brain is loose and it ain't no use
He's already lost the fight
When he's finally realized
That he can't play his guitar like E.G. Jim
Or write St. Augustine if he tried
When the family finds out
That they've been in orbit now for a thousand years
And need a thousand more to climb out
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I have no fucking clue man.
Seems like it's about how no family is perfect.
This is a song recorded for Beggars Banquet in 1968 but was not released until 1975 on Metamorphosis.
Terrific song. It's just a narrative about a totally screwed up disfunctional family. Son has no talent but is so clueless he thinks he does; Mother is selfish and lives dangerously for the instant thrills (various lovers, maybe drugs); the neglected daughter has impure thoughts of a incestrious nature; the Father thinks he's the head of the average family, lacking any self awareness of reality.