GHOST OBAMA: The Way of The Samurai (It's WAR, Young Ward Heeler! RAISE YR SWORD!)

[Leopolds Ghost]

In Honor Of the Pennsylvania Primaries... and by request...

Note: I added the section in the middle
in bold, which is written by me, new to this topical version.

The reference to the bear-hunting scene in the woods of New Jersey
was too strong to resist. Let me know what you think of my lyrics.

The rest is a slightly re-worded version of the end credits song from
Ghost Dog: The Way of The Samurai, an excellent film by Jim Jarmusch.

(one of those latte sipping liberals, for those of you who've never
heard of this movie.)

Apologies to RZA from Wu Tang Clan.

The original is called Samurai Showdown.

Listen to the original song: Youtube Link (sing along!)

Yo, it's a --

Primary showdown
Primary showdown...!!



(Aight, D.L.C.) How dare you challenge me?

You will die from the tip of my ballot today!

Huh, the trenches, we must remain calm --
Right, prepare to vote

***Chorus:***

It's War, young Ward-heelers! raise your swords!
It's War, young Ward-heelers! raise your swords!

Yo, yo

Hailin from the slums of Hawaii, golden talent, Salon.com twirl
And one swirl, of the fatal word splits your voting block

Wu Tang Obama Bees' bloggin, back on the swarm again

BZZZZZZ, the alarm again, six direction question deflectin'
Stingin accusations connect like opposite sides of magnets

Hangin Chad fragments bein chipped off by a slingin sword slash,
With the force of big crash in your dash board with no airbag!

He drove a beat-up old Jag-uar

Round south-central Chicago
But now he besieges her fortress at Wilkes-Bar-ra

In a deluxe Winnebago

Makin whistle-stops, orderin' cafe americano

At Dunkin' Donuts,
poll numbers droppin' like a pair
of you-know-whats

They say, "ain't too many black f---s left" out here
In the Deer Hunter turf, territory of fear

So when you see one, you take pot shots
In ancient cultures, man was equal to the bear!

Trained in the Orient, he ain't in Kansas anymore
Taste the bitterness on your throat, clingin' toward

the things you hold dear!

***Chorus***

It's war, war, young Ward-heelers! raise your swords!
It's war, war, young Ward-heelers! raise your swords!

Time for every runner-up to go accord'...

Quick to pick a running mate, down a shot
Respect the Bloods an' working class whites a lot

Plus the God from Wright saggin in his seat, blastin Wu beats
Tryin to plot her next hit piece

He took a drag of the eight elements that composed, atmospheric gas
'Bout to let off his oratory, and full blast

Kept his mind focused, meditation position half lotus
Super Stephanopoulos novas couldn't match his magnum opus

Deluxe stroke, son, move like a ghost --

Struck in an instant, his opponent -- unnoticed like a lamp post!

Radar sharp precision youtube clip, explode

Till his clips unload

it's the samurai code!!

***Chorus***

It's war, war, young Ward-heelers! raise your swords!
It's war, war, young Ward-heelers! raise your swords!

Time for every runner-up to go accord'...

Crept in silent, the Steel wind
Media silencers screwed up tight
kept the hit pieces just sealed in

We attack, full fledge
with Chicago University red
bandanas tied tight around our heads!

Swing with the force of a sledge
Single-edge stainless steel rebuttal chopped the wedge
issue-- oriented this analog mic talkin head

Who even thought that
he could go against Rev. Wright
and the Weathermen fall back?

From the will of Allah, you'll be facin the firing squad
of a thousand chain e-mails out to mark ya

The suit jacket scully king brush off dirt like jelly beans
Superdelegates in my nest restin up, on the telly scene

Murderous Bush right-track to me, is ego felony
Can't accept what you a.m. radio cats be tellin me

I get the verbal weapon, won't hesitate for one second
to break your back like Big Dog Bill Clinton

***Chorus***

It's war, war, young Ward-heelers! raise your swords!
It's war, war, young Ward-heelers! raise your swords!

Time for every runner-up to go accord'...



