Broken Parakeet Blues

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