11 plays
“Disorder in the House” by Warren Zevon
(Words/Music: Warren Zevon and Jorge Calderon, Album: The Wind, Artemis 2003)
Warren Zevon Wednesday
“Disorder in the House” earned Zevon a postumous Grammy for best Rock Vocal Performance (Group or Duo) was from the album The Wind which also won a Grammy, this time for Best Contemporary Folk Album. He shared the Grammy with Bruce Springsteen who sings co-lead on the vocals and plays lead guitar (yes, that’s a Bruce Springsteen guitar solo). Springsteen was one of many guest artists on this, Zevon’s last, album as he recorded it while he knew he was dying of lung cancer. Other guests included long-time friends Jackson Browne, Don Henley, Joe Walsh and Timothy B. Schmidt (The Eagles), Tom Petty, Ry Cooder, Tommy Shaw (Styx), Billy Bob Thornton, and Dwight Yoakam - an impressive list of guests and testament to Zevon’s musical reputation.
And although Zevon is not thought of as a political songwriter, “Disorder in the House” is one of his most politcally charged songs as it is generally regarded as his not-too-thinly-veiled criticism of the Bush Administration.
Disorder in the house
The tub runneth over
Plaster’s falling down in pieces by the couch of pain
Disorder in the house
Time to duck and cover
Helicopters hover over rough terrain
Disorder in the house
Reptile wisdom
Zombies on the lawn staggering around
Disorder in the house
There’s a flaw in the system
And the fly in the ointment’s gonna bring the whole thing down
The floodgates are open
We’ve let the demons loose
The big guns have spoken
And we’ve fallen for the ruse
Disorder in the house
It’s a fate worse than fame
Even the Lhasa Apso seems to be ashamed
Disorder in the house
The doors are coming off the hinges
The earth will open and swallow up the real estate
I just got my paycheck
I’m gonna paint the whole town grey
Whether it’s a night in Paris or a Fresno matinee
It’s the home of the brave and the land of the free
Where the less you know the better off you’ll be
Disorder in the house
All bets are off
I’m sprawled across the davenport of despair
Disorder in the house
I’ll live with the losses
And watch the sundown through the portiere
A wonderfully written summary of one of my favorite songs off of this lovely album.
