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Better This Way

from The '45' 45 (digital) by Mark Westin

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about

In April 2017, in the first months of the new administration, I wrote “Better This Way”. It's a chronology of a presidential campaign and its consequences, narrated by a high-level insider. Just like "Get Behind Me", I thought I was writing fiction.

lyrics

We sat at the edge of the beer hall and decided to find something real
telling offhand stories of our victories and conquests like it’s no big deal

We walked through the girls and the glory
We talked about paying our dues
And we kept on laughing as we gilded the mythology and drank our blues

They’ll never see it coming
It’s gonna happen so fast
They’ll never see it coming
Their heads are down or up their ass

We stood on the stage at the rally and proceeded to work our plans
Hitting all the right notes with our made-up quotes and our spray-on tans

It was easy enough taking over
We scored on the very first try
With the young ones distracted by dollars and digits we slid right by

They didn’t see it coming
It was moving so fast
They didn’t see it coming but now our time has come at last

Don’t be afraid of the man
Don’t question what he’s got in his hand
And you oughta think twice if you think you got something to say
It's a new game to play called it’s gonna be better this way

We marched on the steps of the state house and positioned ourselves for the steal
Then we took out the wrenches and we made a few adjustments till nobody could feel

We tore up the trades and the unions
We wore down the Gypsies and Jews
And we set out on a mission turning factions into fiction on the TV news

They coulda seen it coming
Still we sold them on the lie
They mighta seen it coming but they were focused on the ROI

Don’t be afraid of the boss
Don’t ask about the profit and loss
And you oughta say thanks to your leaders at the end of each day
It’s the new game we play called everything’s better this way

Lighting the nation it’s liberty’s torch
From the New York docks to your own back porch
But it’s making our movements a little too easy to see
So we unmoored the island and pushed her out into the sea
When you take in the tired and poor you just lose
They can yearn to breathe free but we wretchedly refuse

We stood there surveying the carnage as the nation went over the cliff
So we scavenged the land prying guns from the hands that were cold and stiff

Then we turned them upon our own people when the voices began to get loud
And we held up their skulls and ascended the pulpits just to soothe the crowds

We didn’t see it coming
It was moving too fast
We didn’t see it coming and now we wonder how to make it last

Don’t be afraid of the change when the world you know is distant and strange
It could hold until tomorrow or forever and a day
It’s the new game we play called it’s gonna be better this way
Better be better this way
Gotta be better this way
Gonna be better

credits

from The '45' 45 (digital), track released September 9, 2019
Mark Westin: Lead vocal, acoustic & electric guitars
Kat Comperatore: Background vocal
Todd Giudice: Drums
Jay Nicholas: Bass guitar

Produced by Todd Giudice & Mark Westin
Recorded and Mixed by Todd Giudice at Roots Cellar Recording, Cold Spring, NY
Mastered by Alan Douches at West West Side Music, Cornwall, NY

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Mark Westin Newburgh, New York

"Heartfelt lyrics, soulful melody and enchanting vocals" -Honk Magazine

"Absolutely stunning and moving"-Existential Magazine

"Downright transcendent"-We Write About Music

Mark's been gigging and writing a long time, and he's a wordsmith of a very high order. His songs are diverse, eclectic, darkly humorous, and for real.

Listen and decide for yourself.
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