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TWITCHER Life Is Cheep

by Twitcher

/
1.
I got a migration headache and a case of warbler neck I got a migration headache I’m a twitchy nervous wreck I got circles round my eyes, they’re binoculars, guys! I don’t have the bird flu, but my favorite bird flew I missed it sitting on a branch and it flew I got a migration headache, I don’t wash or change my clothes I got a migration headache, bird droppings on my nose I don’t get a wink of sleep, I feel like life is cheep cheep cheep I’m less alive than dead, I’m in way over my head, they’re up there and I’m in way over my head I got a migration headache those birds have got me beat I got a migration headache frustration and defeat My spirit’s gonna crack I got a warbler on my back I got all the allergies Standing underneath the trees all day and night it’s making me sneeze
2.
I’m not a robin, I’m not a sparrow I’m not a pigeon who flies the straight and narrow I think I’m meant to be the kind of bird that doesn’t worry bout tomorrow I’m not a warbler, I’m not a breeder Out in the suburbs around the feeder If I could choose I’d be the trick-or-treater going wild in the cedars I wanna be a cedar waxwing Don’t want my life to be too relaxing They look so cool and they can’t sing I wanna be a cedar waxwing, cedar waxwing Was feeling down, I wanted feathers So with the waxwings we could flock together Went to the doc to get an operation He said he could create a simulation Said I would fly if I took this pill And when I got home he’d send me the bill Now with my mohawk I look pretty scary Sitting up a tree and getting drunk on berries
3.
Heron OD 01:54
I got bombed and I got hooked when I went to Bombay Hook And I drove around the marsh just to take a little look It was standing in a bog, frozen focused on a frog Then it shot out for the kill with a needle for a bill Like a shot into my vein, now that bird is on my brain Gotta heron OD When I’m a little blue in the black-crowned night The least bittern-ness fades, heron makes me feel all right I got bombed and I got hooked when I went to Bombay Hook Now I’m on the waterfront, always on a heron hunt River filled with toxic waste, trying to score another taste And now I regret that I saw that first egret And I made my first ID, now they’re all I wanna see
4.
Birding is rotten in Central Park Junkies and muggers come out in the dark Dogs and strollers and joggers all day Migration’s here- get out of our way! We’re on the warbler path It’s 5 AM we got a head start To get a black-and-white, to get a redstart Ovenbird, waterthrush, parula, chat You changed your name but we know where you’re at Nashville, Tennessee, black-throated blue Common yellowthroat we’re commin’ after you Come out you worm-eating, yellow-rumped bird For all wood warblers it’s world war third Prairie, Canada, chestnut-side You can fly but you can’t hide Wilson’s, cerulean, palm and pine I’ve got you all, victory’s mine!
5.
I’ve been flying a long long way, I fly all night and eat all day El Salvador to Hudson Bay, over the camps of the CIA Headed north to the USA Wash DC, I see red, I trickle down on Reagan’s head Flying into New York Cit, smog is thick, smells like shit High-rise penthouse straight ahead I hit the glass and now I’m dead Window strike Hey big business good for you, you own the land and the flyway too 3000 miles I just flew, to break my neck on your penthouse view Must be something you could do A paneful death for every bird, who tries to fly through human’s world Where we had our trees and flowers, concrete streets, metal towers I hit the pavement with a thump The sign above the door says Trump
6.
On my street there’s nothing new, tired of sparrows and pigeons too I wanna go out on a lark, let’s head down to Prospect Park Migration’s here it’s time to go, we can see a flicker and a vireo On my check list make a mark, let’s go down to Prospect Park Prospect Park, Prospect Park Let’s go down to Prospect Park Freaking people out on the subway cars Standing with my camera and binoculars Everyone thinks I’m a narc, let’s head down to Prospect Park Yell at yuppies with their dogs, scaring the birds when they jog Creepers come out after dark, let’s go down to Prospect Park
7.
Look down on the sidewalk I see roaches rats and bums Look down at the gutter I see needles crap and scum Look out through my window gate at violence in the street Only decent things I see are the birds up in the trees Everyone looks down on us, our lives are in a rut But when we go out watching birds everything is looking up Look at people all I see is addiction hate and crime Unemployment running out, only thing I got is time After all the clubs are closed we go into Tomkins Square Pull out our binoculars and we’re far away from there

about

Originally released on cassette in 1983. 25% of profits are donated to the American Birding Association. Another 25% of profits are donated to the Wild Bird Fund.

credits

released July 25, 2020

Tough Ted Titmaus- vocals, guitar. Dr. Killdeer- guitar. Purple Doc Marten- bass. Jay Thrasher- drums. All songs Copyright ©2020 by Al Duvall. Recorded in November 1982 at Electric Lagerland, NYC. This was my first band when I lived in NYC in 1982. My nom de plume was Tough Ted Titmaus.

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Al Duvall Brooklyn, New York

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