Bust Out: Early, John

When I got sick of running they damned my soul to Diamond Point
Stamped ulcered and unclean
That world-old fear cries testaments to the free
To keep its shiny sheen
What can a poor, sick man without friends or money do?
They call me bust out early John
And you can bet your health I won’t be here for long

She heard me in the capital playing mandolin through the wall
And she’d sing along
But in the dissonance of Feds, press and neighbor folks
She couldn’t find the song
I’m so tired of it all. If only they’d let me go home
They call me bust out early John
I’ll show my feared face again on the capitol lawn

I’ve got the world behind me
I’ve got feelings and tastes
You’ll only find me when I want
And I want to show you ain’t chaste

You catch the news and I’ll catch the Route 1 bus
We’ll see who catches it worse
All the true stories are sleeping beneath their trucks
Laying blind to the purse
I won’t be the last and I’m certainly not the first
You can call me bust out early John
I frighten Capitol crowds who sing Capitol songs

They gave me cold shackles when I needed a warm hand
Calling my acts tragedies
I was poked and prodded, locked up and shipped out too
Then taxed for my maladies
No matter the results I’m cuffed as a carrier
But the call me bust out early John
And when you come back with the meds, you’ll find me gone

Men shrink from me
But only when informed
You’ll only find me when I want
And I want to say you been warned

----

I waved Tommy Marshall as I checked into the Grand
And smiled when he strolled by
Then tasted the cheddar with crackers at the reception
And spread the news on high
It’s worth the world to never let them forget
You can call me bust out early John
While I’m headed back to lock up they say my blood’s gone wrong

I was poked and prodded, locked up and shipped out too
Then forced to pay salaries
They kept my money clean and my words in a gas chamber
And taxed for my maladies
No matter the results, I was ‘cuffed as a carrier
But they call me bust out early John
When you come back with the meds, you’ll find me gone


On the way up the hill some bellies belted bourgeois blues
And it echoed all day
I found a cane in the mud in it the word “fear” carved deep
I used to climb the rest of the way
When I got to the top, I waved it at the words of Taft
They call me bust out early John
And I’m headed back to lock up, they say my blood’s gone wrong

Most call me a terrorist, few call me a refugee
But I’m just regular folk
I pay for no crime, just a bill of inconvenience
It’s enough to keep me broke
No matter the results, I’m ‘cuffed as a carrier
But they call me bust out early John
When you come back with the meds, you’ll find me gone