Skid Row : Slave to the Grind

Hard-Rock / USA
(1991 - Atlantic Records)
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Lyrics


1. MONKEY BUSINESS

Outside my window there's a
Whole lot of trouble comin'
The cartoon killers and the
Rag cover clones
Stack heels kickin' rhythm
Of social circumcision
Can't close the closet on
Shoe box full of bones

Kangaroo lady with her bourbon
In a pouch
Can't afford the rental on
A bamboo couch
Collecting back her favors 'cause her
Well is running dry
I know her act is terminal,
But she ain't gonna die

Slim intoxicado drinkin' dime
Store hooch
Is always in a circle with his
Part-time pooch
Little creepy's playing dollies in the
New York rain
Thinkin' Bowie's just a knife
Ooh the pain

I ain't seen the sun since I don't
Know when
The freaks come out at nine
And it's twenty to ten
What's this funk
That you call junk
To me it's just monkey business

Blind man in the vox that will
Probably die
The village kids laugh as they walk by
A psycho is on the edge of this human
Garbage dump
And the vultures in the sewers
Are telling
Him to jump

Into the fire from the frying pan
Tripping on his tounge
For a cool place to stand
Where's this shade
That you've got it made
To me it's just monkey business

Monkey business
Slippin' on the track
Monkey business
Jungle in black
Ain't your business if I got
No monkey on my back

Monkey business
Slippin' on the track
Monkey business
Jungle in black
Ain't your business
If I got
Monkey's on my back

The vaseline gypsies and silicone souls
Dressed to the society
Hypocrite heartbeat and cheap alibis
Can't get you by that monkey


2. SLAVE TO THE GRIND

You got me forced to crack
My lids in two
I'm still stuck inside this rubber room
I gotta punch the clock that
Leads the blind
I'm just another gear in the assembly
Line - oh no

The noose gets tighter around
My throat
But I ain't at the end of my rope 'cause
I won't be the one left behind
Can't be king of the world
If you're slave to the grind
Tear down the rat racial slime
Can't be king of the world
If you're slave to the grind

Get it?

A routine injection, a lethal dose
But my day in the sun ain't even close
There's no need to waste
Your prayers on me
You better mark my words
'Cause I'm history
Yes indeed

You might beg for mercy to get by
But I'd rather tear this thorn
From my side

I won't be the one left behind
You can't be king of the world
If you're slave to the grind
Tear down the rat racial slime
Can't be king of the world
If you're slave to the grind

They swallowed thier daggers by
Turning their trick
They tore my intentions apart
Brick by brick
I'm sick of the jive
You talk verbal insecticide

They swallowed thier daggers by
Turning their trick
They tore my intentions apart
Brick by brick
I'm sick of the jive
You talk verbal insecticide

I won't be the one left behind

You can't be king of the world
If you're slave to the grind
Tear down the rat racial slime
You can't be king of the world
If you're slave to the grind

I said slave to the grind
Slave to the grind
Slave to the grind


3. THE THREAT

I've been convicted with and
Without reason
Tarred and feathered like a piper on
A killing spree
And felt the anger of generations
And been the target of the cheap shots
Of authority

So you think you cut me down to size
Well there's something you
Should realize
It's gonna take more than a break
In the law
To make me smile pretty for the
Wreckin' ball

Won't beg, won't bleed
The end of sacrifice is a threat
To society
Hard line, you'll see
Once you've made a mark, you've
Made a threat to society

I wasn't put here to be treated
Like some disease you hoped would go
Away if left alone
You can sweep me under the carpet
But, I'll still infect your need to use me
As a steppin' stone

So you think you cut me down to size
Well there's something you
Should realize
It's gonna take more than a break
In the law
To make me smile pretty for the
Wreckin' ball

Won't beg, won't bleed
The end of sacrifice is a threat
To society
Hard line, you'll see
Once you've made a mark, you've
Made a threat to society

So you think you cut me down to size
Well there's something you
Should realize
It's gonna take more than a break
In the law
To make me smile pretty for the
Wreckin' ball


4. QUICKSAND JESUS

She caught the melting sky
It burned but still the winter passes
By and by
To the other side

A slow parade of wind
That blows through threes
That wilted with the season's children
Are we saved by the words
Of bastard saints
Do we live in fear or faith
Tell me now who's behind the rain

A maze of tangled grace
The symptoms of ?for real? are
Crumbling from embrace
But still we chase..the shadows
Of belief
And new religion clouds our visions of
The roots of our souls

Are we ashamed of our own fate
Or play the fool for our own sake
Tell me who's behind the rain

What do we need where do we go
When we get where we don't know
Why should we doubt the virgin white
Of fallen snow
When faith's our shelter from the cold

Quicksand Jesus I'm so far away
Without you
Quicksand Jesus I'm so far away
Without you
Quicksand Jesus I'm so far away
Without you

Quicksand Jesus I need you
Quicksand Jesus I belive you
Quicksand Jesus I'm so far away


5. PSYCHO LOVE

Check out Clementine
Cleanin' needles in her wine
Face down in her one-eyed world
With her brain-dead valentine

She'll be your zombie, your livin' dead
Her sweet corruption
It's gonna make you, gonna break you
Ohh yeah, she said...

