When I was the age of a young Tom Sawyer
My mother had a dream
that I’d be a lawyer
Yeah. Yeah.
Lucky for me it didn’t work out that way
A Fender Telecaster was her first mistake
Oh, Yeah! Yeah!
I guess I was a big disappointment
to all the hopes she had
Shouting at me, over the radio,
“You gotta take the good with the bad!”

But good and bad had lost their form
When a cloud of sound became a storm

I met a couple kids from a place up the street
A bass and a drummer
and a singer who could really scream
We played in a garage with lots of gas in the air
Sometimes we hit some notes
that would blow us from here to there, yeah!
The neighbors said I was a big disappointment
“He was a lovely child.”
“And now he’s making noise
like World War Two.”
They put it in my permanent file!

No doubt I had done the crime
I was caught red-handed changing time
As our music tried to bend the air
We were breathing deeply everywhere

In high school my mother still had hope
But she didn’t know it was like
some kind of dope
Oh. Yeah. Yeah.
Over my ears my hair was getting longer
Between my ears I kept hearing
a thousand songs, yeah!
The teachers said I was a big disappointment.
“The boy can’t concentrate.”
“Staring out the window, tapping his sneakers,
To his work he does not seem to relate!”

Lost in melodies and words and licks
I wanted so to take part in that mix
And though sound was bound change again
Part of me would always be there when…

Being There When

Words and Music: John Heartfield

Recording

Lead Guitar, Effects, Licks: Marty Brounstein
Rhythm Guitar, Bass, Vocals: John Heartfield