burdon, eric
new york 1963 - america 1968
and when i got to america i say it blew my mind and when i got to america i say it blew my mind the apollo theater on a 125th street the place was closed it was pouring rain i had a feeling i'd go there again the taxi driver thought i was insane brown girl from the bronx showed me her home we went there by subway train she took me there time and time again love was our sweet song's name and when i got to america i say it blew my mind and when i got to america i say it blew my mind the negro was my hero and leader his strange tasting ways. they turned me on i tried my best to sound just like him when he moves. he moves like lightning across the world the news was flashed the country's young leader was laid to rest another ending of a new beginning others cried. some were grinning and when i got to america i say it blew my mind and when i got to america i say it blew my mind in central park the children were playing behind the bars the tiger walked smiling young faces of many colours many young tongues were being talked the garbage lying in the streets of the village smiling face of an unknown bob dylan she was sixteen young and so willin' the sudden violence of a village killin' and when i got to america i say it blew my mind and when i got to america i say it blew my mind what did you do in the services? what did i do in the services? i was a fighter pilot. yeah that's right. but they didn't like me. they didn't want me. when i was sent overseas the first thing they told me was: "um we can't use you because we didn't send for you" i was trained. the government paid the government spent over $250,000 to train me as a pilot and then after i got overseas a general sent his adjutant down to meet our group to say that we didn't send for you and we don't want you. that's right. this is the truth i'm telling you the truth! this is straight life but ah somehow we go on. we go on because we would like to think there's hope. but that's a lie there ain't no hope and that's the truth that's the truth baby that's right when i know you out of the box. yeah that's right! you know the town that i was born in we didn't have no streets? it was all dirt roads dirt roads and poor people nobody had nothing. matter of fact we used to get together to have community meals. somebody had cabbage somebody else had some meat somebody else had some corn mean and we'd get together and we'd make a meal have a community dinner. that was when we were lucky and then we'd play cards. we didn't have any signals 'cause we didn't need any. nobody had any cars. that's right! and on the corner on particular corners there were accidents all the time. most of the people who were hurt in the accidents died just because nobody came to pick them up. the ambulance never came. that's right the ambulance never came. i've just seen many a man bleed to death lying on the street there's got to be a change there's got to be a change and there's enough people to do it! if they would get off their big fat you-know-what and move! because we don't have much time. there's enough people sayin' "ain't it a shame? ain't it a shame? ain't it a shame?" standing around. good people oh yeah! they all regard themselves as good people and they are full of "ain't it a shame's". and why don't people why can't they see and why don't everybody do this and why don't everybody do that? but if they it's time for them to make a move gets hands outta your pockets and go to work. do something! otherwise there gonna be nothing to do yeah and that's funny oh hang on wanna be free babe wanna be free i made up my mind that's where i wanna be that's all i wanna do to be free to be free to smell the grass beneath my feet to smile at people on the street to be in love with everyone to know that life has just begun that's where i want to be i want to be free babe you know when i'm feelin' good babe? that's when i feel free. when i feel good and when i feel good it's because because i'm stoned babe oh yes i'm so stoned babe it's a good good feeling oh yes it is oh i don't care if you don't believe me it's a good good feelin' babe i want to give it away i want to give it all away i'll die if i can't give it away tell me tell me you want to be free tell me tell me give me some encouragement and make me baby i want i want to make everybody to feel free with me because i know but i don't care maybe i'm wrong i know i'm wrong babe i'm so very very wrong and what's good for me is good for you it's got to be oh free me oh free me i got to be free you can't tell me that i don't feel free because i feel free i wanna be free of all this i wanna be outta here an animal would do much to protect his young. and animal will fight to the death to protect his security and future life the way i have to live it it's altogether something that you would definitely not understand. nobody understands this because take for instance saturday night saturday night is a big big experience i think i can feel it i think i've got it got to be free i wanna give it to you