my ride to work will not be televised
my ride to work will not be on at 8 o’clock 7 central
you can not teevo my ride to work
play it back in slo motion…and reverse
make copies for your friends
post it on youtube.

my ride to work will not be televised
my ride to work will not be rebroadcast in japanese
or seven other languages
sold in syndication
canceled for lack of ratings

my ride to work will not be televised
my ride to work will not star lance armstrong
…or marion jones
it will not take place in the summer
in the middle of the city next to bob’s deli
or jim’s cameras
it will not take place on the roof top of some swanky motel

my ride to work will NOT be televised.
my ride to work will not keep you at the edge of your seat
holding your arms
waiting for the good guy to win
my ride to work will not make you fat
it will not make you sit on the couch and eat hot pockets
rancid dough nuts and mountain dew

my ride to work will not be televised
so you’ll just have to read about it

thanks gil scott heron

Said the plain clothes cop to the beauty queen
“I’ve seen nothing but a spoke in a wheel”
So she gave up her crown to a kid with a crutch
And they both felt cheated after closing the deal
And the white tooth man I ran with him
Got all cut up from pissin out in the weeds
And a fight upstate with a broken blade
And a wife whose finger never wanted a ring

Said the plain clothes cop to the Indian chief
“I’ve made nothing but an honest mistake”
The postman cried while reading the mail
And we all got trampled in the Christmas parade
And the white tooth man who sold me a gun
A map of Canaan and a government bond
Said “I love this town, but it ain’t the same”
The ski mask ripped as he was putting it on

Said the plain clothes cop to the holy ghost
“I’ve heard nothing if it wasn’t the wind”
And we all got sick on a strip club meal
While the statehouse was fryin all the witches again
So the white tooth man with his kids in the car
And a wad of money that was already spent
Said “I love my dog but she just ran away,
She’ll keep running like the world never ends”

white tooth man

“I think what happens is sometimes you got to break your own narrative. We all have stories we’re living and telling ourselves, and there’s a time when that narrative has to be broken because you’ve run out of freedom in it. You’ve run out of places to go.”