The Streets – Alleged Legends
Some people live their lives by a little red book
The points for right lying out and guides them good
They never really mimic every word by eye
‘Cuz if they did they’d be in a whole world of strife
The book’s quite old school, but then it was tough
It contains some quite experimental justice
The thinking people are thinking that without this book
That without these verses we’d pillage and murder but,
Following this red book word for word
Leads you to actually pillage and murder
Could it be so what we think to be right,
Is simply the opinion that survived?
Do what you think’s right, and you will feel alright
‘Cuz when you’re bad you will feel sad
That’s the religion I live by
There’s a bloke in the book who made everything
He knows every individual and every trick in them
Way above emotion, never getting stressed
But when men choose against him, gets jealous
People fight for him in crippling wars
But since he has the power of infinite awe
We’re merely itching on futilities floor
Should we really be needing to assist him at all?
If he loves us all, knowing all we think
Should he only like people with faith in him?
Given I can’t control what I truly believe,
Can I be forgiven for only believing who I see?
Do what you think’s right, and you will feel alright
‘Cuz when you’re bad you will feel sad
That’s the religion I live by
Do what you think’s right, and you will feel alright
‘Cuz when you’re bad you will feel sad
That’s the religion I live by
Could it be time to avoid this bush?
So we wouldn’t be blind when joining up coulds
Could we see both sides of the coin for the good?
Breed less strife on our voyage for good?
Getting threatened by men with questions
We’ll never get anywhere rejecting evidence
Could we test everything instead of betting,
On alleged legends?
If we teach that it’s right to blindly believe
If we reach to the sky to define our meaning
Well I agree what’s right will keep driving people to fight with people
Do what you think’s right, and you will feel alright
‘Cuz when you’re bad you will feel sad
That’s the religion I live by
June 3rd, 2010 at 10:29 am
Very true, liked the poem. So far what I know about religion is about a million interpretations of the same book, and contradiction that divides humanity.
June 7th, 2010 at 1:29 pm
Very true, but I think he gives religion too much credit for the troubles in the world. Religion is just one of the many narratives (when I say narratives, I mean narratives that explain how the world works and your place in it), including race, shared history, nationalism, and ideology, that polarize people into violence.
I am just glad people today don’t actually follow the book literally.
June 21st, 2010 at 2:35 am
I love the first Streets album. “Original Pirate material, lock down your aerial” FTW
June 30th, 2010 at 9:13 pm
A good poem!
Karl said: “people today don’t actually follow the book literally.”
It would be a great thing if this is true, but unfortunately it’s not. A significant portion of Christian religious groups in the United States are fundamentalist, and these groups are growing in membership, whereas non-fundamentalist and liberal Christian groups face declining membership.
What we’re seeing is not a decline but an increase in “fundamental” Christian religion.