Talkin' Paranoia Blues

So I was sitting in my kitchen like I do most nights
I was tryna make some sense of the song I was writing
And then my roommate came in
He looked quite frightened
So I asked him, Buddy, what's wrong?
My roommate said, This might sound absurd but I am certain that we are
Being observed
There are cameras on the stoplights, cameras on the cranes
They're being used by the police state!
They're listening to all of our conversations!
They're watching us while were fornicating!
God only knows how much information these pervs have access to!
Well, I was a little concerned and I was a little confused
But fortunately I knew just what to do!
I busted out my pen and my faithful guitar
And I started writing the
Talking Paranoia Blues

Now, you're probably asking yourself
The Talking Paranoia Blues?
What on earth is that?
I've never heard of such a thing
Well, allow me to explain

The Talking blues are a sacred tradition
You rhyme a few times then there's a transition
To a section that's free of rhyme or form
That's how the talking blues are born!

See?

I can say anything I need to right here!

Just as long as I don't stray too far off topic
Which reminds me

I said, Buddy this answer is liable to annoy yah
But I think what you're experiencing is called paranoia
Most everybody's felt paranoid where they're stoned
It's an uneasy feeling like you ain't quite alone
Just go lay down, by morning you'll feel fine
Just try and lay off the George Orwell in the meantime

But sometimes an idea you hear when you're high
Can get stuck way back in the recesses of your mind
Like a popcorn kernel or a raspberry seed
That gets caught way back in the top of your teeth
And so this condition of Orwellian anxiety
Has begun to plague me! Even in my sobriety!
Is it really so outlandish to think that our society
Is under somebody's watchful view?

What if big brother has been here all along?
And Orwell just got a few details wrong?
The government ain't the ones tryna monitor us
It's companies! Tryna sell us products!
Keep tabs on people learn their wants and needs
Slap targeted adds right in their news feeds!
It's a disquieting notion but if you know it's true
Then YOU got a case of the Talking Paranoia Blues!

Big Brother! Big Brother
It's you and no one other
Couldn't get rid of yah
Even if we wanted to
We'll never get rid of you
It's pretty clear we love you

Think for a moment, take a look round your home
How many devices do you reckon you own?
Your car, your laptop, your TV remote
I'm hard pressed to find thing without microphones!
They made a nice add, and wouldn't you know?
We welcomed big brother right into our home!
We covered the cost, They asked our permission
We agreed to every single term and condition!
If you're living at all it wouldn't be hard to watch it
The data's right there inside your front pocket
Your grocery list, who you're tryna date
Your daily steps, even your heart rate!

Hell, most of these songs start out in the Notes app of my Iphone
Sheesh. maybe I otta be a little more careful
Otherwise you might see an Apple branded
Carl Christensen knock off artist running around
There's hardly any money in folk music though, so I'd think we're safe

Big Brother! Big Brother!
It's you and no one other!
We couldn't get rid of yah
Even if we wanted to
We'll never get rid of you!
It's pretty clear we love you!

So that's been my story of paranoid woe
I wish I had a happy ending for yah here but I don't
I just lay awake at night and I try to learn to cope
With living inside of a black mirror episode
And I wonder if Orwell could have ever have foreseen
Big Brother being born out of corporate greed
I'm sorry that I rambled but it's all that I can do
I got a terrible case of the Talkin Paranoia Blues