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Compared to What Lyrics
I love to lie and lie to love
I'm hangin' on they push and shove
Possession is the motivation
That is hangin' up the goddamn nation
Looks like we always end up in a rut
Everybody now
Tryin' to make it real compared to what
Slaughterhouse is killin' hogs
Twisted children killin' frogs
Poor dumb rednecks rollin' logs
Tired old ladies kissin' dogs
I hate the human love of that stinking mutt
I can't use it
Tryin' to make it real compared to what
President he's got his war
Folks don't know just what it's for
Nobody gives us rhyme or reason
Have one doubt they call it treason
We're chicken feathers
All without one nut goddamn it
Tryin' to make it real compared to what
Church on Sunday sleep and nod
Tryin' to duck the wrath of God
Preachers fillin' us with fright
They all tryin' to teach us what they think is right
They really got to be some kind of nut
I can't use it
Tryin' to make it real compared to what
Where's that bee and where's that honey
Where's my God and where's my money
Unreal values a crass distortion
Unwed mothers need abortion
Kind of brings to mind old young King Tut
He did it now
Tried to make it real compared to what
Tryin' to make it real compared to what
I'm hangin' on they push and shove
Possession is the motivation
That is hangin' up the goddamn nation
Looks like we always end up in a rut
Everybody now
Tryin' to make it real compared to what
Twisted children killin' frogs
Poor dumb rednecks rollin' logs
Tired old ladies kissin' dogs
I hate the human love of that stinking mutt
I can't use it
Tryin' to make it real compared to what
Folks don't know just what it's for
Nobody gives us rhyme or reason
Have one doubt they call it treason
We're chicken feathers
All without one nut goddamn it
Tryin' to make it real compared to what
Tryin' to duck the wrath of God
Preachers fillin' us with fright
They all tryin' to teach us what they think is right
They really got to be some kind of nut
I can't use it
Tryin' to make it real compared to what
Where's my God and where's my money
Unreal values a crass distortion
Unwed mothers need abortion
Kind of brings to mind old young King Tut
He did it now
Tried to make it real compared to what
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Though I came here to get someone else's take on the meanings of Eugene McDaniel's "Compared to What", I'll share a few thoughts and ask all of you for more. I have no idea what the "ol' young King Tut (He did it now)" line means. None. "Compared to What IS a protest song", a protest against rampant inhumanity, shallow materialism, insecure scrambling for power, religious hypocrisy, belly button staring, and widespread inhumanity towards others. The vocalist cries to be free of the alienation caused by a clear painful vision of an existent world. "Compared to What" may proffer something transcendent and meaningful, though it offers no remedy or path to get there.
@megasept In 1922 two foetuses were discovered in tiny coffins in Tut's tomb. The lyrics here seem to be speculating that perhaps the foetuses were actually aborted.
@megasept In 1922 two foetuses were discovered in tiny coffins in Tut's tomb. The lyrics here seem to be speculating that perhaps the foetuses were actually aborted.
This song to me revolves around the profound question, 'What's reality?" The opening line is a profound synopsis of that query, pointing out that many believe in the reality we prefer to be real, are willing to believe a lie, and even create our own reality in our minds. We don't have the veracity to confront much of what is real, such as why we were engaged in a meaningless war, or don't give recognition to the age-old need for women to control their reproductive capacity. Of course religious faith is questioned, citing people who only act as though they believe. Calling out hypocrisy is an underlying theme throughout the lyrics
Truer now than back in '66.