Haunt my house of pain
And feel my psycho love
We'll shine and pray for rain
To heal my psycho love

Legs at ten and two
Chain her down that's what you do
King Tut and snake-eyed slut
In the pink but screamin' blue

I'll taste your crazy, you smell insane
I'm just another ghost
Inside your spirits hall of fame

Haunt my house of pain
And feel my psycho love
We'll shine and pray for rain
To heal my psycho love

As the warm smooth soul
Chases through the cold silence
Of a body
A body of touch not feel
One question is she a stone in the
Devil's garden
Or a speck in an angels dust
Ashes to ashes
And lust to lust

She'll teach you true love
Watchin' you turn blue love
She'll wrap you in a chokehold
And suck your symptom dry


6. GET THE FUCK OUT

Your jokes ain't funny and there's nothin' you say that I wanna hear
The sound of the door slammin' your ass out is music to my ears
If I can't beat you then I m gonna beat you to a pulp
So can the TV rays and take my tonsil glaze right down your throat

You're standin' to close what the fuck's with you
You ain't my old lady and you ain't a tattoo
No need to whimper no need to shout
This party s over so get the fuck out
Get the fuck out

Well I puke I stink bitch get me a drink 'cause I m payin' for the room
I ain't buying you breakfast so keep your mouth busy and wrap your lips all
Around my attitiude
Take a walk with me with your triple double Ds and your 40 foot do
Why you walkin' funny you must have spent some time with the boys in the
Crew

You're standin' to close what the fuck's with you
You ain't my old lady and you ain't a tattoo
No need to whimper no need to shout
This party s over so get the fuck out
Get the fuck out

The morning's comin' in and this is my bed
If I find you here when I wake up
The maid is gonna find me dead.

You're standin' to close what the fuck's with you
You ain't my old lady and you ain't a tattoo
No need to whimper no need to shout
This party s over so get the fuck out
Get the fuck out
Get the fuck out
Get the fuck out


7. LIVIN' ON A CHAIN GANG

Turn on the TV, 'cause I got nowhere
To go
Seems that there's a little trouble down
In Mexico
A 13-year-old boy robs a store
So he can eat
And they got him doing time while
Killers walk the streets

A hungry politician is the wolf that's
At the door
Hell-bent on submission and feedin'
On the poor
We could stare into the sun if we would
Open up our eyes
But we paint ourselves into a corner
Colored in white lies

Busted on a rockpile - getting
Dusted in the heat
Shackled to the system - and
Draggin' my feet

I'm riding on a breakdown - another
Whiteknuckled shakedown
Feels like I'm livin' on a chain gang
I'm riding on a breakdown - a suicidal
Shakedown
Feels like I'm on a chain gang

A con man's intuition can wash
Your sins away
Send your contribution and he'll save
Your soul today
What can he know, has he been
Through hell and back
He takes the cash and drives it home in
A brand new Cadillac

Spitting at the guard dog, burning
In his wicked deal
Screamin' down the railroad with
No one at the wheel

I'm riding on a breakdown - another
Whiteknuckled shakedown
Feels like I'm livin' on a chain gang
I'm riding on a breakdown - a suicidal
Shakedown
Feels like I'm on a chain gang

Faith healin', superstition
Cold-blooded criminal mind
Getting off on high position
Hey brother can you spare a dime
To get me off this slaughter line

I'm riding on a breakdown - another
Whiteknuckled shakedown
Feels like I'm livin' on a chain gang
I'm riding on a breakdown - a suicidal
Shakedown
Feels like I'm on a chain gang

I'm riding on a breakdown - another
Whiteknuckled shakedown
Feels like I'm livin' on a chain gang
I'm riding on a breakdown - a suicidal
Shakedown
Feels like I'm on a chain gang


8. CREEPSHOW

Zoned out afternoon
Let's catch "who's on top of whom"
Tell it like it is
'Cause it isn't anyway

Much to my surprise
I caught it right between the thighs
My sweet little sister
Was layin' me away

My jaw dropped dead to the table
She put my cool in shock
Crack kills and blood spills baby
But psychos, dykes and transvestites
Are on the choppin' block

Oh no - I saw my baby
On the creepshow
Out on - spillin' my guts on the news
Oh no - I caught my woman
On the creepshow
Hit me with a shovel 'cause I can't
Belive that I dug you

She filled my boots with lead
Was it something that I said
A picture paints a thousand ugly words

Baby's acting tough
Check out my fisticuffs
That's just what she deserves

I can't flip from the station
Can't unplug what's done
Her six-foot-deep temptation
She nicked my shin, and then
Kicked me in,
And then she buried me for fun

Oh no - I saw my baby
On the creepshow
Out on - spillin' my guts on the news
Oh no - I caught my woman
On the creepshow
Hit me with a shovel 'cause I can't
Belive that I dug you

My jaw dropped dead to the table
She put my cool in shock
Crack kills and blood spills baby
But psychos, dykes and transvestites


