Early Retirement Extreme Forums

Listening to my favoirite net radio, the Pink Floyd lyric struck me:
And then one day you find

Ten years have got behind you

No one told you when to run

You missed the starting gun
Think how much (more) I would have saved if I had thought about ere before I was 30….
So inspired by ERE movies thread, lets post some good ERE songs and lyrics!

A previous thread with ERE songs:
viewtopic.php?t=311
Reviving the topic made me think of an old Bob Dylan song, Maggie's Farm:
They say sing while you slave and I just get bored..

I ain't gonna work on Maggie's farm no more.

before discovering ERE: the verve, bittersweet symphony
while searching for something like ERE: pink floyd, time
after discovering ERE: harry nilsson,everybody's talking
after attaining ERE: creedence clearwater revival, lookin' out my backdoor

@slacker - I like that format...
Here's a few:
Nowhere Man - The Beatles

The Wall - Pink Floyd

Jailbreak - Thin Lizzy

Don't Stop Me Now - Queen

I'll second the Pink Floyd.
16 Tons - Tennessee Ernie Ford

You Can't Rollerskate in a Buffalo Herd - Roger Miller
And one that you can't find anywhere yet,
Whirlwind of Mistakes - The Hanyaks written by my husband about the mindless pursuit of pleasure.

"They heard me singing and they told me to stop

'Quit these pretentious things and just punch the clock'"
Sprawl II by Arcade Fire

The Beatles - I'm Only Sleeping
"Everybody seems to think I'm lazy

I don't mind, I think they're crazy

Running everywhere at such a speed

Till they find, there's no need"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETO3YfDKEI4

The Cave, by the truly awesome Mumford & Sons

So come out of your cave walking on your hands

And see the world hanging upside down

You can understand dependence

When you know the maker's hand
So make your siren's call

And sing all you want

I will not hear what you have to say
Cause I need freedom now

And I need to know how

To live my life as it's meant to be

This song might be the ERE anthem (or at least sung at meetings):
Rush - Working Man

I get up at seven, yeah,

and I go to work at nine.

I got no time for livin'.

Yes, I'm workin' all the time.
It seems to me

I could live my life

a lot better than I think I am.

...

And if you like hard rock take a listen

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h59mDlBSt7o
Personally, I like the Rush from the 80s and 90s better (my formidable years), but the simple lyrics to this song has puzzled, then enlightened me.

Little boxes by Malvina Reynolds:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_2lGkEU4Xs
Little boxes on the hillside,

Little boxes made of ticky tacky,1

Little boxes on the hillside,

Little boxes all the same.

There's a green one and a pink one

And a blue one and a yellow one,

And they're all made out of ticky tacky

And they all look just the same.
And the people in the houses

All went to the university,

Where they were put in boxes

And they came out all the same,

And there's doctors and lawyers,

And business executives,

And they're all made out of ticky tacky

And they all look just the same.
And they all play on the golf course

And drink their martinis dry,

And they all have pretty children

And the children go to school,

And the children go to summer camp

And then to the university,

Where they are put in boxes

And they come out all the same.
And the boys go into business

And marry and raise a family

In boxes made of ticky tacky

And they all look just the same.

There's a green one and a pink one

And a blue one and a yellow one,

And they're all made out of ticky tacky

And they all look just the same.
It's the reason I started watching Weeds ...
It made me wonder where the hippies went wrong. I mean, they had the meaninglessness of the standardized consumer life all figured out but then rushed into it with full force.

It made me wonder where the hippies went wrong. I mean, they had the meaninglessness of the standardized consumer life all figured out but then rushed into it with full force.

This was probably a rhetorical question, but I'll answer anyway.
I've read a few books about the hippie/back to the land movement, and talked to some of the ex-practitioners. I'm no expert, but it seems to me that they misjudged human nature on several levels trying to sandwich in full socialism - Adam Smith had a better story (but be sure to include the Moral Sentiments book in his philosophy). (I've been meaning to try to start a discussion about this, but been busy with some IRL stuff.)

Well, it was not rhetorical, actually.

So you think the problem was that they stuck to socialist ideals, then got disheartened and gave up. I would agree with that to a large degree. But why switch to hardcore consumerism then? Well, we should discuss this in another thread, I think.

@Felix,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcYBSXgtmKQ

This documentary will give you answers as to how they were made to embrace the consumer culture by using their own terms and words...
It is a 4-part series. A bit of Part II and a lot of Part III speak about the hippies and their "domestication" by using their own keywords and their own ideological words. .

Thanks, Surio! I remember that documentary. It was one of the scariest things I've ever seen. I loathe marketing people (much more) ever since. So combining this with SF's post, the hippies were disheartened and then duped into commercialism with slick marketing-speak. I suppose now they're sticking to their commercialized ways in order to avoid the cognitive dissonance that the existence of an actual solution like ERE would provide and buy Priuses and shop at Whole Foods to relieve the pressure a bit. Makes sense, but it's a very dark way of seeing this.

@Felix,

You might also find this book interesting
http://www.amazon.com/Back-Land-Young-A ... 1566636647

I can't believe this hasn't been posted yet (maybe it has)...
the ultimate ERE song, I know we can all relate
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSIGwAY2JBs

Jack Johnson’s On and On album is one of my ERE-favorites. A mellow, fun, thoughtful bit of anti-consumerism and introspection. It’s hard to fully express what I get from the album in a short post. Some of it is simple anti-consumerism, other parts are a bit more complex. Some favorite lines:
Gone

Look at all those fancy clothes,

But these could keep us warm just like those.

And what about your soul? Is it cold?

Is it straight from the mold, and ready to be sold?
And cars and phones and diamond rings,

Bling, bling. Those are only removable things.

And what about your mind? Does it shine?

Are there things that concern you, more than your time?
Symbol in my driveway:

I've got a symbol in my driveway

I've got a hundred million dollar friends…
…Might cost a little more than money

But what's man without his wealth?
Fall Line

Guess we lost another one, just like the other one

Optimistic, hypocrite that didn't have the nerve to quit

The things that kept him wanted more

'Til he finally reached the core

@Redsted1 Sorry for careening off topic again, but... wow. Maybe every generation is a little myopic, but I had no idea there was anything like a music video in the 60s!
@Felix, Surio - I think the more crass side of human nature will always want more "good stuff" whatever that happens to be defined as. Some of the behavioral economic experiments bare this out. I've seen it at a micro level, where reasonably well adjusted, grown adults scheming to get more free donuts (sometimes at the expense of other's donut eating pleasure). All these folks know that donuts are not the best breakfast food, but they want it (it's tasty, desirable, limited supply, etc...).
The trick is to use this desire/selfishness as a force for good. Adam Smith (and others) saw this. I think the socialistic hippie structure (unenforced by an authoritarian rule) just can't fight that harsher part of our nature for very long.
There's examples in the book Surio listed of the various ways things can go wrong.
[edited to keep down the OT clutter]

Just thought of another one: Head Like a Hole by Nine Inch Nails
Ahhh, the blissful balm of some 90's angst.

Janis Joplin Mercedes Benz
Oh lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz.

My friends all drive Porsches, I must make amends.

Worked hard all my lifetime, no help from my friends.

So oh lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz