From: Karen
Date: Mon Sep 12 20:57:29 MST 2005
Subject: It's a good car

Hey clrclady, Have you ever heard the 10,000 Maniacs song, "What's the Matter Here?" It makes me want to weep every time I listen to it. (So why do I still sometimes listen to it? Am I a sucker for punishment....? I suppose it's to remember not to succumb to the complacency...) I put in the CD today after I read your poem. **************** That young boy without a name, anywhere I'd know his face. In this city the kid's my favorite. I've seen him, seen him. I see him every day. Seen him run outside looking for a place to hide from his father, the kid half naked and said to myself, "Oh, what's the matter here?" I'm tired of the excuses everybody uses, he's their kid, I stay out of it, but who gave you the right to do this? We live on Morgan Street; just ten feet between, and his mother, I never see her, but her screams and cussing, I hear them every day. Threats like: "If you don't mind, I will beat on your behind," "Slap you, slap you silly," made me say, "Oh, what's the matter here?" I've heard the excuses everybody uses, he's your kid, do as you see fit, but get this through that I don't approve of what you did to your own flesh and blood. "If you don't sit on this chair straight, I'll take this belt from around my waist, and don't think that I won't use it!" Answer me and take your time, what could be the awful crime he could do at such young an age? If I'm the only witness to your madness, offer me some words to balance out what I see and what I hear. All these cold and rude things that you do, I suppose you do because he belongs to you, and instead of love and the feel of warmth, you've given him these cuts and sores that don't heal with time or with age. I want to say, "What's the matter here?" But I don't dare say, "What's the matter here?" ---Robert Buck and Natalie Merchant ***************** ...these cuts and sores that don't heal with time or with age, but will heal by the power of God, by the grace that gives you much courage, and by the love that surrounds you. Enjoy your Ion, by the way. It's pretty sweet.

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From: clrclady
Date: Mon Sep 12 22:16:56 MST 2005
Subject: Great Lyrics