1975, I opened my eyes
To a world that kids today would only recognize from
Nostalgia films and old reruns that only make it
Seem like it was a lot more corny, and
Maybe just a bit more fun

But that year I came along, this country of ours
had just lost a war
That had gone on so long and so wrong that even the
Hawks had to ask what it was all for, but
More and more you were hearing 'bout how the last
President lied and schemed, while the
Guy who pardoned him, he sat in the White House in
His old boss' seat-- Now, don't that beat all

In 1975, folks already knew about global warming,
even school kids
Environmentalism was in flower; we had just celebrated the
Fifth Earth Day and were getting down on granola, but
Ironically, what I remember most is the smoke,
Cigarette smoke, but the other kind too
Our parents, all our friends' parents, used to
Smoke in the house, and us kids had to spend the
Rest of our lives tryin' to shake that monkey off our backs

It's why I only dream in yellow,
browns, and greens
I came alive in 1975

In 1975, we lost two out of three Stooges,
Moe and Larry, the last ones
As well as Rod Serling and icon of the French Jazz scene,
Josephine Baker
Now, all of these people started life in a world run on steam power,
Newsprint, and no indoor plumbing, and
All of them only one or two generations removed from the
Civil War, slavery, our so-called distant past
You know what it feels like to be told that people
Who were alive when you were alive are
Ancient history?
Well, now it's 2021, I'm 46, and this fragile,
frustrating country of ours
Has managed to botch yet another
Ignoble exit to yet another
Unjustified war, this one lasting 20 years,
putting it high in the ranking
For our longest-ever military escapade
The exit was bloody and messy,
even by our low standards, and
To seek a simple target to blame is an
Understandable yet frustrating proposition
We know this blame spreads like hot butter
Like Vietnam, like all wars
This is just one of the few
Bipartisan
Issues we have

It's why I only dream in yellow,
browns, and greens
I came alive in 1975