Ballad for the Brother Man

Enter the drifter in flip flops and shades
Natural fibers he wears them in spades
An early adopter and outspoken voice
On cannabis, hummus and freedom of choice
For the healing of nations, with high expectations
Addressing the X and the Y generations

Committed to justice, resolved to be fair
A chip on his shoulder and knots in his hair
Running for freedom—and from the man
From Redlands to Redway in the mystery van
But something inside him just wan’t quite right
A piece of his clockwork was wound up too tight

His handshakes and patience grew colder and shorter
The head doctors call it bipolar disorder
A label, a stigma, we’d rather deny
But the DSM guide couldn’t possibly lie
He rises and falls like some volatile tide
The peaks and the valleys are too much to hide

A dark lonely whirlpool devours the light
And all hope is lost like a ship in the night
The captain and crew are all swept out to sea
So bowing to Neptune we pray and we plea
That like sailors of old with their lemon and lime
We’ll forestall this sad scurvy and waste no more time