dogs that say no
Release Date: 9/96
Album: KEEP YOURSELF AMUSED
Writer: ADAM MARSLAND and ROB CASSELL
Lyrics:
I saw you rubbing haunches with the dogs that say no
Watching talking head hunters lead rhetorical does
To the slaughter
In the jaundiced view of living that your species enjoys
See the glass half empty and the other half
Poisoned water
See the leaders legions laid so low
Scatter their igloos like so many Eskimaux
Find the deep dark evil in new fallen snow
Just say yes to the dogs that say no
Let those without ideas be the casters of stones
Gravel avalanche along with thoughts that you won't disown
But you oughta
I saw you rubbing haunches with
Loose lips that sank a thousand launches if
There's a hell where dangerous phrases go
Hope there's a room reserved for "Just say no."
Adam sez:
Kind of an odd little song, and like many songs on KEEP YOURSELF AMUSED played a little faster than probably was good for it, "Dogs"' angular chorus plays off Rob's unique bass line, earning him a cowriter credit. It goes by quickly and its quirkiness has a certain amount of charm, and yes, the guitar solo was supposed to sound be the most frantic one ever recorded. The obscure lyrics are actually political, basically about my disgust at the fact that politics is so often about preventing things from happening rather than offering solutions...and those politicans who do try to offer real solutions tend to be ruthlessly smeared and have their motives called into question more often than not. A lot of those dynamics that I observed in '94 when I wrote this song (at a Spanish Kitchen show at the Eagle Cafe, I seem to remember), have borne ugly fruit in recent years.