Lyrics from the album 'Dogs Are Watching Us' by Jay Mankita © 2004

Illegal aliens from outer space
- J Mankita c 1990

A craft from another galaxy has landed on our world
So listen to the story that's about to be unfurled
It landed in the backyard behind the garden shed
I knew I wasn't dreaming and I hadn't hit my head (repeat last line)

I thought that it was a hologram or some elaborate hoax
I know my friends are clever and they like these kinds of jokes
I had to find the answer to alleviate my fear
So I  put my hands around it but it didn't disappear

That wasn't what I expected so I had to form a plan
I very well could be their first example of a man
They opened up their door and several aliens oozed out
I cleared my throat and asked them what their trip was all about

The aliens from another world began to tell their tale
We've come to capture criminals who've busted out of jail
These criminals are masterminds and evil to the core
We've come to save the planet Earth from what they have in store

Then after a while they turned and asked me if I'd help their cause
They wanted me to tell them all about this planet's laws
I sat their by the garden shed and told them all I knew
I talked about the government and what the people do

They fed that to their computer as I waited by the shed
Then, take us to your leader was the only thing they said
I told them that the president was quite a busy joe
But maybe he would help them if they told him what they know

You probably didn't understand the meaning of our plea
We do not want his help, the alien creatures said to me
Your president and cabinet are the gangsters we must find
So are you going to help us now, or have you changed your mind?

They wanted to find our president and zap him back to space
They claimed he was an monster who'd betrayed the human race
They wanted me to sneak them into Washington DC
Where they would take our government into their custody

I knew the administration had a heavy rap to face
But were they illegal aliens who came from outer space?
Could they be extradited, would they ever serve their time?
Locked up in some galactic jail to pay for all their crimes?

So, I wondered about our government and all that they had done
Their policies are inhumane, that's plain to everyone
So, finally I stood up and I said with all my might
I think if they were human, they'd believe in human rights

And I know that I want to help you but I'm sure that's not the way
I know that we would never make it past the CIA
And they'd laugh us off the planet if we ever got that far
For there's no way to expose them for the aliens that they are

But now that we know our government has come from outer space
To vote them out of office, that's the challenge that we face
Let's educate and organize our neighbors and our friends
A truly human government is just around the bend


When Death Comes Calling
-Jay Mankita c 2002


Ain't nothing so nice as a falling star
Unless it falls down right where you are
There's nowhere to run, and nothing you can do
It's the big one, baby Ð right out of the blue
Right out of the blue, right out of the blue
Nothin you can do, when death comes callin on you

When death comes callin, you try to run away
When death comes callin, it'll get you some day
When death comes callin, what you gonna do?
When death comes callin on you

Go to bed every night, wake up every morn
One day you'll die just as sure as you're born
You made it this far, might as well see it through
Not like all those other things that you've been meaning to do
Been meaning to do, been meaning to do
Might as well see it through, when Death comes callin on you

Sometimes you're afraid that deaths at your door
Even though it didn't get you all those times before
You want to be ready when its time to go
Maybe in a couple of hundred years or so
A hundred years or so, a hundred years or so
When its time to go, when Death comes callin on you

When deaths at the door, come to take you home
You want to be sure to put your ruby shoes on
Click you heels together and wiggle your toes
Say there's no place like home, you know how it goes
You know how it goes, you know how it goes
Just wiggle your toes, when Death comes callin on you


They Lied
- J Mankita  2004

They lied, they lied; they took us for a ride
Tried burying the truth, where it very nearly died
They lied, they lied; but no matter what they tried to hide
Sing and shout, the truth wins out, everybody knows they lied
They Lied. . .

I ain't telling you nothing you don't already know
But the governments been lying to you, Joe
They're shaking your hand, while they're showing you the door 
To a foreign land so you can fight the poor 
Where every Arab is a terrorist
Hiding weapons that don't exist
You can join a coalition of willing nations
Willing to kill civilians for the corporations

Tonight is the night that you give up your rights 
To the Patriot Act and the perilous fight
But you won't remember which country you're in
when you wake up in the morning by the dawns early light 
And if it reminds you of the Third Reich
You better keep quiet if you don't like it
You better watch your backs and cover your tracks
ÔCause you're payin' for it all with your federal tax
They Lied...

Now come on, did you see that presidential smirk?
Don't look now, it's Captain Kirk!
He's an arrogant jerk, though likeable, too
But the Federation's been lying to you
The Federation, the corporation, the supposed to be public radio station
Violating the neutral zone to promote the imperial corporate nation

Blow up Afghanistan, nuke Iraq,
We got the biggest phasers on the block.
We're world's policeman around the clock
you've got the com, now, Mr. Spock
And to  the victors go the spoils,
Dilithium crystals, petroleum oil 
They hate our freedoms for no good reason 
Arabs, and Klingons, it's open season
They Lied...

