Jeffrey Lewis
My Girlfriend Doesn’t Worry
My girlfriend doesn’t worry
About the things that always trouble me
She says “Why are you so grumpy?
Let’s just both sit here quiet and calmly
And you probably should be thinking first
About how glad you’ll be if you do some work
And about our relationship.”
My girlfriend doesn’t worry about the vision Mao Tse-Tung had for China
Was agrarian reform for the better?
Or is cynicism part of our culture?
Why did people fight and die for their freedom?
Was Utopia a lie as a concept?
Is the Western model really our future?
Is there nothing any better to work towards?
And is progress only science in action?
Does it truly have a moral dimension?
Was the century a dream before failure?
Have we settled for this present existence?
Was it only necessary for peasants?
Would I really give up ego involvement?
Is there any global movement for justice?
In a world of only selfish survival?
Because it’s obvious we’re going to serfdom
If we accept the barbary of the system
But would I really want to work in a factory?
Would I really make my art for a leader?
Would Mao be into some of our music?
Or is everything just horror and power?
These are massive, giant, troubling, consuming thoughts saturating my thinking
But I think she’ll just think it’s annoying so I won’t bring it up
She says “it just doesn’t make any sense, you should think about your art and your friends and about our relationship.”
My girlfriend doesn’t question the psychology of Charles Manson
What does it say about the human condition?
Why are people so receptive to listen?
And why is confidence alone such a magnet?
It’s unfair the way some people have it
And they seem to do the things that they want to
We all just get away with all that we can do
Because it’s only sexiness that has any value
And all society just falls by the wayside
Into the hierarchy of cult and apparent
And it’s genetics to be masters of victim
And does hedonism go with corruption?
Why are we drawn to dramas of domination?
These are massive, giant, troubling, consuming thoughts that I’m thinking
But I think she’ll just think it’s annoying so I don’t bring it up
She says “why are you thinking of him, you should think about your family and friends and about our relationship”
My girlfriend doesn’t wonder while driving about the emptiness of human existence
How can we make any decision if it’s only arbitrary opinion?
And why should anyone have a baby?
Create another brain of dissatisfaction?
If we’re only biological robots
With a program that is mostly feel anxious
Except for moments of brief distraction
While fulfilling simple functions like eating
While being ordered to enjoy reproducing
But how can doing what you’re told be fulfilling?
All is misery or patent delusions
To just fill ourselves with comforting nonsense
All terrified of seeing it clearly
And then dying out with no revolution
All tumbling down a mountain to nothing
While feeling greedy and mean and unhappy
Basically a meaningless fungus
Obviously boring and pointless
And we’ll probably have a baby despite this
And be responsible for someone’s confusion
Why subject them to a long life of work?
Or feel horrible if they should die young?
Or feel horrible if we die and leave them?
The only happiness is if something’s funny
But what does funniness even mean?
These are massive, giant, troubling, consuming burdens weighing on my thinking
But I think she’ll just think I’m annoying and I don’t want to lose her
She says “why are you talking so much, how come you never talk about us? Let’s just think quiet and nice thoughts and about our relationship”
My girlfriend doesn’t worry about the things that always trouble me