Tag: pop rock

‘NYC’ — #Lyrics To A Woke Pop Song

This is a homage to Lily Allen’s LDN. At least, that’s the song I’m listening to for the most part as I write these lyrics. But the point is to be a lot more angry. So imagine a Lily Allen song by way of a Public Enemy or Rage Against The Machine song. Sorta.

NYC
lyrics by Shelton Bumgarner
@bumgarls
please give credit if you produce or perform

got to the city on the Chinatown bus
things are a lovely as they can be in the early morning
take a picture with your smartphone
post it on Instagram for the friends back home
but soon enough you see Trump Tower
and all you can say is

fuck Donald Trump
fuck that dude
he isn’t my president
fuck Donald Trump
that racist piece of shit

so walking around NYC
as the day progresses
you walk into the park
what a lovely day it is
things are so lovely
the people walk by then you look and see
Trump’s name yet again

fuck Donald Trump
fuck that dude
he isn’t my president
fuck Donald Trump
that racist piece of shit

[bridge]
maybe it was all a dream
maybe things are are better now
maybe Clinton won
maybe we’re just free to live our lives
but it’s not to be
Trump is president

fuck Trump
that racist piece of shit
he’s not welcome in NYC
he’s not welcome anywhere
why do we have to put up with his lunacy
can you answer me
can you answer me

‘Vortex’ — #Lyrics To A Woke Pop Song

I love the word “Vortex” as a pop song title, so I keep coming back to it. I’ve written the lyrics to several songs using this concept, but given how totally insane the Trump Administration has come to be, it seems as though it’s appropriate to revisit this concept AGAIN. I am going to attempt, just off the top of my head, write a song that gives a breezy — and fastly sung — description of the shitstorm that Trump has brought about.

Vortex
lyrics by Shelton Bumgarner
@bumgarls
please give credit if you produce or perform

it started with a bang
forcing immigrants to pack their bags
fast as they can
people went to the airport
to show their support
and that was just the first few days!

Trump is a vortex
a vortex of political storms
what are going to do
what are we going to do

it’s been a vortex
a vortex of crazy
please don’t call me lazy
if the facts of this vortex are hazy

what has happened since it began
leaves us with hat in hand
Bannon came and went
Trump has left us spent!
take a break for a few hours
come back and the world is in flames
Trump is back at it again!

Trump is a vortex
a vortex of political storms
what are going to do
what are we going to do

it’s been a vortex
a vortex of crazy
please don’t call me lazy
if the facts of this vortex are hazy

[bridge]
we’re going to have to confront
that the president’s nuts
unhinged as he can be
where, exactly, are we going to flee?

the president calls Africa a shithole (shithouse?)
just a few days ago
we were going down the hole of his sanity
now we’re completely ignoring
his hush money to a porn star
what the hell is happening!

Trump is a vortex
a vortex of political storms
what are going to do
what are we going to do

it’s been a vortex
a vortex of crazy
please don’t call me lazy
if the facts of this vortex are hazy

‘Unrequited’ — #Lyrics To A Pop Ballad

My romantic life is usually just me pining away for someone I can’t have. So, these lyrics are about that. This is a homage to the song “Only Love Can Hurt Like This.” At least, that’s the song I’m listening to as I write these words. But, as I keep saying, really, if I had a co-writer and different beats this concept could be pretty cool.

Unrequited
lyrics by Shelton Bumgarner
@bumgarls
please give credit if you produce or perform

she’s always got a boyfriend or a man or a beau
that’s for sure, I’m afraid
there’s nothing I can do, nothing I can say
that will change my fate
my love is always

unrequited
unrequited
unrequited

I pine away for someone I may never have
will never feel the hair on her head
or the warmth of her breath on my skin
she’s perfect for me
but it’s not to be
but it’s not to be

too many other fish are in the sea
that’s what my mother said to me
but they’re not as tasty
to my heart
my heart that cries softly in the dark
for a love that is

unrequited
unrequited
unrequited

[bridge]
maybe one day
that’s all I can say
maybe one day
things will change
then what?

but I have to wait
wait until some date
when she’s free for me
yet until then
my love will be

unrequited
unrequited
unrequited

‘Hyperbole’ — #Lyrics To A Woke Pop Song

This is a homage to Katy Perry’s Chained To The Rhyme. I really like the song and since I have no beats — and neither can afford them nor have the technology to use them even if I did — this uses the general beat scheme of that song. But this is a first draft, if someone helped me, we could make this a legitimate song. These lyrics are about Trump and I like the concept because it teaches the listener about a word: hyperbole.

