BAD RELIGION – RECIPE FOR HATE – 1993

RECIPE FOR HATE
(Greg Graffin)
Can’t you feel it, can’t you see
The promise of prosperity?
It’s overwhelming you and me,
It afflicts us like a disease.

Ubiquitous, compelling too,
We cling to you like crazy glue
And inject such a potent seed,
It’s best for all humanity.

The spread of culture,
The sword of progress,
The vector of suffrage,
A warm and septic breeze.

The pomp and elation,
The duty and vocation,
The blood of the hybrid,
It’s just a recipe.

Reliving our ancestry,
The frightful lack of harmony,
Our forefathers who led the way,
Their victims are still here today.

Now it’s time to erase the story
Of our bogus fate.
Our history as it's portrayed,
It’s just a recipe for hate.

The spread of culture,
The sword of progress,
The vector of suffrage,
A warm and septic breeze.

The pomp and elation,
The duty and vocation,
The blood of the hybrid,
It’s just a recipe of hate.

KEROSENE

(Brett Gurewitz)
Everywhere I look I see exclusive huddled
Uninviting shelter is privilege
Of the sane and competent.

Kerosene keeps me warm,
I’m alone to watch it burn,
Kerosene.

Exposure is a pitiful
And pointless way of dying,
Before it gets me,
I’ll set a funeral pyre.

Kerosene keeps me warm,
I’m alone to watch it burn,
Kerosene.

I’m a man and my dignity
Won’t wave,
Tonight buildings rage.
Kerosene keeps me warm,
Feels so good
To watch it burn.
Kerosene keeps me warm,
Feels so good to watch it burn,
Kerosene.

AMERICAN JESUS
(Greg Graffin, Brett Gurewitz)
I don’t need to be a global citizen,
Because I’m blessed by nationality.
I’m a member of a growing populace,
We enforce our popularity.
There are things that seem to pull us under
And there are things that drag us down,
But there’s a power and a vital presence
That’s lurking all around.

We’ve got the American Jesus
See him on the interstate,
We’ve got the American Jesus
He helped build the president's estate.

I feel sorry for the earth’s population
‘cuz so few live in the USA.
At least the foreigners can copy our morality,
They can visit but they cannot stay.
Only precious few can garner our prosperity,
It makes us walk with renewed confidence,
We’ve got a place to go when we die
And the architect resides right here.

We’ve got the American Jesus
Bolstering national faith,
We’ve got the American Jesus
Overwhelming millions every day.

He’s the farmer's barren fields, (In God)
The force the army wields, (We trust)
The expressions in the faces of the starving millions. (Because he's one of us)
The power up above, (Break down)
He’s the fuel that drives the clan, (Cave in)
He’s the motive and the conscience of the murderer. (He can redeem your sins)
He’s the preacher on TV, (Strong heart)
The false sincerity, (Clear mind)
The form letters that's written by the big computers. (And infinitely kind)
He’s the nuclear bombs, (You lose)
The kids with no moms (We win)
And I’m fearful that he’s inside me. (He is our champion!)

We’ve got the American Jesus
See him on the interstate. (We’ve got the American Jesus)
We’ve got the American Jesus
Exercising his authority!

We’ve got the American Jesus
Bolstering national faith, (We've got the American Jesus)
We’ve got the American Jesus
Overwhelming millions every day.

One Nation Under God... (ad infinitum)

PORTRAIT OF AUTHORITY
(Greg Graffin)
Nothing more, nothing less,
An icon on the wall, decoration and duress,
That which many strive to be,
It’s the marble statue standing over me.
And nobody has the will to tear it down,
It determines wrong and right,
But to me it’s just a stereotype
And it makes us lose our sight.

The portrait of authority, (Portrait of authority)
You tell me that’s what I’m supposed to be... (Portrait of authority)
You tell me that’s what I’m supposed to be!

Another time, another man,
An oppressive intrusion
And a plague across his land.
And it haunts him every day,
It tells him he has no chance,
His hopes just fade away.
And he lives his life prepared to tear it down,
But he can’t muster the support.
And to him it’s just a stereotype
Of his life-long fight.

The portrait of authority, (Portrait of authority)
It embodies what he cannot be... (Portrait of authority)
It’s what he cannot be!

The portrait of authority, (Portrait of authority)
Portrait of authority!

MAN WITH A MISSION
(Brett Gurewitz)
Rescue me when I get too deep,
Talk to me, there’s nothing to tell.
Everyone is a hypocrite,
Look to me, I’ll save your soul.

Somebody out there must be reading my mail
‘Cause everybody knows...

Follow me when you give up,
Work for me, it’ll serve you well.
Everyone is a hypocrite,
Come to me, I’ll save your soul.

