titus andronic.us

Part I. Roadrunner Revisited
There’ll be no more counting the cars on the Garden State Parkway,
Nor waiting for the Fung Wah bus to carry me to who-knows-where.
And when I stand tonight, ‘neath the lights of the Fenway,
Will I not yell like hell for the glory of the Newark Bears?

Because where I’m going to now, no one can ever hurt me,
Where the well of human hatred is shallow and dry.
No, I never wanted to change the world, but I’m looking for a new New Jersey,
Because tramps like us, baby, we were born to die.

I’m doing 70 on 17, I’m doing 80 over 84,
And I never let the Merritt Parkway magnetize me no more.
Give me a brutal Somerville summer, give me a cruel New England winter,
Give me the great Pine Barrens so I can see them turned into splinters.
And if I come in on a donkey, let me go out on a gurney.
I want to realize too late I never should have left New Jersey.

Part II. Fear and Loathing in Somerville, MA
I sense the enemy, they’re rustling around in the trees,
I thought I had gotten away but they followed be to 02143.
Woe, oh woe is me, no one knows the trouble I see,
When they hang Jeff Davis from a sourapple tree,
I’ll sit beneath the leaves and weep.

None of us shall be saved, every man will be a slave,
For John Brown’s body lies a’mouldring in the grave and there’s rumbling down in the caves.
So if it’s time for choosing sides, and to show this dirty city how we do the Jersey Slide
And if it deserve a better class of criminal, then I’m'a give it to them tonight.

So we’ll rally around the flag, rally around the flag,
Rally around the flag, boys, rally once again,
Shouting the Battle Cry of Freedom!
Rally around the flag, rally around the flag,
Glory, glory, Hallelujah, His truth is marching on.

notes:
“Roadrunner” is a song by Jonathan Richman that is partly about his love for Massachusetts, which is where the narrator is going in this song.
“Fear and Loathing in Somerville, MA” is both a reference to a song on Airing of Grievances (“Fear and Loathing in Mahwah, NJ”), and Hunter S. Thompson’s writings.
The song is filled with references to things in New Jersey and Boston:
-Garden State Parkway
-Fung Wah bus – a bus that runs from New York’s Chinatown to Boston.
-Fenway – Fenway Park in Boston, home of the Red Sox.
-Newark Bears – a minor league baseball team in New Jersey.
-17 – Route 17 in New Jersey, which connects Mahwah (where Patrick Stickles went to college) to New York City.
-84 – Interstate 84, which is a large part of the route from New Jersey to Boston.
-Merritt Parkway – another part of the route from New Jersey to Boston.
-Somerville – part of the Boston metro area, where Patrick Stickles lived briefly after graduating college
-Pine Barrens – a region of southern New Jersey
-02143 – Somerville’s zip code
“no more counting the cars on the Garden State Parkway” – reference to Simon and Garfunkel’s “America” (in an interview, Patrick says that the GSP is the more important freeway to actual New Jerseyans).
“I never wanted to change the world….” – reference to Billy Bragg’s “New England”.
“tramps like us, baby, we were born to die” – reference to Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run”.
“Come in on a donkey” – reference to Jesus on Palm Sunday. A week later, he was crucified.
Jeff Davis – president of the Confederacy.
John Brown’s Body – the original lyrics to Battle Hymn of the Republic
Jersey Slide – while driving, changing from the far left lane all the way to the exit ramp. i.e., completely changing sides.
“better class of criminal, and I’m'a give it to them” – a quote from the Joker in the movie Dark Knight
“rally around the flag” … “Battle Cry of Freedom” – from the Civil War song, Battle Cry of Freedom
“glory, glory, Hallelujuah” – from the Civil War song, Battle Hymn of the Republic