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Just A Ride

Credits

Written by Bill Hicks, Simon Toulson-Clarke, Alastair Gavin, and Phill Brown 
Produced by Simon Toulson-Clarke, Alastair Gavin, and Phill Brown 

Lyrics

started somewhere
travelled for hours
in the end I think you guessed it here
and every touch
one in three
now that I feel free
I tell you yeah,
life is just a ride
life is just a ride

where we stand
in this strange land
if you were to know the language here
we hardly spoke
one letter, one word
even though the silence holds us here
life is just a ride
life is just a ride

[spoken:]
The world is like a ride in an amusement park,
and when you choose to go on it you think it's real
because of how powerful our minds are.  The ride goes up and down and round and round and has thrills and chills and it's very brightly-coloured.  And it's very loud, and it's fun, for awhile.  Some people have been on the ride for a long time, and they begin to question, 'Is this real, or is this just a ride?'  And other people who've remembered and they come back to us and they say 'Don't worry, don't be afraid--ever--because this is just a ride.'  And we always kill those good guys; did you ever notice that? And let the demons run amok.  But it doesn't matter, because it's just a ride, and we can  change it anytime we want.  It's only a choice.  No effort, no work, no job, no savings and money.  A choice, right now, between fear and love.  In the eyes of fear we need to buy bigger locks on our door, buy guns and close yourself off.  The eyes of love, instead, see all of us as one.  Here's what we can do to change the world, right now, into a better ride.  Take all the money we spend on weapons and defence each year, and instead spend it on feeding and clothing and educating the poor in the world.  Which it would, many times over, not one human being excluded.   And we can explore space together, both inner and outer, forever, in peace.

get in the car
travel for hours
in the end I feel we landed here
shoes don't fit
feet won't fail
we could run along forever here
life is just a ride
life is just a ride

Trivia

- The large spoken bit in the middle is an almost verbatim quote from one of Bill Hicks' monologues.  Hicks' version includes an extra few lines right before "And we always kill those good guys..." that didn't make it into this song.  They are...
"And we kill those people. 'Shut him up! We have a lot invested in this ride. Shut him up! Look at my furrows of worry! Look at my big bank account! And my family, this has to be real!' It's just a ride."

Commentary

"I've been enjoying Bill Hicks'  work for years, and this song is by far my favourite on SPA.  I think the part about being able to change the world for the better at any time is absolutely true.  If only more people agreed, we could do something about it.  It isn't just the message though, the music is great and surprisingly accessible for a song approaching eight minutes.  The odd synth effect at the end is priceless."
-- Andrew Lenaha

Discography Information

Just A Ride
[seven minutes, thirty-nine seconds]
Appears on...
SPA

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