So you know that the governments been lying to you
And I know that you know that it ain't nothing new
That's politicians Ð that's what they do
They've been lying since 1492
They didn't teach me when I was a kid
About all of the terrible things that we did
We'll always honor this sacred treaty
With a smallpox covered blanket, sweetie

Agent Orange, and napalm, Gulf of Tonkin, Vietnam
Iran/Contra, Watergate, its a history of the criminal state
They're spoon feeding us right out of the box
We're fair and balanced says the fox
While talk show shills are shouting out
It's the liberals we've got to be worrying about
They Lied...

My mom said, really, if the news was controlled
By corporate money, and held in a stranglehold
I would have already heard about it on the TV
If it was really  so important, then I would have been told
By the newscasters, and the pundits, and anchors
And their pals, the politicians, the generals, and bankers
You say they're doing the Ôold bait and switch
But why would they lie? They're already rich

Power corrupts, it's the ancient trend
The list of lies will never end
New lies are coming around the bend
Speak truth to power if truth is your friend
They lie to me, they lie to you,
They lie to themselves, but that's nothing new
They lie to the press, the press passes the buck
They lie to the world, now everybody duck!
They Lied...

The Cliche Song
by Jay Mankita c 1990

I'm gonna tell you all a story about the other day
It may seem kinda corny and a little cliche
But I hope to illustrate my little point of view
In everything you know there's always something new

I was cooking in the kitchen in my new blue jeans
Boilin' up a pot of anasazi beans
The handle on the lid was attached to the pot
To keep the steam in if the water got too hot

Well, a watched pot never boils, so they say
so I tightened up the handle and I looked the other way
But the pot got so hot that the steam overloaded
and the lid flew free as the handle exploded
It flew off the handle...

The exploding lid was a big surprise
And I saw my whole life flash before my eyes
My cooking pot lid was headed straight for my face
Faster than an asteroid in outer space

I was going down like a sinking ship
Till I caught that lid with my fingertip
I spun it like a frisbee, then quick as a wink
I flipped it into the kitchen sink
I flipped my lid...

So I saved my face from the flying lid
My adrenalin was pumpin' from what I did
I scored one, the lid scored zero
I felt just like a superhero!

I was proud of myself for being so cool
But I got up too fast and tripped over the stool
All my skills didn't count for doodley squat
When I fell into the stove, and knocked over the pot
I spilled the beans...

There were beans everywhere, Everywhere were beans
They were messing up the fabric of my new blue jeans
They smelled so good all over the floor
That an army of ants marched in through the door

First they ate the beans, & then when they were done
They said: we have only just begun
After they devoured all my haute cuisines
They crawled up my legs inside my new blue jeans
I had ants in my pants...

Well if you've ever had ants in your pants, then you know
To get rid of the ants, the pants have to go
I couldn't undo Ôem though, the belt was too tight
And I started to run as they took the first bite

I ran screaming from the house to go jump into the lake
And though it was frozen over, it was a chance I had to take
I skated to the middle where the ice was thin
It cracked wide open and I fell right in
I broke the ice...

Well, the freezing cold water soaked into my bones
And I started sinkin' down to Davy Jones
I didn't want to die, so I started to panic
When I heard that song from the movie, ÔTitanic'

By now, the timer on those beans was ringing out loud
It was ringing so loud, that it was drawin' a crowd
My neighbors came to see what all the noise was about
And they saw me there drowning and they pulled me right out
I was saved by the bell...

Well, now you know that it's really true
In everything you know there's always something new
But when  I thought about all the crazy things that took place
I laughed so hard till I was blue in the face

I laughed till I cried, but it broke my heart
When my sides split open, and I fell apart
I spilled my guts but that's alright
I went to heaven and I saw the light
I died laughing...


Tracy at the Bat
- J Mankita, c 1995


It was Tracy at the bat and the game was almost through
Our hometown team was losing, and the score was twelve to two
Our family and friends sat up in the bleachers crying
God knows we were trying 
To win this last game of the season

You see, we hadn't won one game yet, 
and that seemed like a good enough reason
To go ahead and just give up, although it wouldn't do us any good,
So we just played on despairingly bringing shame and disgrace 
to the whole neighborhood

With our shoulders slumped, and our eyes cast to the ground; 
it was true, it was the bottom of the ninth, and there was nothing we could do.

And then Tracy, tiny Tracy, stepped up to bat that day
And she rubbed her hands down in the dirt and stood up tall as if to say
ÒSmall as I am, unpredictable though my swing may be,
I shall play the very best that I know how, and that shall be my victoryÓ

And with two strikes against her, she bravely swung -- and she struck out
But then she turned and faced the other team and we all heard her shout:
ÒHey, thanks, congratulations! Let's play again next year!Ó
And up in the bleachers and out in the field every eye had shed a tear,

Not because of we'd lost, but because of what we'd won,
You see believe it or not, we had all forgotten 
that we had come there to have fun,
But Tracy, tiny Tracy, knew that losing was no sin,
And by losing with such grace, she helped everybody win.