Somebody out there must be tapping my phone
‘Cause everybody knows:
I’m a man with a mission,
I’m gonna fly you away,
High above the noise and competition,
‘Cause I’m a man with a mission.

Oh yeah.
Somebody out there must be reading my mail
‘Cause everybody knows:
I’m a man with a mission,
Passing through your town today.
I condemn you to fiery perdition
‘Cause I’m a man with a mission.

ALL GOOD SOLDIERS
(Brett Gurewitz)
All good soldiers crack like boulders,
The sun climbs up to a razor, violins,
New boots and numbers on a chain.
All good soldiers...

(All good soldiers) Fall in line
When they march and shout,
(All good soldiers) are a spectacle
Marching and singing.
Will go anywhere the president says,
Because the president believes in God
Like all good soldiers should.

All good soldiers wait like warheads,
When the fighting starts who will be
Accountable, a cannibal, a cannonball.
All good soldiers, all good soldiers.

(All good soldiers) Fall in line
When they march and shout,
(All good soldiers) are a spectacle
Marching and singing.
Will go anywhere the president says,
Because the president believes in God
Like all good soldiers should.

It’s 6 AM, I can see my breath
And the clay dirt is laughing at the weakling boy.
Today is the day that I’ll write my friends,
It's something I’ve been trying to remember.
I had a dream of a wall that was twenty-one stories tall...
All...
(All good soldiers) Fall in line
When they march and shout,
(All good soldiers) are a spectacle
Marching and singing.
Will go anywhere the president says,
Because the president believes in God
Like all good soldiers should.

WATCH IT DIE
(Greg Graffin)
I was born on planet earth,
The rotating ball where man comes first.
It’s been around for a long, long time,
But now it’s time to watch it die.

I saw a man on my big blue screen,
He ruled the world economy.
He said the rich would never concede,
But some day soon he'll be put to sleep.

I’ve seen the life of the forest green
And adaptations of the deep blue sea.
And who knows who is the fittest,
They will all soon be put to rest.

On a plunging flight and we're sitting
In the pilots seat in the midst of life,
People on a dark horizon praying
Somebody will save their lives.

I was born on planet earth,
At a drastic time full of plastic mirth,
And every day I’ve seen increasing signs,
And you would too if you’d opened your eyes,
You had a chance, you did not try,
So now it’s time to watch it die.

STRUCK A NERVE
(Greg Graffin)
There’s an old man on a city bus
Holding a candy cane
And it isn’t even christmas.
He sees a note in the obituary
That his last friend has died.

There’s an infant clinging to
His overweight mother in the cold
As they go to shop for cigarettes,
And she spends her last dollar
On a bottle of vodka for tonight.

And I guess it struck a nerve,
Like I had to squint my eyes,
You can never get out of the line of sight.
Like a barren winter day
Or a patch of unburned green,
Like a tragic real dream,
I guess it struck a nerve.

Every day I wander in negative disposition
As I’m bombarded by superlatives,
Realizing very well that I’m not alone.
Introverted, I look to tomorrow for salvation,
But I’m thinking altruistically
And a wave of overwhelming doubt
Turns me to stone.

And I guess it struck a nerve,
Sent a murmur through my heart,
We just haven’t got time to crack the maze.
Like a magic speeding clock
Or a cancer in our cells,
A collision in the dark,
I guess it struck a nerve.

I try to close my eyes,
But I cannot ignore the stimuli.
If there’s a purpose for us all,
It remains a secret to me,
Don’t ask me to justify my life.

And I guess it struck a nerve,
Like I had to squint my eyes,
You can never get out of the line of sight.
Like a magic speeding clock
Or a cancer in our cells,
A collision in the dark,
I guess it struck a nerve.

I guess it struck a nerve...

MY POOR FRIEND ME
(Greg Graffin)
I know a man who doesn’t have many friends,
I know a place he lives where trouble never ends,
I know it’s hard for him to read ‘tween the lines,
And his days are getting so much shorter.

He simply turns away instead of bearing down,
His ship is crumbling, his crew is one of the clowns,
He doesn’t care as long as he can wear the crown.
I know this man all too well...

It’s my poor friend me,
A portrayal of the great dichotomy. (Great dichotomy)
It’s my poor friend me
And I’m running out of steam.

I know there are people who are cynical and vain,
They point their finger cuz they can’t accept the blame,
They live their lives under a blanket of shame
And their progeny crawl from underneath it.

Lately I’ve come to see the solution,
And it begins with me.
But I’m so fallibly human,
I’ve picked the lock but will not turn the key.

A people running scared we live, breed and die,
All too aware that time is slipping on by,
We have solutions but don’t even try
And I feel I know just who to blame.

