Cream and Bastards Rise
Recorded January 2005
Release history
- Little By Little... (2005)
- Cream and Bastards Rise [single] (2005)
- Little By Little... [re-release] (2006)
Credits
- Written by Huffman/Lin/Nelson, © Song-Based Songs (ASCAP)
Lyrics
You’re doing everything your people said to
I’d hate to be the one to break it to you
It’s only sad ’cause it’s true:
They misled you when they bred you
Somebody said some things they had no right to
Some of it stuck, and you were known as someone who
Could simply not follow through if they had to
But you have to, don’t you?
You don’t have to be a genius
But it helps to, it helps to
Fools and charlatans, they may get wise
But only cream and bastards rise
Yeah, you can see it in their eyes
You follow good advices to the letter
You know your friend? He’s doing so much better than you
Are ever likely to do
He’ll eclipse you, but he will not miss you
You don’t have to be a genius
But it helps to, it helps to
All the also-rans are real nice guys
But only cream and bastards rise
People who could buy and sell you
Sharing a joke that they will never tell you
You think you’re dialed in, someone has to win
And you know what that means? It means someone’s got to lose
It’s probably you
It’s probably you
It’s not a race, it’s not a competition
And if it were, you’d be in no position to
Get them to listen to you, if you had to
Not even if your life depended on it!
You don’t have to be a genius
But it helps to, it helps to
Some are aliens, the rest are spies
But only cream and bastards rise
Yeah, you can see it in their eyes
Quotes
Sean: "Cream and Bastards Rise" (yet ANOTHER reference to Harper, the movie we got the title of Merrymakers from) completely belies everything I just said; a rocker born of the Velvet Underground—the band that gave the incipient HD a common tongue at our first practice attempt in 1993—and the realization that most of the rest of the album wasn't very rock; as is usually the case in our rock songs, the bridge is the best bit; lyric is semi-personal but also founded in a serious disgust for the presidential nomination/election process; Rolling Stone said this song was about the music biz, I always think of Al Gore when I sing it.10A
Sean: P.S. Still angry at and about Al Gore and John Kerry.P&F
References
- The title of the song is spoken by Paul Newman’s character in the 1966 film Harper, also the source of the title for Where Have All the Merrymakers Gone?