RIP Lemmy & David

[Tracy Riddle]

David Bowie and Lemmy Kilmister (from Motorhead) have passed on recently. Since they were a big part of my youth, here are a couple of appropriate tributes (including the late Freddie Mercury).



Sixteen years old
when I went to the war
To fight for a land fit for heroes
God on my side
and a gun in my hand
Chasing my days down to zero

And I marched, and I fought
And I bled, and I died
And I never did get any older
But I knew at the time
That a year in the line
Was a long enough life for a soldier

We all volunteered
And we wrote down our names
And we added two years to our ages
Eager for life
And ahead of the game
Ready for history's pages

And we brawled, and we fought
And we whored til we stood
Ten thousand shoulder to shoulder
A thirst for the Hun
We were food for the gun
And that's what you are when you're soldiers

I heard my friend cry
As he sank to his knees
Coughing blood as he screamed for his mother
And I fell by his side
And that's how we died
Clinging like kids to each other

And I lay in the mud, and the guts and the blood
And I wept as his body grew colder
And I called for my mother, but she never came
Though it wasn't my fault, and I wasn't to blame
The day not half over, and ten thousand slain
And now there's nobody remembers our names
And that's how it is
For each soldier

Pressure pushing down on me
Pressing down on you, no man ask for
Under pressure that burns a building down
Splits a family in two
Puts people on streets

It's the terror of knowing
What this world is about
Watching some good friends
Screaming, "Let me out!"
Tomorrow gets me higher
Pressure on people - people on streets

Chippin' around, kick my brains 'round the floor
These are the days - it never rains but it pours
People on streets - people on streets

It's the terror of knowing
What this world is about
Watching some good friends
Screaming, "Let me out!"
Tomorrow gets me higher, higher, higher...
Pressure on people - people on streets

Turned away from it all like a blind man
Sat on a fence but it don't work
Keep coming up with love but it's so slashed and torn
Why, why, why?

Love

Insanity laughs under pressure we're cracking
Can't we give ourselves one more chance?
Why can't we give love that one more chance?
Why can't we give love, give love, give love, give love, give love, give love, give love, give love?..

'Cause love's such an old-fashioned word
And love dares you to care for
The people on the edge of the night
And love dares you to change our way of
Caring about ourselves
This is our last dance
This is our last dance
This is ourselves
Under pressure
Under pressure
Pressure

[Dawn Meredith]

Freddy was the man. Best voice in rock and roll. His death was barely noticed. I suspect because it was due to AIDS. I was told that night by a friend and the next day I was driving to San Antonio to pick up a music friend in from Boston. John, like me, was is a HUGE Queen fan. I had the radio on and there was zero mention of his death. Then in some mag- forget which now- in the in deaths that year section, Freddy was also left off. Rolling Stone put him on their cover, which remains framed on John's wall.

Dawn

[Tracy Riddle]

Really? I remember Freddie's death being quite a big deal (pre-internet of course); they even had a big tribute concert for him.