:smoke: :hi:

[Leopolds Ghost]

1. Here's the clip I referenced in my added lyrics

From the movie Ghost Dog starring Forrest Whitaker, an urban Samurai:

Bear Hunters in Eastern PA/Western NJ (Ancient Times / Emptiness is Form)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFMY4jJ6SVE

Rooftop Training (Samurai Sword Meditation)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxcNKHyG2Q4

[Leopolds Ghost]

14. From Then Till Now (campaign version) (by Killah Priest, another song from Ghost Dog)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqpEXI5C3Ck

Peace Obamah Priest
Peace, wassup man?
Chillin baby
I'm with you
Yo.. I wanna know what's goin on
Ever since that Basic Instruction, Before Leavin Earth
I wanna know what you gonna do for us right now
It's been a while baby, we waitin!
I've just been chillin, been chillin
I been in the lab writin and stuff y'know?

I just been on my, y'know, knowhatI'msayin, on some
Philadelphia guns, shootouts and crack sales
Black males who pack jails, trapped in hell
No peace, cold streets, surrounded by po-lice
this whole week, buildings with no heats
No lights, the gas pipes the snow leaks
Dog fights and lowlife throw dice the whole night

Thieves, creepin
in the midnight evenings, saw through the misty regions
Go to your house, take a vial for the demons
Moon in, the lunar eclipse
Prophets stand in the midst of the seven candlesticks
I can't take it, beauty that was once sacred
is now gettin facelifts, fake tits, and fake lips
Cold embraces
Memory erases, from the slave ships

My princess, I used to spot her from a distance
Holdin my infant, burnin incense
The moment intent, for her to step into my wife tents
Now we step in pre-sents, for your ebony prince
The small of frankencense; once treated like a pharoah
With royal apparel, annointed with myrrh and aloe
We used to wallow, amongst the mallows

We had herd sheep and cattle, now we battle
Used to pass over Brooks of Qe'ron
Towers of Lebanon, the pool of Gechron
We used to sing songs, upon Mount Hebron
How was gold turned to bronze, and shhh....
How was gold turned to bronze?

We was the wisest and the richest, now we turn to snitches
Women turn to b---hes, in the time of harvest
We was the smartest, worshipped Wisdom like the Goddess
Now we act retarded, forsook the Wisdom of the Fathers

We use to have a thousand flagons of wine (of wine)
In Palestine

there would drink Ballentine
And raise up in the violent mind
We used to have a hundred measures of oil, eighty measures
of wheat and barley, we live Godly
Listening to Bob Marley, before the devils robbed me

Chasin us through the African safaris
From Then Till Now
What goes up must come down
What goes down comes back around again
Where it all began, began, began, began
From Then Till Now, From Then Till Now, From Then Till Now

Singin holy anthems, lampin with all
my handsome grandsons, hair long as Sampson
Inside my gold mansion, they used to wear purple Pampers
But now we Black Panthers, some are actors and dancers

It's funny how the dollar bill have my seeds holler for meals
Mother swallow a pill, roads seem hollow but still
grab a bottle to heal, it's like a noose
of seventh seal over Brownsville

What's the difference between the ghetto and death row?
I'm trapped up with kleptos, the tec blow
I'm left in seft low, where the cries echo
and echo and echo and echo and echoes

From the Crystal City, near Getti
Children used to grow on lillies, now they roll up Phillies

But the pyramids of Cheops, is my weed spot
Sometimes I eavesdrop in the books of Enoch

We went from studying epistles of Paul
beneath a waterfall, rubbin crystal balls
But now we spray paint initials on the wall
On the wall... spray paint initials on the wall

From Then Till Now
What goes up must come down
What goes down comes back around again
Where it all began, began, began, began
From Then Till Now, From Then Till Now, From Then Till Now

[Leopolds Ghost]

19. Meditations on Hillary Clinton's Inevitable Defeat

Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai is found in death. Meditation on inevitable death should be performed daily. Every day, when one's body and mind are at peace, one should meditate upon being ripped apart by arrows, rifles, spears, and swords, being carried away by surging waves, being thrown into the midst of a great fire, being struck by lightning, being shaken to death by a great earthquake, falling from thousand-foot cliffs, dying of disease or committing seppuku at the death of one's master. And every day, without fail, one should consider himself as dead. This is the substance of the Way of the Samurai.

[Leopolds Ghost]

2. NE views / comments?

:-)

[Leopolds Ghost]

3. ...

[Leopolds Ghost]

4. No replies at all??

I assumed there would be (1) Wu Tang or (2) Jim Jarmusch fans on DU, given the number of Obama supporters.

