Zen, Yoga, Gurdjieff: Lee's Gurdjieff Newsletter
Zen, Yoga, Gurdjieff: Lee's Gurdjieff Newsletter Podcast
Better Off Dead
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Better Off Dead

This recent mandolin-driven rock ballad has a mysterious twist to it, alluding to not just a change in outer circumstances – the traditional "I'm gonna leave town” or “I’m gonna leave you”—but a radical change in inner circumstances as well. There’s an implication of witchery here, and a disturbing uncertainty about exactly what is happening. The song draws its lyrical inflection from works like Steely Dan’s "Don't Take Me Alive;” but the folky vocal break with mandolin is more like something pulled out of Led Zeppelin’s attic.

It’s been about a half an hour 
Since the sun went down
About time to pack my bags
And get out of town
I paid off the Judge
And I paid off the jury too
And now I’m not accountable
For anything I do. 
But I ain’t gonna take any chances
No matter how you fix the books
No matter how you spin the bottle
It’s never as safe as it looks

So don’t get in my way
Don’t stand on the ground I tread
No, don’t get in my way
You’d be better off dead

I’m gonna tear out the kitchen oh yeah
I’m gonna grow a new soul
I’m an underground trust fund baby
You don’t know me at all
And when my hand is hidden
I’m always at my best
There’s no percentage in the odds 

I’m not taking any chances
Broomstick to the sky
Lights flashing in the middle of the night 
Time to say goodbye

So don’t get in my way
Don’t stand on the ground I tread
No, don’t get in my way
You’d be better off dead

Better off dead...
I'm gonna leave this town
I'm gonna grow a new soul
I'm gonna tear out the kitchen
You don't know me at all
I'm an underground trust fund baby
You don't know me at all
I'm gonna grow a new soul
I'm gonna grow a new soul
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Zen, Yoga, Gurdjieff: Lee's Gurdjieff Newsletter
Zen, Yoga, Gurdjieff: Lee's Gurdjieff Newsletter Podcast
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Lee van Laer