I’ve been beleaguered and battered beyond belief
And I don’t know where to go from here
I’ve been marooned and stranded with no relief
And I’ve got no way to cover up my fear
I’ve been backstabbed, cut down, torn to pieces, thrown out
And there’s little I can do to make it stop
Either lay down and let it burn, or stand up and let out a shout
Tell them all for once to shut up
Should I take the old man’s car
Should I smash my friend’s guitar
Should I burn down the house
Should I let myself be called a louse
Should I go out dressed really weird
Should I grow back my beard
Should I keep the volume up way past midnight
Should I bomb my old school in broad daylight
I’ve been used misused, abused, and confused
And I can’t help but be depressed
I’ve been fed bad news, washed down with the blues
And you know it’s really hard to digest
I’ve been brainwashed and interrogated to an awesome degree
And I’ve been given nothing but hell
I’ve been shot with questions, the answers all squeezed out of me
And now there’s great reason to rebel
Should I destroy the books of history
Should I try to leave the country
Should I leave behind the nest
Should I fly to avoid arrest
Should I spit in the face of forever
Should I start to wear black leather
Should I muscle in on the action
Should I try to get some satisfaction
Should I ride around the world
Should I go out and meet some girls
Should I stand up and take what’s coming
Should I shoot up to ease the numbing
Should I lock myself away
Should I flee the light of day
Should I cut what binds my hand
Should I front my own band
©2024 The Hesh Inc.
This was the continuation of my teen-angst anthem, "Depression." Whereas that song was an organ-driven, pseudo-prog dirge, this one is a faster, 6/8 blues-rocker. In the recording that I made of "Depression" back in late 1983, the dirge segues into the faster rhythm, which chugs along for several bars, but then it goes into its outro before any vocals have the chance to kick in. This was actually written after the recording, so it only existed in my mind all these years. It's probably safe to say that if I go ahead with re-recording "Depression" (as threatened), I will probably append "Rebel Rock" to it as envisioned. And maybe instead of a teen-angst anthem, it'll be a fiftysomething-angst anthem (yeah, we middle-aged, midlevel hacks get to have our angst attacks too) ... better an anachronistic, archaic rock recording than an affair and a sports car!