The Past Sure Is Tense
Composer(s): Don Van Vliet
First release by: Captain Beefheart and The Magic Band - 1982



The past sure is tense
they're heading up for the main event
all those people seem to be hell-bent
see those people up on top of the fence
and the man down there
selling knotholes through the fence
the little shoe generation man
I found your print on a dollar bill
I found your print on an Indian mound
I found your print on the statue at the sound
I found your print on the elephant ground
I found your print in the beautiful mountains
the grass no longer grew around
I found your print in my mind 
the past sure is tense
the past sure is tense
no you got the wrong idea
no you got the wrong intent
the carpenter carpenterized my vent
the only peephole
where is my dent
the past sure is tense
the past sure is tense
the past sure is now
I don't see how
see those people that used to
throw those tents
you can't see them now
they're in past tense
the past sure is tense