Nebraska Man (Lyrical Poem with Music).mp4

Music from Looperman

Partial Lyrics

Nebraska Man

Back when a man wasn’t yet ready to call himself an ape
People angrily threw up their hands in discontent
While inside the schools they were just learning the truth
A man came screaming and running out of the tent
I’ve discovered everything that is new and you’ll see
Though all the learned ones knew better and just scoffed
But you can’t say anything about what I’ve found
When you spend all your extra time hanging out in a loft
But I never figured out the appeal, maybe it was a mistake of youth
Nebraska Man are you even real, did they ever find your tooth

If you stand up there and say you know everything there’s no problem
That all the lab coats are engaged in some sort of cabal
And only I with my charts and graphs know more than you
I figured it all out because I got all my answers from Paul
If you like that then you’ll be shocked to learn that in this very town
They are trying to engage you in godless philosophy and instruction
And turn you into gears that can be fit into a clock
According to my magic title all of this will lead to your destruction
If you can cobble together a nice meal, you’d be society’s master sleuth
Nebraska Man are you even real, did they ever find your tooth

I can prove to you, he says, they’re trying to fake everything
And I’ll argue with them and take them all to court
The audience groaned, shook their heads, and covered it with their hands
The judge would’ve liked to have agreed with him in his report
But decided that everything that he said was incomplete
And audibly sighed when he talked about the gold fringe
And tried to argue with everything playing on the news
No one could do anything but sing, whince, and cringe
Do you feel ready to squeal, comparing yourself to Helmuth
Nebraska Man are you even real, did they ever find your tooth

The louder the man began to talk and tell jokes
The more the jury was ready to nod
Not because of agreement, but because they were trying to sleep
While everyone around him said “hey, you know it’s illegal to defraud.”
The man just started to laugh and sell his products
Like did you know this plant will take you somewhere beyond
Because everything you see around you is built around something more
He was a little disappointed when the people did not respond
In a cinema of orange and teal, everywhere you see Belzebuth
Nebraska man are you even real, did they ever find your tooth

The judge wanted to gain back control, but the man
Was too busy yelling and gesturing at everyone’s wives
The whole thing was shredding in thin red lines and
The woman at the typewriter was losing her archives
The evidence all pointed to the corruption of us all
While the speeches came with no real basis
And all their excuses serve only one purpose
To trick you into selling everything for an imaginary oasis
If you keep showing the newsreel, people will think that’s the gospel truth
Nebraska Man are you even real, did they ever find your tooth

When the boring counter arguments were finished
He started talking about how humanity is blown into holes
Of course he’d cribbed these ideas from some others
He thought he’d done enough to get people at the polls
The government got confused and tripped over itself
And the judge wanted to just cancel the whole thing
Because he had something else going on in his oven
And wished he could pass it over to some kind of king
If you keep fighting for repeal, you’ll be shoved in a booth
Nebraska Man are you even real, did they ever find your tooth

Everything had begun to grind to a halt
And the crowds outside’s care began to wane
Because they realized the answers almost didn’t matter
The man’s lawyer suggested that he try to run to Spain
I’ve never done anything in my life claimed the man
That’s the problem, said the lawyer, please don’t repeat that
But I’ll bring in a new species to show off to the jury
And when he brought it, the judge said that’s a rat
Let’s spin the prayer wheel, knock it out George Herman Ruth
Nebraska Man are you even real, did they ever find your tooth

Once upon a time the world was covered by hot water
Giant men poked their heads out of handmade caves
The man with the forms started counting all their trees
But you don’t have to give your stuff if your child behaves
One of the jurors began to complain rather loudly
That he’d heard all this junk when he was old
When the judge pointed at him and told him to stop
The juror said oh I can’t possibly be cajoled
You keep saying every knee will kneel, but I don’t know what makes you the sooth
Nebraska Man are you even real, did they ever find your tooth