9. IN A DARKENED ROOM

In a darkened room
Beyond the reach of God's faith
Lies the wounded, the shattered
Remains of love betrayed
And the innocense of a child is bought
And sold
In the name of the damned
The rage of the angels left silent
And cold

Forgive me please for I know not
What I do
How can I keep inside the hurt
I know is true

Tell me when the kiss of love
Becomes a lie
That bears the scar of sin too deep
To hide behind this fear of running
Unto you
Please let there be light
In a darkened room

All the precious times have been put
To rest again
And the smile of the dawn
Brings tainted lust singing my requiem
Can I face the day when I'm tortured
In my trust
And watch it crystalize
While my salvation crumples to dust

Why can't I steer the ship before
It hits the storm
I've fallen to the sea but still
I swim for shore

Tell me when the kiss of love
Becomes a lie
That bears the scar of sin too deep
To hide behind this fear of running
Unto you
Please let there be light
In a darkened room


10. RIOT ACT

I never wanted to be President
'Cause it's nothin' but an
Ego trip, yeah
I didn't want your education
'Cause it's notin' but a pile of shit

You bore me to death, so shut up
For God's sake

Stop readin' me the riot act
While my brains are still intact
You say it's raining, but you're pissin'
Down my back
So stop readin' me the riot act

I couldn't listen to a word you said
This goin' nowhere thing
Is wearin' thin
When your sex, your drugs, and
Your valid vic'
Is just the spit I wipe off my chin

I'd rather go nowhere than not know
Where it's at

Stop readin' me the riot act
While my brains are still intact
You say it's raining, but you're pissin'
Down my back
So stop readin' me the riot act

I never wanted to be President
'Cause it's nothin' but an
Ego trip, yeah
I didn't want your education
'Cause it's notin' but a pile of shit

You bore me to death, so shut up
For God's sake

Stop readin' me the riot act
While my brains are still intact
You say it's raining, but you're pissin'
Down my back
So stop readin' me the riot act

Stop readin' me the riot act
While my brains are still intact
You say it's raining, but you're pissin'
Down my back
So stop readin' me the riot act

The riot act


11. MUDKICKER

We stand accused but you lie
Varicose-veined finger
Prejudiced evil mind
The young get stronger
Free living fast
But you're a sapsucker
You ain't gonna last

Your twisted mouths feed the
Minds of babes
Taught from birth it's crime that pays
One man's fortune is anoter
Man's pain
But that's how you play the game

I ain't the child of your disgrace
You're mudkickin' into my face
I've healed the wounds, been crucified
Mudkicker kick
Ha! here's mud in your eyes

Ladies and gentlemen and members
Of the jury
All rise, 'cause here comes the boss
He's your big brother the silver
Tongue's doublecross
His collar starched white, big black
Briefcase held tight
It holds the power to your demise

The corporation blue sedan
Behind the wheel Mr. Business-man
He thinks he's got the upper hand
But he misunderstands

I ain't the child of your disgrace
You're mudkickin' into my face
I've healed the wounds, been crucified
Mudkicker kick

I ain't the child of your disgrace
Quit mudkickin' into my face
I've healed the wounds, been crucified
Mudkicker kick
Wow! here's mud in your eyes

Your prestige is clear as day
But I can scrape the sewer bilge and
See the same
The young get stronger, free living fast
But you're a sapsucker you ain't
Gonna last

I ain't the child of your disgrace
You're mudkickin' into my face
I've healed the wounds, been crucified
Mudkicker kick

I ain't the child of your disgrace
Quit mudkickin' into my face
I've healed the wounds, been crucified
Mudkicker kick

Mudkicker kick, kickin' me down
Mudkicker kickin' me all around
Mudkicker kick, kickin' me down

Mudkicker kick, kickin' me down
Mudkicker kickin' me all around
Mudkicker kick, kickin' me down

Mudkicker kick - I don't fuck
Around, no


12. WASTED TIME

You and I together in our lives
Sacred ties would never fray
Then why can't I let myself tell lies
And watch you die every day

I think back to the times
When dreams were what mattered
Tough talking youth naivete

You said you never let me down
But the horse stampedes and rages
In the name of desperation

Is it all just wasted time
Can you look at yourself
When you think of what
You left behind

Is it all just wasted time
Can you live with yourself
When you think of what
You left behind

Paranoid delusions they haunt you
Where's my friend I used to know
He's all alone
He's buried deep within a carcass
Searching for a soul

Can you feel me inside your heart
As it's bleeding
Why can't you belive you
Can't be loved

I hear you scream in agony
And the horse stampedes and rages
In the name of desperation

Is it all just wasted time
Can you look at yourself
When you think of what
You left behind

Is it all just wasted time
Can you live with yourself
When you think of what
You left behind

You said you never let me down
But the horse stampedes and rages
In the name of desperation

Is it all just wasted time
Can you look at yourself
When you think of what
You left behind

Is it all just wasted time
Can you live with yourself
When you think of what
You left behind

The sun will rise again
The earth will turn to sand
Creation's colors seem to fade to grey
And you'll see the sickly hands of time
Will write your final rhyme
And end a memory

I never thought you'd let it get
This far, boy


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