It’s my poor friend me,
A reminder of a tragic history. (Tragic history)
It’s my poor friend me
And I’m running out of steam.

LOOKIN’ IN
(Greg Graffin)
Suddenly, it came to me,
A potent dosage of reality,
I saw myself in the broad daylight
And it made me think about life.

I’m not the kind of guy
Who nods his head with closed eyes,
I scoff at labels, I defy censuses
And despise group mentality.

All along I thought that this was only human,
But I know now that I’m in the minority.
I’m lookin’ in...

Now I think in relation to
My fellow man and what he strives to do,
We fail to see, there’s no compromise,
Our evolution is our demise.
One day you may find that you are also one of me,
A complex microcosm of the human race,
Observing those around us, desiring to belong,
Behind the guise of salvation we suffer along the way.
We’re lookin’ in...

DON’T PRAY ON ME
(Brett Gurewitz)
A grizzly scene on my electron beam
Told a story about human rights,
So all of king’s horses and all of king’s men
Had a riot for two days and nights.
Well, the city exploded but the gates wouldn’t open
So the company asked him to quit.
Now everybody’s equal,
Just don’t measure it.

Well, Hanson did it to Hester
And Mark David did it to John.
And maybe Jack did it to Marilyn,
But he did it to South Vietnam.
For beauty and glory,
For money, love and country,
Now everybody's doing it,
Don’t do that to me.

A bitter debate and a feminine fate
Lie in tandem like two precious babes.
While the former gets warmer, it’s the latter
That matters except on the nation’s airwaves.
And custodians of public opinion stayed back
After vainly discussing her rights.
Lay hands off her body,
It’s not your fucking life!

I don’t know what stopped Jesus Christ
From turning every hungry stone into bread.
And I don’t remember hearing how Moses reacted
When the innocent first born sons lay dead.
Well, I guess God was a lot more demonstrative
Back when he flamboyantly parted the sea.
Now everybody's praying,
Don’t pray on me.

Now everybody’s praying,
Don’t prey on me.

MODERN DAY CATASTROPHISTS
(Greg Graffin)
Take those potatoes out of your ear,
Listen to the warnings, verify all your fears.
There’s a world outside that's ready to blow
And we’re all to blame when it finally explodes!

You gotta listen up,
Gotta listen to what they’re saying you,
Gotta listen up
And think about what they’re telling to you.

Temperature is risin’ from deodorant spray.
We’ll bury us alive in what we throw away.
If we don’t reuse most of our debris,
our kids can’t throw away their carbon for free.

You gotta listen up,
Gotta think about what I’m telling you,
Gotta listen up
And think about what I’m saying to you.

They’re the modern day catastrophists,
They’ve got practical solutions,
They’re the self-appointed righteous pragmatics,
And they know 50 ways to save the world.

What makes you think you can cure our disease?
Maybe it’s just our biology,
Maybe it’s time to make room for another species,
This is the 21st century!

You gotta listen up,
Gotta think about what they’re saying to you,
Gotta listen up
And think about what they’re telling you.

They’re the modern day catastrophists,
They know all the right equations,
They’re the self-appointed righteous pragmatists,
And you, too, can be one of the few to save the world!

But you gotta listen up,
And think about what they're telling you,
Gotta listen up
And do exactly what they tell you to.

They’re the modern day catastrophists,
Modern day catastrophists.

SKYCRAPER
(Brett Gurewitz)
Come let us make bricks
And burn them hard,
We’ll build a city
With a tower for the world
And climb so we can reach
Anything we may propose,
Anything at all.

Build me up, tear me down
Like a skyscraper,
Build me up, then tear down
These joining walls,
So they can’t climb at all.

I know why it tore down that day,
You thought that if you got caught,
We’d all go away.
Like a spoiled little baby
Who can’t come out to play,
You had your revenge.

Build me up, tear me down
Like a skyscraper,
Build me up, then tear down
These joining walls,
So they can’t climb at all.

Well, madness reigned
And paradise drowned,
When Babel's walls came crashing down,
Now the echoes roar
For a story writ
That was hardly understood
And never any good.

Build me up, tear me down
Like a skyscraper,
Build me up, then tear down
These joining walls,
So they can’t climb at all.

STEALTH
(Brett Gurewitz, Jay Bentley, Bobby Schayer)
This weekend I will spend over 800 million dollars on drugs.

First, I will continue pushing free narcotics for all low income people not now covered and soon after that, we can get rid of each and every one of them.

And I’m doing what I think is right, and they will certainly deserve it.

Postagem dedicada para meu grande amigo RONALDO RIBEIRO MORAES e minha amiguinha ALINE HISAE SAWADA IKEDA, que fazem aniversário hoje!

Bis morgen!