Hyperbole
lyrics by Shelton Bumgarner
@bumgarls
please give credit if you produce perform

you can’t just state the facts
have to put your own spin on them
have to exaggerate
have to to blow things out of proportion

why do you have to employ
hyperbole, hyperbole, hyperbole
hyperbole, hyperbole, hyperbole
why can’t you just tell the truth
why can’t you just tell the truth

we’re faced with the facts
yet again, yet again, yet again
the president lies and lies
he employs hyperbole to make his point
how can we let this stand
how can we let this stand

why do you have to employ
hyperbole, hyperbole, hyperbole
hyperbole, hyperbole, hyerbole
why can’t you just tell the truth
why can’t you just tell the truth

but that’s how he rolls
telling lies and using hyperbole
we want the truth
we want the truth
we want the truth

‘Waiting’ — #Lyrics To A Woke Pop Song

This would be a catchy pop song in the spirit of Katy Perry’s more popular recent stuff. But it would be more overtly “woke” than what she’s sung. Let me stress that this is just written really fast off the top of my head, but it is relaxing. This is about Hawaii residents having to wait 38 minutes before they found out that a ICBM wasn’t on its way to kill them. And I like to tell stories in verse, so you get this.

Waiting
lyrics by Shelton Bumgarner
@bumgarls
please give credit if you produce or perform
a missile is on its way

to end us all
so here we are
waiting, waiting, waiting

waiting for the end
wondering what comes next
should we be worried
should we fear life after death

38 minutes until we knew the truth
long enough to reflect on our lives
time enough to hope we’ve lived a good life
38 minutes of waiting, waiting, waiting

now what is what we said
looking around with fresh eyes
so this is how it all ends
with us waiting, waiting, waiting

38 minutes until we knew the truth
long enough to reflect on our lives
time enough to hope we’ve lived a good life
38 minutes of waiting, waiting, waiting

[bridge]
this is not how we expected it
we’re going to meet our maker
live a hell on heaven’s islands

38 minutes until we knew the truth\
long enough to reflect on our lives
time enough to hope we’ve lived a good life
38 minutes of waiting, waiting, waiting

waiting, waiting, waiting
waiting, waiting, waiting
waiting, waiting, waiting

‘Dicky Durbin’ — #Lyrics To A Woke Punk Rock Song

It continues to amaze me that it’s not bigger news that the President of the United States is not only demonstrably unhinged, but has the mentality of a middle-school bully. So, this song is about Trump’s latest nickname, Dicky Durbin and how it’s so bad, so childish that it is flabbergasting. Anyway, this is a punk song. At least the music to it would be punk.

Dicky Durbin
lyrics by Shelton Bumgarner
@bumgarls
please give credit if you produce or perform

things don’t seem like they could get worse
make me want to hiss
when I see you on my screen
you come up with stupid names
for respectable people
at least from what I can glean
your latest is Dicky Durbin

Dicky Durbin
is that all you got, bruh
Dicky Durbin
is that all you got, bruh
you’re losing your touch
losing your touch

what is going to happen
I just don’t know
I just don’t know
what’s going to happen
boy, do I care

the president slings his shit
at senators and their ilk
what are we going to do
with this shithead
in the Oval Office?

Dicky Durbin
is that all you got, bruh
Dicky Durbin
is that all you got, bruh
you’re losing your touch
losing your touch

[bridge]
we’ve got to fight
the good fight
if Trump is going to sling the mud
we’ve got to sling the love

I believe we’re going to win
just got to vote when we get our chance
that chance will come soon enough
we’re going to win
we’re going to win
we’re going to win

‘The Ballad Of Old Man Cotton’ — #Lyrics To An Angry Pop-Rock-Folk Song

Sen. Tom Cotton has proven himself to be a liar and I can’t stand it. It’s outrageous that he is willing to sell his soul and honor to protect our piece of shit president. Hence, this song.

