and now I regret it
It did not meet requirements,
so I had to forget it
No longer mine, I can't even express it
They own the master and
won't even press it
If it was made,
then you wouldn't hear it
They'd have to dissect it, cut it,
and clear it I can't even touch it, or clutch it, and
hold it
They own the rights, and still haven't sold
it
All I've left to give up is a ghost
Ain't nobody to get me back
All I've left to give up is ghosts
Ain't nobody getting that
Something was wrong from
the very word go
They obviously knew things
that I didn't know
They'd look for sedition and
sin and subversion
They'd doctor some lyrics
and scrap the dumb version
I once wrote this thing that
was poignant and true
They'd examined its content
and read it right through
Perhaps at some stage they
would bear it in mind
But our public's not ready
for ideas of this kind
All I've left to give up is the ghost
Ain't nobody getting that
All I've left to give for business
Ain't nobody getting that
Their words were direct and
cloaked in politeness
They said I should sing more
and actually write less
With all things considered
their decision was final
It was in all our interest that
it never saw the final
They wanted simplicity,
not something commensal
But I see their po sition,
and that of the censor
They plot out this course that
perhaps I take part in
Ignoring the stuff that I put all my heart
in
I felt it was useless to
try and complain
And I knew that I'd never see 18 again
It was based on good sense
that their judgment fell
They'd wait till I
OD'd and then it would sell
My vision was powerful, brutal and stark
But somehow my bullet had
just missed its mark
As I mentally ripped up my
cheque for the floors
They made certain concessions and altered
my thoughts
It's hard to live with it,
but can't live
without it I still might have cracked it,
but I very
much doubt it I had so much
to offer and so much to say
But I pushed the wrong
button and got in their way