Broken Parakeet Blues Lyrics

East of the village
And west of the trees
Up on the high ground
Where the soldiers would stand
Cooling themselves
In the sulfurous breeze
It seemed like something to lose
The houses were filled
With flattering hosts
In tight shirts and compliments

For soldiers and ghosts
Up on the high ground
Blowing their loads
For the cowgirls left back home

How can you say there's nothing to lose?
Singing your broken parakeet blues
On the side of the highway, lighting the fuse
Black like the crows from the cattle car fumes

Yeah, up on the highway
Near Twentynine Palms
I saw busloads of soldiers
Rolling along
And people like crows
On the side of the road
Waving goodbye
To lovers and sons
The soldiers were boys
There were brown ones and fat ones
White ones and cool ones
And camouflaged black ones
Sweet ones and cruel ones
But I didn't see
Anybody I thought
Had money like me
Some were sleeping, some dreaming
Some quietly weeping
Out of Twentynine Palms
The buses kept creeping
Right through the desert
And out to the shore
Twentynine Palms
Won't see 'em no more

How can you say there's nothing to lose?
Singing your broken parakeet blues
On the side of the highway, lighting the fuse
Black like the crows from the cattle car fumes

How can you just wave farewell to them?
And knowing what you know and where you have been
On the side of the highway, lighting the fuse
Singing your broken parakeet blues
How can you say there's nothing to lose?

East of the village
And west of the trees
Up on the high ground
Where the soldiers would stand
Cooling themselves
In the sulfurous breeze
We all crow those parakeet blues