Introducing: The Truthulele

gretavo's picture

Stop pretending truthing's hard, just play your truthulele!!

 

http://music.amandapalmer.net/track/ukulele-anthem

Ukulele Anthem

by

Amanda Palmer


Ukulele Anthem cover art

 

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about

Artwork by Shepard Fairey

To read Amanda's blog about this song, visit bit.ly/blog102711

lyrics

sid vicious played a four-string fender bass guitar and couldn’t sing

and everybody hated him except the ones who loved him

a ukulele has four strings, but sid did did not play ukulele

he did smack and probably killed his girlfriend nancy spungen

if only sid had had a ukulele, maybe he could have been happy

maybe he would not have suffered such a sad end

he maybe would have not done all that heroin instead

he maybe would’ve sat around just singing nice songs to his girlfriend

so play your favorite cover song, especially if the words are wrong

‘cos even if your grades are bad, it doesn’t mean you’re failing

do your homework with a fork

and eat your fruit loops in the dark

and bring your etch-a-sketch to work

and play your ukulele

ukulele small and forceful

brave and peaceful

you can play the ukulele too it is painfully simple

play your ukulele badly, play your ukulele loudly

ukulele banish evil

ukulele save the people

ukulele gleaming golden on the top of every steeple

lizzie borden took an axe, and gave her father forty whacks

then gave her mother forty-one, and left a tragic puzzle

if only they had given her an instrument, those puritans

had lost the plot completely

see what happens when you muzzle

a person’s creativity

and do not let them sing and scream

and nowadays it’s worse ‘cause kids have automatic handguns

it takes about an hour to learn how to play the ukulele

about same to teach someone to build a standard pipe bomb

YOU DO THE MATH

so play your favorite cover song, especially if the words are wrong

‘cos even if your grades are bad, it doesn’t mean you’re failing

do your homework with a fork

and eat your fruit loops in the dark

and bring your flask of jack to work

and play your ukulele

ukulele, thing of wonder

ukulele, wand of thunder

you can play the ukulele, too

in london and down under

play joan jett, and play jacques brel

and eminem and neutral milk hotel

the children crush the hatred

play your ukulele naked

and if anybody tries to steal your ukulele, let them take it

imagine there’s no music, imagine there are no songs

imagine that john lennon wasn’t shot in front of his apartment

imagine if john lennon had composed “imagine” on the ukulele

maybe folks would have more clearly got the message

you may think my approach is simple-minded and naïve

like if you want to save the world then why not quit and feed the hungry

but people for millennia have needed music to survive

and that’s why i’ve promised john that i will not feel guilty

so play your favorite beatles’ song

and make the subway fall in love

they’re only $19.95, that’s not a lot of money

play until the sun comes up

and play until your fingers suffer

play LCD soundsystem songs on your ukulele

quit the bitching on your blog

and stop pretending art is hard

just limit yourself to three chords

and do not practice daily

you’ll minimize some stranger’s sadness

with a piece of wood and plastic

holy fuck it’s so fantastic, playing ukulele

eat your homework with a fork

and do your fruit loops in the dark

bring your etch-a-sketch to work

your flask of jack

your vibrator

your fear of heights

your nikon lens

your mom and dad

your disco stick

your soundtrack from “karate kid”

your ginsu knives

your rosary

your new rebecca black CD

your favorite room

your bowie knife

your stuffed giraffe

your new glass eye

your sousaphone

your breakfast tea

your nick drake tapes

your giving tree

your ice cream truck

your missing wife

your will to live

your urge to cry

remember we’re all going to die

so PLAY YOUR UKULELE

credits

released 31 October 2011

Written and performed by Amanda Palmer

Artwork by Shepard Fairey

Recorded at Mad Oak Studios (Allston, MA) on 10/21/2011

Engineered by Benny Grotto

 

 

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kate of the kiosk's picture

just play your ukelele

love! shared