Degenerate America 2013

I sat on the 16th Street Mall
In downtown Denver
Just resting from my walk
Watching people as they passed

A girl came up to me
Do you have any money for food?
She asked so pitifully
I said no and looked away

Blacks and Hispanics were everywhere
Middle-age white men showed their calves
In their funny pants and flip-flops
Sunglasses on their bald heads

I don't know if they're gay
I imagine they have boy friends
While women make love
To their dogs and cats

This ain't 1953, I thought
Sure as hell ain't 1923
What happened to our society?
What happened to normalcy?

Too many pointless wars
Too many football games
Too many horror movies
Too many SUVs

Too much alcohol
Too much marijuana
Too much communication
Too much porn

Too much crazy music
Too much television
Too much education
Too much food

So-called men, tattooed up
Metal stuck in their faces
Their kids now speaking Spanish
Sliding into the Third World

Women who once primped
Wore dresses and heels
Now wearing torn jeans
Obese and dirty

Suddenly I saw them
Strolling on the sidewalk
Two men holding hands
Oh God! I'm gonna puke!

Degenerate America
Greatness in retrograde
Foreigners in control
Just don't be a racist!

Later as I downed a Big Mac
I thought about the girl on 16th
I should have fed her
And taken her to my motel

Jim Colyer ascap

I hesitated a while whether I should comment on this one. I am not American, so how can I judge a song about America? But the sentiment of the song ('Things ain't what they used to be') can be heard in my part of the world as well. ('Those meddling bureaucrats in Brussels'. 'Those guys from Eastern Europe stealing our jobs'). I feel it is laying too much emphasis on the negative side of things. Every time brings its its own challenges and its own ugly sights, but also its own beauty and its own opportunities. In 1953 and 1923 they probably complained about modern times too.('All that wild dancing to that so called jazz music can lead to no good"). The bottom line is if we can find real 21C solutions to real 21C problems.