The Ballad Of Old Man Cotton
lyrics by Shelton Bumgarner
@bumgarls
please give credit if you produce or perform

old man Cotton
you are a national shame
we will vote you out
given a chance

old man Cotton

I see you on TV
you lie so fast
you are not a man of honor
you should just shut up
we know what happened
when will you tell the truth, truth, truth

old man Cotton
you are a national shame
we will vote you out
given a chance

old man Cotton

you don’t know the truth
even if it was a stick to the head
you’re going to feel the power of fact
one day, one day, one day
the voting booth still exists

old man Cotton
you are a national shame
we will vote you out
given a chance

old man Cotton

‘Shithole Country’ — #Lyrics To A Woke Hip-Hop – R&B Song

These lyrics are supposed to be kind of a murky mixture of Prince’s Sign O’ The Times and a Public Enemy song. No one cares what I write, so I’m just doing this for fun, though I am kind of pissed off.

Shithole Country
lyrics by Shelton Bumgarner
@bumgarls
please give credit if you produce or perform

the black man works with a broken back
trying the best he can
but just walking the streets is a danger
especially when the president is a racist fool
so let me tell you about a shithole country
at least for me
the one I have to deal with
as long as Trump’s name is in the land

shithole country
land of the free
shithole country
the one I live with in
as long as Trump is POTUS
shithole country

why can’t we all just get along
why does POTUS have to divide us along lines
the lines found on our face

what a disgrace
what a disgrace
what a disgrace

shithole country
land of the free
shithole country
the one I live with in
as long as Trump is POTUS
shithole country

[bridge]
we still have hope
maybe we’ll awake
and find that this was all a dream
but I’m afraid
the answer is nope, nope, nope

but we’re going to have to fight
fight for our freedom again
we’re going to have to unite
unite this shithole country

unite
unite
unite
unite

‘Caligula’ — #Lyrics To A Woke #EDM Song

Yes, I know the music usually comes before the lyrics in an EDM song, but I like EDM and I like telling stories in verse, so you get this. I’m listening to an EDM song as I write these lyrics just to get the mood and this is really just a first draft but it’s fun to write lyrics anyway. It’s just for fun. I find the process of writing lyrics fascinating. this would be a really dancable EDM song about, well, Donald J. Trump.

Caligula
lyrics by Shelton Bumgarner
@bumgarls
please give credit if you produce or perform

I watch CNN see the truth in front of me
we’re all going to die
I’m afraid
might as well dance the night way
hope we get to see the dawn
after a night of passion
what happens next is anyone’s guess

the president is a modern day
Caligula
Caligula
Caligula

he’s lost his mind I’m afraid
we have to address the facts of life
things are growing dire
with Trump as president
what are we going to to smooth fate
I’m afraid this is the end
so take my hand before it all ends

the president is a modern day
the president is a modern day
Caligula
Caligula
Caligula

[bridge]
run to your fall out shelter
run as fast as you can
make sure you kiss your loved ones goodbye
when the missile heads our way
we’re all going to day his name

Caligula
Caligula
Caligula

the president is insane
the president is insane
the president is insane

‘Warning’ — #Lyrics To A Woke Pop-Rock Protest Song

I just write lyrics because it’s relaxing. I don’t know if I’m any good and that’s not really the point. The point is it’s cathartic to some extent to tell stories in verse. And I write these lyrics extremely quickly, so, in a sense, you get what you get. These lyrics are about the recent false alarm in Hawaii about an ICBM on its way to the area. I’m thinking a Radiohead vibe for the music.

Warning
lyrics by Shelton Bumgarner
@bumgarls

the warning arrives but does anyone listen
can you read what’s on your phone
that’s the question
we’re all going to die it seems
but soon enough
we discover it’s

what happens next in our doom
we could check Twitter to see the facts
will anyone know the truth even then
or is it all fake news

check again and you’ll see
it was all a false alarm
it was all a false alarm
it was all a false alarm

[bridge]
hold your loved ones tight
no one is going to save you from the fright
we’re all going to die

but in the end
it was all a false alarm
it was all a false alarm
it was all a false alarm

one day we’ll be free of Trump
and look back upon all of this with regret
but thankfully
it was all a false alarm
it was all a false alarm