Don’t Feed the Cats in Iraq
The dogs kept barking
They woke me up
They just kept barking
I wondered why
Got out of bed
Opened the door
At oh five thirty
It was still dark
I wondered who
They were barking at
Maybe at the soldiers
Getting ready to fight
I thought about being alive
And looked up at the sky
I looked up at the night sky
The barking stopped
When it got light
But the cats outside
And began to cry
They nudged my foot
And hoped for food
The rules say
Don’t feed the cats
They got disease
They’re filthy
And skinny and mean
Everyone needs help sometime
Even dirty cats
So I break the rules
And give them food
It reminds me that I’m human too
Food gives some dignity
To little kitties
They’re never as mean
With their belly full and
They remind me that I’m human
Music by Vic Ruggiero and Ben Lewis
Lyrics by Phil Nerges
Sabina’s Song
Sabina came from Texas
With a scar across her cheek
A razor blade had cut right through it
She didn’t talk about it, but it was understood
That it had been done a man she once loved.
What an awful thing to do
And when she looked at you
There was sadness in her eyes
It really made me wonder
How someone could be so cruel
To cut so deep, into someone so nice
Sabina, Sabina, tell me how could he be so cruel
Sabina what becomes of you?
Well she made up her mind
She said, no, never again
But where’s a girl go
To get away from a man like that?
She didn’t have much school
Just your basic kind of girl
From a simple little town
With a monster in the woods
The kids were grown
She sold her home
Well, she wasn’t coming back
She heard about a job
In the middle of a war
In a kitchen in Iraq
Before she left, he called to say
He said war’s no place for you
You better stay
You wouldn’t walk away from me
If you know what’s good for you
No she said, this is goodbye
And by the way, I hope you die
I can’t see anything worse than being with you
Sabina, Sabina, tell how could he be so cruel
Sabina what becomes of you?
Sabina—she’s got an army now
That treats her with respect
She leads them to a dining hall
In the middle of Iraq
And the men who work for her
Are like a little row of ducks
That falls in line behind her
Sabina, Sabina, tell me what else could you do?
Sabina what becomes of you?
Sabina’s in the desert now
Looking up at the stars
She’s not afraid, not anymore
Not even of the bombs.
Music by Vic Ruggiero
Lyrics by Phil Nerges
Dirty Business
(A journalist sings to his readers)
When the towers fell
You asked us to tell
Who would do these deeds,
And bring you this hell,
There’s no sense
To all this hate
But someone must pay
For what happened that day
And you want no mistakes
It’s gotta be right,
Before the fight,
Before they wreck our land
Don’t make me laugh,
You want the truth?
It’s vengeance you seek
Though only this week
But like that ugly day
The innocents will pay
We’re a business, not the bible
You expect too much
The gold is in the hatred
So don’t blame us,
We just sang what you asked
We told both sides,
Just not to you
War is such an ugly thing
And we’re here to tell a tale
That would make the devil laugh
We just sing our song
Sometimes it’s wrong
But we never sing alone
It’s just not your fault,
If the war goes wrong
It’s really a shame
Everyone else is to blame
Even though…..
It’s just what you sought
You asked for truth,
But not the proof
And now you say
It makes you sad
That it has all gone bad
It must be something we said
We’re a business, not the bible
There is gold in that suffering,
That’s really a fact
So don’t blame us,
We sang what you asked
We told both sides,
Just not to you
Music by Vic Ruggiero
Lyrics by Phil Nerges
Kill Zone
I drive my rig, and play my songs
They help to keep me calm
But five minutes out of Mortar-ritaVille
The road is full of bombs
It’s the worst between Balad and Baghdad
Every day it’s really bad
There hasn’t been a mile of road I can remember
That I didn’t have to wonder
When it would explode
There’s just no peace in a land at war
I drive the MSR
When I see those tracers
They just make my heart start racing
They look so pretty in the dark
But they’re not firing to thrill me
They just want to kill me
And I don’t even know who they are
Militiamen watch us drive the highway
Before they plant their bombs
Some of them will wave to me with such a creepy smile
You never know who they are
It could be Ali Baba standing there, or just some normal guy
So I keep my calm, and keep on driving by
When the bomb explodes it makes that evil smell
My hands are shaking and my back is aching
My heart grows cold, I wanna get old
I gotta get away
Cause the metal is flying and I’m just trying to live another day
I’m driving from the kill zone
There hasn’t been a mile of road I can remember
That I didn’t have to wonder
When it would explode
There’s just no peace in a land at war
I drive the MSR
Music by Vic Ruggiero
Lyrics By Phil Nerges
MSR Tampa Road
This song is dedicated to all those who drive, escort, or ride with the supply convoys that travel along MSR Tampa in Iraq. These convoy drivers and the soldiers who protect them are among the most daring in the entire world. The lyrics are the thoughts of a driver who is torn between a skeptical lover back home and his mission supplying the bases scattered throughout Iraq. It is not intended to be political; it is just the story of an ordinary man as he drives across the Land of Abraham to a symphony of explosions.
I drive the MSR Tampa
7000 miles from home
They say they'll die without us
The bases need the fuel
But I'll never be called a hero
I drive on Tampa Road
You cried the day I left you
I promised I'd be back
If I die tomorrow
All I can say is that I'm sorry
I never meant to hurt you too
Just don't say I sold my soul
To drive on Tampa Road
When I heard about what they did here
I knew I had to try
It was a chance to help my family
And our soldiers that's why
But I didn't want to tell you
I drive on Tampa Road
Death waves from Sword and Tampa
From the Balad Market and 59 Alpha too
The devil is there, I can hear him singing
A song of RPGs and IEDs
He sings of April 9
As I drive on Tampa Road
Good men are gone now
New guys don't know what they're doing
They'll only get you killed
Man I can feel my heart pounding
In the bullets, smoke and flames
But I just try to think of you
And coming home from Tampa Road
I may die tomorrow just because I took a chance
A jet will come and take me home
And leave you all alone
All I can say is I'm sorry
I never meant to hurt you too
Please don't say I sold my soul
Just to drive on Tampa Road
Note: Sword & Tampa, Balad Market, and 59 Alpha are feared kill zones for drivers in Iraq. April 9, 2004 is especially remembered by the drivers and soldiers for the convoy ambush that occurred near Baghdad International Airport.
Lyrics by Phil Nerges