Tough Guy 
- Jay Mankita 2004

I ain't such a tough guy, it's an act, it ain't real
I just ain't in touch with the way that I feel
I put on the voice and I stick out my chest
If you've seen the old movies, baby, well, you know the rest
All of this time, I'm just playing a part 
But really, I ain't such a tough guy. . .sweetheart

I ain't such a tough guy, that ain't what I'm about
I'd rather be hugging you than rubbing you out
Sometimes I laugh, and sometimes I cry
And I got a tattoo that says ÔMom' on my thigh
Bogie and me, you couldn't tell us apart
But really I ain't such a tough guy. . .sweetheart

I ain't such a tough guy, No I'm a cute little elf
See, when I was a little boy, I got hurt myself
My father was a tough guy when I was a kid
You had to be tough to survive, so that's what I did
It was better to act tough than creative or smart
But really I ain't such a tough guy. . .sweetheart

I ain't such a tough guy, no matter what you say
Don't tell the boys, but I appreciate ballet
Sometimes when I'm finished with counting my loot
I relax at the piano, or I practice my flute
I even like folk music, maybe it's wrong
But if I know the words, I'm gonna sing along

See, I ain't such a tough guy, I tell you, it's true
Deep down inside, I'm no tougher than you
We're all just as tough as we need to get by
But there ain't no one alive who is just a tough guy
The tough guy routine, it's sham, a flim flam
But you gotta accept me the way that I am
I just wanted you to know, right from the start
That really I ain't such a tough guy. . .sweetheart

Little Soap
Jay Mankita - c2000

There was a little soap, living on a dish
He met a piece of corn, and they each made a wish

The corn wished for some butter, the soap, some H2O
And when they made the wish, a fish fell on the dish

The corn began to dance, the soap was filled with hope
The fish began to kiss the little piece of soap

The soap was so much wetter, and everything felt better
Though the corn was heard to mutter ÒI never got my butterÓ

I wish that all the wishes that I wish for would come true, 
I wish that all the wishes that you wish come true for you

And if you feel that life has let the butter pass you by
Don't lose hope; be like a little piece of soap, 
be like a little piece of soap


Big Debut
-J Mankita c 2000

I got a new plan for my big debut
I'm gonna be famous for a moment or two
I got loads of charm and high ideals
But I'm taking my time and spinning my wheels

I'm spinning my wheels like a truck in the mud
Travelling backwards like a duck in the flood
I go around and around like a log in the jam
The river flows on but I'm stuck where I am

Look out, here I come, it's my big debut
But I'm spinning my wheels with all that I've got to do
Like a duck in the flood keeping away from the dam
Like a truck in the mud or a log in the jam
I'm stuck where I am

I want to get going but I'm spinning my wheels
And baby you're smiling Ôcause you know how that feels
I'm looking for heaven just around the next bend
I know I'm going to find it but I don't know when

BRIDGE:
I intended to be getting around to starting to be deciding 
to make a plan but it was over before it even began
I'll do something with my life before it fades away
That sounds like a plan to me, I guess I'll try it someday

I don't know how long this rides gonna last
No time to lose and going nowhere fast
But as long as you're stuck here by my side
I might as well try to enjoy the ride



Back At The Beginning
- Jay Mankita c 1994

If you could travel in time - go on back - about 18 Billion years or so, Jack
A very big bang is what you would see 
because time and space as we know them to be
started together that long ago back at the beginning of everything we know.

Now before the big bang, does anybody know - 
Was there something, or nothing at all? 
And if that's so, how can that be? Does it make sense to you? 
Getting something from nothing is pretty hard to do! 
It's anybody's guess how it all began.
Was it only an accident, or somebody's plan?

In the very first moment, everything was real small. 
The whole universe was smaller than a fly's eye ball,
it was hotter than a million suns, weighed more 
than a billion, billion tons 
except that there weren't any scales back then, 
and no law of gravity way back when.

So the little tiny universe started growing like a great big bubble, 
but with nobody blowing! Like a bubble gum bubble or a soap bubble too, 
the little baby universe grew and grew. It's big debut, right out of the blue, 
like a bubble in trouble that nobody blew

If you could travel in time - go on back - about 18 Billion years or so, Jack
This scenario is what you would see, because 
time and space as we know them to be
started together that long ago, back at the beginning of everything we know.


From a Dog's Stance
(a parody of Julie Gold's song, From a Distance)
c Jay Mankita 1992

From a dog's stance, the world's a bowl of food...
and no dog is in need.
From a dog's stance, no dog's ever rude...
there's just one hungry mouth to feed.
From a dog's stance, there is harmony...
and it rests upon your plate.
It's the drool of hope...It's the look of guilt...
That's the stance of every dog.

From a dog's stance, we all have enough...
so why not give dogs more?
From a dog's stance, dogs can't comprehend...
what all these cats are for.
From a dog's stance, we are waitresses...
marching to the kitchen now.
Bringing bowls of food...Make that "people" food...
That's the stance of every dog.

Dogs are watching us; Dogs are watching us; 
Dogs are watching us.
From a dog's stance.

From a dog's stance, the world's a bowl of food...
and no dog is in need.
There are no cats, no postmen, baths or fleas
there's just one hungry mouth to feed.
From a dog's stance, there is harmony...
and it rests upon your plate.
It's the drool of hope...It's the look of guilt...
That's the stance of every dog.