Wild by Phil Barling

From the moment
Jimi seized that old Troggs ocarina confection
making it his own in the fire of Monterey
causing Mama’s jaw to drop

From the moment
that rimshot hit and the mercury organ hung above Dylan’s snarl
introducing us to ourselves

From the moment we began to idiot dance
to a blue melody all of our own
and joined a new army
maybe Peckinpah’s bunch, or Marlon’s one-man gang
rebelling against, oh, whatever they’d got

From the moment
of the first sighting of Nicholson’s crazy grin
telling us they weren’t scared of us, but of what we represented
and we stood outside the Regal in the rain
Our eyes raw, and burning at that redneck rage
We were born to be

But, hey, it’s alright ma, we were only dreaming
So, we didn’t “turn the world upside down”
We didn’t linger long with Lou on the other side
We didn’t catch that horse, not McGuinn’s or Keef’s
But we did for a second, fly higher than we’d ever been before
Until stung, yes, nutted by reality
We stumbled into Now, and people’s everyday nightmare, not our weekend escape
And as Hopper said thru Crosby’s stolen moustache
“we blew it man”
But we know how it feels, we know how it feels

And from that moment, we
were born to be….