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The ragamuffin gunner is returnin' home like a hungry runaway
He walks through town all alone
He must be from the fort he hears the high school girls say
His countryside's burnin' with wolfman fairies dressed in drag for homicide
The hit and run, plead sanctuary, `neath a holy stone they hide
They're breakin' beams and crosses with a spastic's reelin' perfection
Nuns run bald through Vatican halls pregnant, pleadin' immaculate conception
And everybody's wrecked on Main Street from drinking unholy blood
Sticker smiles sweet as gunner breathes deep, his ankles caked in mud
And I said, "Hey, gunner man, that's quicksand, that's quicksand that ain't mud
Have you thrown your senses to the war or did you lose them in the flood?"
That pure American brother, dull-eyed and empty-faced
Races Sundays in Jersey in a Chevy stock super eight
He rides `er low on the hip, on the side he's got Bound For Glory in red, white and blue flash paint
He leans on the hood telling racing stories, the kids call him Jimmy The Saint
Well the blaze and noise boy, he's gunnin' that bitch loaded to blastin' point
He rides head first into a hurricane and disappears into a point
And there's nothin' left but some blood where the body fell
That is, nothin' left that you could sell
Just junk all across the horizon, a real highwayman's farewell
And I said, "Hey kid, you think that's oil? Man, that ain't oil that's blood."
I wonder what he was thinking when he hit that storm
Or was he just lost in the flood?
Eighth Avenue sailors in satin shirts whisper in the air
Some storefront incarnation of Maria, she's puttin' on me the stare
And Bronx's best apostle stands with his hand on his own hardware
Everything stops, you hear five, quick shots, the cops come up for air
And now the whiz-bang gang from uptown, they're shootin' up the street
And that cat from the Bronx starts lettin' loose
But he gets blown right off his feet
And some kid comes blastin' round the corner but a cop puts him right away
He lays on the street holding his leg screaming something in Spanish
Still breathing when I walked away
And someone said, "Hey man did you see that? His body hit the street with such a beautiful thud."
I wonder what the dude was sayin' or was he just lost in the flood?
Hey man, did you see that, those poor cats are sure messed up
I wonder what they were gettin' into, or were they just lost in the flood?
He walks through town all alone
He must be from the fort he hears the high school girls say
His countryside's burnin' with wolfman fairies dressed in drag for homicide
The hit and run, plead sanctuary, `neath a holy stone they hide
They're breakin' beams and crosses with a spastic's reelin' perfection
Nuns run bald through Vatican halls pregnant, pleadin' immaculate conception
And everybody's wrecked on Main Street from drinking unholy blood
Sticker smiles sweet as gunner breathes deep, his ankles caked in mud
And I said, "Hey, gunner man, that's quicksand, that's quicksand that ain't mud
Have you thrown your senses to the war or did you lose them in the flood?"
That pure American brother, dull-eyed and empty-faced
Races Sundays in Jersey in a Chevy stock super eight
He rides `er low on the hip, on the side he's got Bound For Glory in red, white and blue flash paint
He leans on the hood telling racing stories, the kids call him Jimmy The Saint
Well the blaze and noise boy, he's gunnin' that bitch loaded to blastin' point
He rides head first into a hurricane and disappears into a point
And there's nothin' left but some blood where the body fell
That is, nothin' left that you could sell
Just junk all across the horizon, a real highwayman's farewell
And I said, "Hey kid, you think that's oil? Man, that ain't oil that's blood."
I wonder what he was thinking when he hit that storm
Or was he just lost in the flood?
Eighth Avenue sailors in satin shirts whisper in the air
Some storefront incarnation of Maria, she's puttin' on me the stare
And Bronx's best apostle stands with his hand on his own hardware
Everything stops, you hear five, quick shots, the cops come up for air
And now the whiz-bang gang from uptown, they're shootin' up the street
And that cat from the Bronx starts lettin' loose
But he gets blown right off his feet
And some kid comes blastin' round the corner but a cop puts him right away
He lays on the street holding his leg screaming something in Spanish
Still breathing when I walked away
And someone said, "Hey man did you see that? His body hit the street with such a beautiful thud."
I wonder what the dude was sayin' or was he just lost in the flood?
Hey man, did you see that, those poor cats are sure messed up
I wonder what they were gettin' into, or were they just lost in the flood?
Lyrics submitted by fearofmusic
Track duration: 05:14
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As I understand it, the song is a commentary on returning Vietnam vets and a vignette of American life in general...
T: Title- Lost in the Flood
What is “the Flood”? Is it a biblical reference? Or a trap called the flood? Or just pain and suffering
P: Paraphrase-
This song begins by telling how returning soldiers from Vietnam did not fit in anymore. The second story tells how racing can ruin your life by spending all your spare time racing, putting your life on the line. The final story depicts gang and drug wars.
F: Fig. Language-
This whole song is figurative language, It shows how evil human nature is and how competitive the world and life is.
A: Attitude-
The tone of this song is really up to how you interpret it.
S: Shifts-
He shifts perspectives 3 times, going from Vietnam and Korea, to Car racers and car enthusiasts, to gang and drug wars.
now the second stanza. the pure american brother dull eyed and empty faced is explaining how the people were after they returned. bruce mentions plenty of times that all of his friends who went to vietnam, if they came back, they just werent the same. the soldiers were all traumatized. the rest is just telling how wen the soldiers would tell stories about the war and being there, they got excited and they spoke faster and faster and just broke down and you can tell they were gone and there was nothing left but there physical body, no feeling no thoughts other then dread and sadness and horrible thoughts.
and in short, i think the last stanza refers to the riots the happend wen the soldiers came home. the cops were probably everywhere and if you were different and looked suspicious, every move you made was being watched. this really shows the prejudices of just everyone during that time and the unwillingness to accept equality.
this is just wat i think i could be wrong, but looking at bruces writing, he writes with meanings beyond the words that he right and in this case i think its just a bit further then the words but not by much.