Tape From California Lyrics - Phil Ochs

Who's that coming down the road 

A sailor from the sea 

He looks a lot like me 

I'd know him anywhere, had to stare 

Feathers at his fingertips 

A halo 'round his spine 

He must have lost his mind 

He should be put away, right away 

In the corner of the night 

He handed me his water pipe 

His eyes were searching 

Deep inside my head, here's what he said 

Sorry, I can't stop and talk now 

I'm in kind of a hurry anyhow 

But I'll send you a tape from California 

New York City has exploded 

And it's crashed upon my head 

I dove beneath the bed 

Fighting, biting nails, turning pale 

The landlord's at my window 

And the burglar's at my door 

I can't take it anymore 

I guess I'll have to fly, it's worth a try 

Someone's banging on the wall 

But there's no party to recall 

The singer of the shadows of his soul 

So he's been told 

Sorry, I can't stop and talk now 

I'm in kind of a hurry anyhow 

But I'll send you a tape from California 

From the mirror of my mantle to the velvet on my bed 

Trapped upon a stolen stage, a Barrymore at best 

My rhymes are all repeating, my ballads growing blind 

Words have turned to water, the women turned to wine 

The draft board is debating 

If they'd like to take my life 

I'd sooner take a wife 

And have raise a child or two, wouldn't you? 

Peace has turned to poison 

And the flag has blown a fuse 

Even courage is confused 

And now all the brave are in the grave 

Century is bending 

Have a very happy ending 

To the victor go the ashes of the spoil 

Seeds in the soil 

Sorry, I can't stop and talk now 

I'm in kind of a hurry anyhow 

But I'll send you a tape from California 

The flower-power fuller brush man 

Is farming out his friends 

I stabbed him with my stem 

And then I tapped his toes with my rose 

He crawled around inside himself 

Now he's crawling after me 

Dropping acid in my tea 

He wants to save his soul, rock and roll 

One of us must understand 

It's not the drug that makes the man 

Then a poster of a movie star walked by 

He must have been high 

Sorry, I can't stop and talk now 

I'm in kind of a hurry anyhow 

But I'll send you a tape from California 

Half the world is crazy and the other half is scared 

Madonnas do the minuet for the naked millionaires 

The anarchists are rising while we're racing for the moon 

It doesn't take a seer to see that the scene is coming soon 

So who's that coming down the road 

A sailor from the sea 

He looks a lot like me 

I'd know him anywhere, had to stare 

A fire around his fingertips 

A song around his spine 

He must have found his mind 

He should be put away, anyway 

Surrounded by the slaughter 

Now I'm boarding at the border 

When the echoes of my ecstasy appear 

Wish I was here 

Sorry, I can't stop and talk now 

I'm in kind of a hurry anyhow 

But I'll send you a tape from California