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Nellie McKay — The Big One
Album: Pretty Little Head
Avg rating:
4.8

Your rating:
Total ratings: 51









Released: 2006
Length: 3:57
Plays (last 30 days): 0
As you're walkin' down the street
Might wanna skip a beat
And think it over
Walkin' to the corner store
But it ain't there no more
If you wanna loaf of bread
You try a pharmacy instead
Another chain will set you free

When you go to pay the rent
You see it's all been spent
The purse is empty
Money money make a buck
But you're all outta luck
This town ain't friendly now
A thousand faces stare you down
Each one's afraid of what you seek

Slither in your suit, can't deny it
Hide behind a view, gentrify it
Take a life or two, the revolution's comin' round
Clingin' to the door, quiver, cower
Profit off the poor, fight the power
Hurt em even more, that's why they took Bruce Bailey down
Took Bruce Bailey down

Lookin' like the jack is back
But he ain't gonna attack
His hands are flippin
Druggies dyin in the halls
They're bangin on the walls
Your ma ain't trippin now
It ain't a home if you ain't allowed
What time's the ceasefire
Where's the heat

Spittin on the old, sister, brother
Shittin on your soul, welfare mother
Profit is the goal, the revolution's comin round
Payin off a loan, mass eviction
Elevate the zone, ain't no fiction
Breakin up a home, that's why they took Bruce Bailey down
Took Bruce Bailey down

No more tokens, take a train
You swipe a piece of plastic paper
No more smokin on the plane
You gripe, they'll take you to the jailer
Bide your time, it's all in vain
They tell you, as you meet your maker
Grief's the mother of invention
Pain's the midwife to your labor
Turn it, burn it, cure it, endure it
If you are able, sucker

People standin in the park
It's gettin mighty dark
The kids are scowlin
Shutter up the windows tight
This is an evil night
The wind is howlin fast
Another tragedy has passed
Another stain on you and me

Slither in your suit, can't deny it
Hide behind a view, gentrify it
Take a life or two, the revolution's comin round
Clingin to the door, quiver, cower
Profit off the poor, fight the power
Hurt em even more, that's why they took Bruce Bailey down
Took Bruce Bailey down

Spittin on the old, sister, brother
Shittin on your soul, welfare mother
Profit is the goal, the revolution's comin round
Payin off a loan, mass eviction
Elevate the zone, ain't no fiction
Breakin up a home, that's why they took Bruce Bailey down
Took Bruce Bailey down
Comments (10)add comment
Interesting ratings distribution that doesn't surprise me; this isn't one of Nellie's best from an album that she and her mom produced after Sony/Columbia wouldn't do a double CD for her second album—at age 24! The song isn't as good as most and neither is the production. Still, she's an incredibly gifted songwriter/singer/musician with amazing versatility, wonderful wit and sardonic humor. I was sorry to see that "Real Life" from this CD was rejected. Speaking of…her rap song, "Sari" from her first album (at age 19) Get Away From Me (which came out right after Nora Jones' Come Away With Me), is almost unbelievable to see performed live.
nu-GFX wrote:
Is this new royalty policy forcing RP to play the cheap ones?
Took the thought right out of my mind. Bill, have you lost it??
nu-GFX wrote:
Oh my... Is this new royalty policy forcing RP to play the cheap ones?
I was just coming in to say the same... Perhaps Bill is trying to motivate us to act by reminding us of the tripe that's out there in the lost wasteland that is the FM radio world. (NPR and my local jazz and classical stations aside.)
Oh my... Is this new royalty policy forcing RP to play the cheap ones?
Jeebus, save me. This is atrocious. In the words of Ellie from the movie Contact: no.... words....
This song is stupid. The lyrics and rhymes are unbelievably lame. Sorry, I give this thumbs down..
Interesting.
Well, the song title is certainly appropriate.
Between the plinky piano and the fireworks background vocals it is taking all of my resolve not to jump off the breakwater. And then it got worse. But thanks B&R for playing it (in all seriousness).
Diggin' it.