This lyric came about after some YouTube surfing resulted in me discovering Dante Gizzi's side project, El Presidente. I listened to all their songs that I could find, which are a funky cool brand of pop-rock.
With their music still buzzing in my head, the lyrics to this song came out.
The Money Don’t Work
(Verse 1)
You went to California
For a taste of sweet euphoria
But it's hard to make it stateside when the money's tight.
Not quite the Astoria
Some dealer's there to score ya
And it’s hard to walk a straight line when they hit the lights
(Chorus)
The money don't work
The band don't work
The poetry dries up
When you're always full cut
The money don't work
Your life don't work
The last chance slides by
With your eyes half shut
(Bridge)
You're like the college quarterback with the busted knee
The Eagle caught in barb wire that can't break free
The busted flush of youth's lost identity
The pathos in the impotence of a silent scream
(Chorus)
The money don't work
The band don't work
The poetry dries up
When you're always full cut
The money don't work
Your life don't work
The last chance slides by
With your eyes half shut
(Verse 2)
You went to California
For a taste of sweet euphoria
But it's hard to make it anywhere when the money's tight.
Not a pleasure cornucopia
But a personal dystopia
Yeah, it’s hard to walk a straight line when they hit the lights
(Chorus)
The money don't work
The band don't work
The poetry dries up
When you're always full cut
The money don't work
Your life don't work
The last chance slides by
With your eyes half shut
(Repeat to fade?)
Written by Simon Wright
(February 2022)
@edward9thstreet Feb 2022
This seems real as a donut, to coin a phrase from "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood." Excellent job!
@gindark Feb 2022
I think it's really ripe for a punky, pumping choon. Well done, and kudos for the vocab, not many cornucopias in lyrics out there :)
@kristi Feb 2022
I like the play of words/lines in this. I enjoyed those rhymes in the verses. And that bridge is something else. So visual and it goes deep. Good write!
@onewholovesrock Feb 2022
The first 2 lines starts this off nicely. Very cool! Also has a somewhat unique structure which is also very cool.
@andrea Feb 2022
Some really great lines here. Super sad but interesting. I really liked V1. It was good set up verse. The chorus is great. The end line is perfect!