Lyrics B-Movie - Gil Scott-Heron

B-Movie

Well, the first thing I want to say is: Mandate my ass!\nBecause it seems as though we’ve been convinced that 26% of the registered\nvoters, not even 26% of the American people, but 26% of the registered voters\nform a mandate or a landslide.\n21% voted for Skippy and 3, 4% voted for somebody else who might have been\nrunning.\nBut, oh yeah, I remember.\nIn this year that we have now declared the year from Shogun to Reagan,\nI remember what I said about Reagan, I meant it.\nActed like an actor.\nHollyweird.\nActed like a liberal.\nActed like General Franco when he acted like governor of California,\nthen he acted like a Republican.\nThen he acted like somebody was going to vote for him for president.\nAnd now we act like 26% of the registered voters is actually a mandate.\nWe’re all actors in this I suppose.\nWhat has happened is that in the last 20 years, America has changed from a\nproducer to a consumer.\nAnd all consumers know that when the producer names the tune, the consumer has\ngot to dance.\nThat’s the way it is.\nWe used to be a producer — very inflexible at that, and now we are consumers\nand, finding it difficult to understand.\nNatural resources and minerals will change your world.\nThe Arabs used to be in the 3rd World.\nThey have bought the 2nd World and put a firm down payment on the 1st one.\nControlling your resources we’ll control your world.\nThis country has been surprised by the way the world looks now.\nThey don’t know if they want to be Matt Dillon or Bob Dylan.\nThey don’t know if they want to be diplomats or continue the same policy — of\nnuclear nightmare diplomacy.\nJohn Foster Dulles ain’t nothing but the name of an airport now.\nThe idea concerns the fact that this country wants nostalgia.\nThey want to go back as far as they can — even if it’s only as far as last week.\nNot to face now or tomorrow, but to face backwards.\nAnd yesterday was the day of our cinema heroes riding to the rescue at the last\npossible moment.\nThe day of the man in the white hat or the man on the white horse — or the man\nwho always came to save America at the last moment — someone always came to\nsave America at the last moment — especially in «And when America found itself having a hard time facing the future,\nthey looked for people like John Wayne.\nBut since John Wayne was no longer available, they settled for Ronald Reagan\nand it has placed us in a situation that we can only look at -like a «Come with us back to those inglorious days when heroes weren’t zeros.\nBefore fair was square.\nWhen the cavalry came straight away and all-American men were like Hemingway to\nthe days of the wondrous «The producer underwritten by all the millionaires necessary will be Casper «The Defensive"Weinberger — no more animated choice is available.\nThe director will be Attila the Haig, running around frantically declaring\nhimself in control and in charge.\nThe ultimate realization of the inmates taking over at the asylum.\nThe screenplay will be adapted from the book called «Voodoo Economics"by George «Papa Doc"Bush.\nVillage People"the very military «Macho Man.»\nCompany!!!"\nMacho, macho man!"\nTwo-three-four."\nHe likes to be well, you get the point."\nHuuut!\nYour left!\nYour left!\nYour left, right, left, right, left, right!!!"\nA theme song for saber-rallying and selling wars door-to-door.\nRemember, we’re looking for the closest thing we can find to John Wayne.\nClichés like, «itchy trigger finger"and «tall in the saddle"and «riding off or on into the sunset."Clichés like, «Get off of my planet by sundown!"More so than clichés like, «he died with his\nboots on."Marine tough the man is.\nBogart tough the man is.\nCagney tough the man is.\nHollywood tough the man is.\nCheap steak tough.\nAnd Bonzo’s substantial.\nThe ultimate in synthetic selling: A Madison Avenue masterpiece — a miracle — a\ncotton-candy politician…\nPresto!\nMacho!\nMacho, macho man!"\nPut your orders in America.\nAnd quick as Kodak your leaders duplicate with the accent being on the dupes —\ncause all of a sudden we have fallen prey to selective amnesia — remembering\nwhat we want to remember and forgetting what we choose to forget.\nAll of a sudden, the man who called for a blood bath on our college campuses is\nsupposed to be Dudley «God-damn"Do-Right?\nYou go give them liberals hell Ronnie."That was the mandate to the new Captain\nBligh on the new ship of fools.\nIt was doubtlessly based on his chameleon performance of the past:\nas a Liberal Democrat.\nAs the head of the Studio Actor’s Guild, when other celluloid saviors were\ncringing in terror from Mc\nCarthy, Ron stood tall.\nIt goes all the way back from Hollywood to hillbilly.\nFrom Liberal to libelous, from «Bonzo"to Birch idol, born again.\nCivil rights, women’s rights, gay rights: …\nit’s all wrong.\nCall in the cavalry to disrupt this perception of freedom gone wild.\nGod damn it, first one wants freedom, then the whole damn world wants freedom.\nNostalgia, that’s what we want…: the good ol' days, when we gave’em hell.\nWhen the buck stopped somewhere and you could still buy something with it.\nTo a time when movies were in black and white, and so was everything else.\nEven if we go back to the campaign trail, before six-gun Ron shot off his face\nand developed hoof-in-mouth.\nBefore the free press went down before full-court press, and were reluctant to\nreview the menu because they knew the only thing available was…\nCrow.\nLon Chaney, our man of a thousand faces: no match for Ron.\nDoug Henning does the make-up; special effects from Grecian Formula 16 and\nCrazy Glue; transportation furnished by the David Rockefeller of Remote Control\nCompany.\nTheir slogan is, «Why wait for 1984?\nYou can panic now…\nand avoid the rush.»\nSo much for the good news…\nAs Wall Street goes, so goes the nation.\nAnd here’s a look at the closing numbers: racism’s up, human rights are down,\npeace is shaky, war items are hot.\nThe House claims all ties.\nJobs are down, money is scarce, and common sense is at an all-time low on heavy\ntrading.\nMovies were looking better than ever, and now no one is looking,\nbecause we’re starring in a «And we would rather had…\nJohn Wayne.\nWe would rather had…\nJohn Wayne.\nYou don’t need to be in no hurry.\nYou ain’t never really got to worry.\nAnd you don’t need to check on how you feel.\nJust keep repeating that none of this is real.\nAnd if you’re sensing, that something’s wrong,\nWell just remember, that it won’t be too long\nBefore the director cuts the scene.\nyea."\nThis ain’t really your life,\nAin’t really your life,\nAin’t really ain’t nothing but a movie."\n(Refrain repeated approximately 20 times)\nThis ain’t really your life,\nAin’t really your life,\nAin’t really ain’t nothing but a movie."