The Ike Reilly Assa**ination - Broken Parakeet Blues lyrics

East of the village And west of the trees Up on the high ground Where the soldiers would stand Cooling themselves In the sulfurous breeze It seemed like something to lose The houses were filled With flattering hosts In tight shirts and compliments For soldiers and ghosts Up on the high ground Blowing their loads For the cowgirls left back home How can you say there's nothing to lose? Singing your broken parakeet blues On the side of the highway, lighting the fuse Black like the crows from the cattle car fumes Yeah, up on the highway Near Twentynine Palms I saw busloads of soldiers Rolling along And people like crows On the side of the road Waving goodbye To lovers and sons The soldiers were boys There were brown ones and fat ones White ones and cool ones And camouflaged black ones Sweet ones and cruel ones But I didn't see Anybody I thought Had money like me Some were sleeping, some dreaming Some quietly weeping Out of Twentynine Palms The buses kept creeping Right through the desert And out to the shore Twentynine Palms Won't see 'em no more How can you say there's nothing to lose? Singing your broken parakeet blues On the side of the highway, lighting the fuse Black like the crows from the cattle car fumes How can you just wave farewell to them? And knowing what you know and where you have been On the side of the highway, lighting the fuse Singing your broken parakeet blues How can you say there's nothing to lose? East of the village And west of the trees Up on the high ground Where the soldiers would stand Cooling themselves In the sulfurous breeze We all crow those parakeet blues