From the recording Petrol Pig
This is a new recording of a Petrol Pig, a song that Heidi wrote in 1980 during the gas crisis that followed the 1979 Iranian revolution (sound familiar?). Heidi was enrolled in the Summer program of Naropa Institute, Boulder Colorado: Jack Kerouac School for Disembodied Poets. The Summer program was run by Allen Ginsberg. There were many great teachers to choose from, a few very famous, a few not so famous. One of the courses that she took was songwriting, taught by Rachel Faro. Heidi wrote Petrol Pig in that class. It got a very big response and she was chosen to represent the class and perform in the show at the end of the 8-week session. The show was a combination of music and poetry performed by students and celebrities (some teachers and many who were just there for the scene). That night, Heidi opened for Ravi Shankar. She was approached by a record producer who paid for her to go into a studio the next day and record Petrol Pig. Thanks to Rob Lincoln, that old recording is still available on YouTube at www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlPdFQhapUU. For the new version, the only lyric that needed changing was the gas prices.
Lyrics
Oh no, another line, I just can’t wait another time
Beep, beep, I blow my horn, I got to go to work this morn
Four-twenty, four-eighty, per gallon, what a rate!
I don’t care what I must pay, I got to go to work today
Got to go to work to get some money to pay
For all of the gas to go to work the next day
Pump, pump, close your eyes, try not to watch the numbers rise
Pump it through the big black hose, see how far your money goes
See how daddy walks to work to stay away from petrol dirt
But when he walks into the store, every item is a dollar more
Little children play with their buckets in the sand
Mommy says don't let the shovel fall out of your hand
If you lose this one, you won’t get another
We can’t afford it now, please listen to your mother
Pump, pump, close your eyes, try not to watch the numbers rise
All your money and your dreams pump into your traveling machine
Uncle Sam just sits and cries, dollar signs fall out of his eyes
He don’t know what to do, how to see his people through
He sits on the gasoline and says there ain’t no more
Give ‘em an excuse to have another war
With all the fighting going on, he’ll stay home and grin
Sit on our gasoline, count the money that comes in
Pump, pump close your eyes try not to watch your numbers rise
Pump your money into guns, pump your blood and see how far it runs
Beep, beep goes the rig, metallic ten-well petrol pig
Sucks up money as it drives, just to make the food arrive
We don't have to think about the money that we spend
We live in a country where it keeps coming in
So jump into your big car and close the big door
Pick up the gasoline and drive us all into war