Mirage

The Mekons

Where you hiding? Great question to ask the powers that be ($$$) who turn their backs on humanity over and over and justify it as “natural selection” or the price of capitalism.

LAST YEAR I remember hurrying through SF with my barista coffee at 6AM — zig-zagging down Market Street for a commercial shoot. I had to dodge and step over homeless people — many passed out face-down on the concrete in front of Bloomingdales.

I must be part of the problem too.

MEKONS stay political with DESERTED — their pre-pandemic 2019 record which is angry, beautiful and profound. This song just rocks and makes me sad on July 4 because I DO feel guilty when I pass tent cities in LA and Portland. Actually, they are in EVERY city in America, aren't they. You see them too.

Where did all the Good Samaritans go? We can talk about mental illness and addiction — it’s complicated, I know. But just because it’s complicated, doesn’t mean we’re off the hook from helping meet the basic needs of the people around us.

Laws continue being passed that punish the poor and sick and reward the rich. Laws that further damage the outcasts of the world. In the end? We’ll all be outcasts.

No taboos, nothing to lose
Modern dramas, electric storms
A trunk in the attic, a moment of panic
Daily routine, the faces freeze
Hearts of gold, hearts of gold
I never thought it would end
I never thought it would end
All my friends, all my friends
Where the fuck did they go?

In my tent, I sit and tremble
While outside the dust storms rage
I thought I had found an oasis
But it was just a muddy stinking hole