Perhaps the Hillary folks are wrong about the preponderance of elite decision makers on DU supporting Obama,
if nobody here remembers Ghost Dog: Way of The Samurai!
:evilfrown:

[Leopolds Ghost]

5. I'm pretty sure if I cross-referenced "Jim Jarmusch fans" and "Wu-Tang fans" I'd get "Obama 3L3t1st"

C'mon now!

[BlooInBloo]

6. lol! Sorry - just not familiar with the references - I'm sure it's really awesome...

... to someone who is tho. :)

[Leopolds Ghost]

7. Click on the youtube link and listen along -- no real outside references in the song :-)

Just free association rhyming related to hit men and samurai warriors.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hS4W-u0NQZo

It's a great soundtrack -- Wu Tang is considered one of the best rap groups of the 90s.

(Ghost Dog the movie is about a hit man who is devoted to the code of
the Samurai contained in a book called Hagakure, which numerous
excerpts are read on title cards during the course of the movie.



It's a companion piece to Dead Man, a western starring a reluctant
outlaw played by Johnny Depp. Both are excellent movies -- check
em out!)

I completely rewrote the song though to compare Obama to a samurai political warrior
in Pennsylvania, instead of a Samurai hit man in NJ --

the middle piece in bold is added --
to catch the one (non-political) reference, see Youtube video link in titled "Bear Hunters"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFMY4jJ6SVE

....where Ghost Dog encounters a couple of "angry white men" somewhere in the Alleghenies

and explains to them that
black bear hunting season is over...

[Leopolds Ghost]

8. There is something to be learned from defeat in Pennsylvania:

GHOST DOG (voiceover)

There is something to be learned from a rainstorm. When meeting with a sudden shower, you try not to get wet and run quickly along the road. But doing such things as passing under the eaves of houses, you still get wet. When you are resolved from the beginning, you will not be perplexed, though you still get the same soaking. This understanding extends to everything.

--excerpt from Hagakure (the Way of the Samurai)

[grantcart]

9. Very clever thanks

[Leopolds Ghost]

10. It is said that what is called the Spirit of an Age is something to which one cannot return.

(Ghost Dog narrating:)

It is said that what is called the Spirit of an Age is something to which one cannot return. That this spirit gradually dissipates is due to the world's coming to an end. In the same way, a single year does not have just spring or summer. A single day, too, is the same. For this reason, although one would like to change today's world back to the spirit of one hundred years or more ago, it cannot be done. Thus it is important to make the best out of every generation.

--excerpt from Hagakure: the Way of the Samurai, 1716

[davsand]

11. How do you manage to find the films I like?

OK--Pulp Fiction was a popular Taratino film that had really good box office. I can see how you'd pick that one up to parody. Ghost Dog, however was not as widely viewed (typical of Jarmusch's films, sadly enough.) HOW did you do that? HOW did you hit on that one? There are just certain films and specific directors that trip my trigger and you hit two of them.

I could see how Lynch would lend himself to a parody--especially Blue Velvet. (Imagine Hil as Frank snorking away on that mask...) :scared:

If you end up doing Miller's Crossing or Barton Fink for your next parody I will really fall off my chair. Raising Arizona, however is a distinct possibility...


Well done, and thanks for doing it!



Laura

[Leopolds Ghost]

13. Raising Hillary perhaps? ;-)

I guess we are both deviant in the same way when it comes to taste in film :evilgrin:

[Leopolds Ghost]

15. Hmm, I can't think of anything at the moment

Someone needs to kidnap some babies.

Perhaps Curly as the elusive Working Class Conservative Dem White Male Vote
in PA that everyone is worried about?

[Starbucks Anarchist]

12. Wu-Tang/RZA/Forest Whitaker fan here.

Love it! :thumbsup:

[Leopolds Ghost]

16. Advance straight ahead: It will not do to think about achieving victory in a long, roundabout way.

Ghost Dog (reading from Hagakure):

When one has made a decision to attack someone, even if it will be very difficult to succeed by advancing straight ahead, it will not do to think about doing it in a long, roundabout way. One's heart may slacken, he may miss his chance, and by and large there will be no success. The Way of the Samurai is one of immediacy, and it is best to dash in headlong.

[myrna minx]

17. Thanks. I'm a big Jarmusch fan.

:hi:

[Leopolds Ghost]

18. Youre welcome... I think its my best parody to date!

Because it works without reference to anything but the campaign.