Pastoral Angst

Welcome to the gold rush, ladies and gentlemen
Where California begins and maybe ends
California is the last stop on the great hitchhike west
And now it's getting a little full
Too many thumbs

Well, when you get too many people in one place
You get intolerance and contempt and rigidity and tension and sarcasm
Distrust, anxiety, envy, hate, cynicism, discontent, self-pity
Malice, suspicion, jealousy and snobbishness

And this leads right into poetry, painting, sculpture
Dance, music and literature, photography
These are known as the arts
And art will break your heart
So what? So will a good meal
Art is not the spiritual side of business-as-usual

And art is not for everyone
Never has been and never will be
Now me, I don't know much about art
But I do like what I know

You know in these days
When everybody is mistaking celebrity for talent
Ambition for genius, self-pity for humility
Style for content and loathing for love

They spend a lot of time getting in touch with themselves
And then they find self-justification, self-righteousness
Self-obsession, self-pity, self-loathing, self-concern
Self-centeredness, self-reliance, and self-serving gratification