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When the President talks to God,
Are the conversations brief or long?
Does he ask to to rape our women's rights?
And send poor farm kids off to die?
Does God suggest an oil hike?
When the President talks to God?
When the President talks to God,
Are the consonants all hard or soft?
Is he resolute on down the line?
Is every issue black or white?
Does what God say ever change his mind?
When the President talks to God?
When the President talks to God,
Does he fake that drawl or merely nod?
Agree which convicts should be killed?
Where prisons should be built and filled?
Which voter fraud must be concealed?
When the President talks to God?
When the President talks to God,
I wonder which one plays the better cop?
"We should find some jobs the ghetto's broke",
"No they're lazy George I say we don't,
Just give em' more liquor stores and dirty coke",
That's what God recommends.
When the President talks to God,
Do they drink near beer and go play golf?
While they pick which countries to invade,
Which Muslim souls still can be saved?
I guess God just calls a spade a spade,
When the President talks to God?
When the President talks to God,
Does he ever think that maybe He's not?
That that voice is just inside his head?
When he kneels next to the Presidential bed,
Does he ever smell his own bullshit?
When the President talks to God?
I doubt it.
Are the conversations brief or long?
Does he ask to to rape our women's rights?
And send poor farm kids off to die?
Does God suggest an oil hike?
When the President talks to God?
When the President talks to God,
Are the consonants all hard or soft?
Is he resolute on down the line?
Is every issue black or white?
Does what God say ever change his mind?
When the President talks to God?
When the President talks to God,
Does he fake that drawl or merely nod?
Agree which convicts should be killed?
Where prisons should be built and filled?
Which voter fraud must be concealed?
When the President talks to God?
When the President talks to God,
I wonder which one plays the better cop?
"We should find some jobs the ghetto's broke",
"No they're lazy George I say we don't,
Just give em' more liquor stores and dirty coke",
That's what God recommends.
When the President talks to God,
Do they drink near beer and go play golf?
While they pick which countries to invade,
Which Muslim souls still can be saved?
I guess God just calls a spade a spade,
When the President talks to God?
When the President talks to God,
Does he ever think that maybe He's not?
That that voice is just inside his head?
When he kneels next to the Presidential bed,
Does he ever smell his own bullshit?
When the President talks to God?
I doubt it.
Lyrics submitted by black eye event
Track duration: 02:30
"When the President Talks to God" as written by Oberst
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Because Bright Eyes' and Conor Oberst's music is very folkish (hence why they compare him to folk legend Bob Dylan), the songs tend to be simple because that's just folk music, you know? Things are supposed to be kept simple, clean and fresh, just how folk has always been. It doesn't need fancy guitar riffs and challenging vocals because it's more poetry than anything else. I almost consider Conor Oberst as more of a writer-type icon than anything else; his music is just a nice addition to his breath taking writing.
Anyways, I think some of the lyrics are clever and some arent so much. Bu either way, I'm a big Bright Eyes fan, and I do like the majority of their music. Sometimes, Conor just needs to sort out some things to produce something utterly fantastic.
I showed this to a friend who thought it offensive because they were very religious and they thought Conor was bashing God. Well, let me just make this clear (I'm sure someone has before me, but I will anyway), Conor is definitely not bashing religious or god in this song. What he IS making fun of is the way the president hides behind the excuse of "God told me to" and not taking responsibility. He's saying the presidents should stop pretending like he's doing what he does because of God, because its not God telling him to do things, its himself.
And I think its beautiful. But in a different way then Conor usually makes thinks beautiful. Which is refreshing, actually. Because then I know Conor can be talented in different ways and he won't always be making the same music. He's constantly changing.
Also, I love Conor's (And Mike's and Nates! Don't forget them!) boldness to play this live in a cowboy suit. Fantastic and brave. Conor stands out from the crowd, and I just keep getting more impressed with him the more I listen and get obsessed. He's not going anywhere anytime soon. He's going to be around making music for a while, I'm putting my trust in that. I've become an avid listener to this guy. I think he's really gonna be big, a legend, even.
He's a genius, simply put. And this may not be his best song, but it sure shows his political views.
conor oberst is a genius for writing this song.
eveything here needed to be said.
its all completely true, and i hope that george bush gets whats coming to him because he is an absolute idiot.
BUT where is the word SATIRE, it is at special genre, art form or whatever you want to call it, and this is a satire. It's sarcastic, ironic and blunt and it comments on recent events.
matthewg2: by the way i think that prior to the release of this song you should have known or at least guessed that conor did not like bush. so why go to his concert if you think "bush rules". anyway whether you like it or not. one song shouldnt make you stop listening to any artist.