I Was a Maoist Intellectual

歌詞

I always knew that I could seize the world's imagination And show the possibilities for transformation I saw a nation in decay, but also a solution: Permanent cultural revolution Whenever I played my protest songs the press applauded me Rolled out the red carpet, parted the Red Sea But the petite bourgeois philistines stayed away They preferred their artists to have nothing to say How did I pass my time on earth? Now it can be revealed: I was a Maoist intellectual in the entertainment field I showed the people how they lived and told them it was bad Showed them the insanity inside the bureaucrat And the archetypes and stereotypes that were my stock in trade Toppled all the ivory towers that privilege had made Though I tried to change your mind I never tried your patience All I tried to do was to point out your exploitation But the powers that be took this to be a personal insult And refused to help me build my personality cult How did I pass my time an earth, what on earth got into me? I was a Maoist intellectual in the music industry I left the normal world behind and started living in A hinterland between dissolution and self discipline I burned the midnight oil to build my way of seeing A miner at the coal face of meaning The rich despised the songs I wrote which told the poor their worth Told the shy to speak and told the meek to take the earth But my downfall came from being three things the working classes hated: Agitated, organized and over-educated How did I pass my time on earth, how did I bear witness? As a Maoist intellectual in the entertainment business And how was I treated in this world and in this industry? As a Maoist intellectual in a business would be I became a hotel doorman, I stood there on the doormat Clutching my forgotten discs in their forgotten format Trying to hand them out to all the stars who sauntered in The ones who hadn't been like me, who hadn't lived in vain I gave up ideology the day I lost my looks I never found a publisher for my little red books When I died the energy released by my frustration Was nearly enough for re-incarnation But if I could live my life again the last thing that I'd be Is a Maoist intellectual in the music industry No, if I could live my life again I think I'd like to be The man whose job is to stop the men who think like me Yeah! If l could live my life again that'd be the thing to be The man who plots the stumbling blocks In the lives of the likes of me!