The Thousandth And Tenth Day Of The Human Totem Pole
Composer(s): Don Van Vliet
Performer(s): Captain Beefheart & the Magic Band



The thousandth and tenth day of the human totem pole
The morning was distemper grey
Of the thousandth and tenth day of the human totem pole
The man at the bottom was smiling
He had just finished his breakfast smiling
It hadn't rained or manured for over two hours
The man at the top was starving
The pole was a horrible looking thing
With all of those eyes and ears
And waving hands for balance
There was no way to get a copter in close
So everybody was starving together
The man at the top had long ago given up
But didn't have nerve enough to climb down
At night the pole would talk to itself and the chatter wasn't too good
Obviously the pole didn't like itself, it wanted to walk!
It was the summer and it was hot
And balance wouldn't permit skinning to undergarments
It was an integrated pole, it was taking on an reddish brown cast
Exercise on the pole was isometric
Kind of a flex and then balance
Then the highest would roll together
The ears wiggle, hands balance
There was a gurgling and googling heard
A tenth of the way up the pole
Approaching was a small child
With Statue of Liberty doll