Ben Zaidi’s Blues.
Ben Zaidi * Track #2 On Acre of Salt.
Download "Ben Zaidi’s Blues."
Ben Zaidi's Blues. by Ben Zaidi
Release Date
Performed by
Ben ZaidiProduced by
Tony BergWrited by
Ben ZaidiAbout
‘Ben Zaidi’s Blues’ is the first single from a project I’ve been working on for a long time. The last 9 months of my life have been completely consumed by it, but some of the songs have been in the works for years. This one came out of some poems I wrote after a very fucked up experience I had in Fl...
Ben Zaidi’s Blues. Lyrics
[Verse 1]
My blood burns like diet soda
Fizzling out on the ground
I wish it was my name on the hospital door
But that's not the kinda thing you can say out loud
The bank's foreclosing on grandpa's house
While a stroke peels the last bit of life from his brain
So we go to Florida, me and my dad
To load up the car with anything worth saving
A mug and a lamp and a childhood map
My grandma is crying as we pull away
Then drive up the coast and halfway thru Georgia
I remember that I left the the home video tapes
What will the bank do
With the camcorder-caught childhood that ain't theirs
Someone in a tie will look at it, say it’s worthless
Then eat their dinner and say their prayers
But the truth is––
[Chorus]
The longer you live, the harder it is to stay pure
[Verse 2]
I wish I wrote 'Landslide' by Fleetwood Mac
It scarcely left me with nothing to say
All I got here is this army of questions
Leaving their bootprints all over my face
Like, which war machine will I vote for ?
The one with the cross or the rainbow flag ?
Which phone made by slave labor will i use
To call my manager and make sure i'm paid fair ?
We're never paid fair…
Which killer cops will I pay with my taxes ?
Which prison will I pave riding the bus ?
Which drone bomb will kill which parent's child
While bearing the names of all of us ?
And are there tides on our plastic island
Will it someday wash on our shores ?
And when is it time to think about the sea ?
When it's up to our necks, & not a moment before ?
And you told me––
[Chorus]
The longer you live, the harder it is to stay pure
The longer you stay pure, the harder it gets to live
[Verse 3]
Two Ben's left home in 2011
One went to Harvard, one went to heaven
First one got cold so he came inside
Second one stayed true to his hill & died
I wanna throw my body into the river
I wanna build my house on an acre of salt
And hear no news, talk only religion
And forget that I’m human whenever I want
And I'll say––
[Chorus]
The longer you live, the harder it is to stay pure
The longer you stay pure, the harder it gets to live
The longer you live, the harder it is to stay pure
The longer you stay pure, the harder it is to live
Ben Zaidi’s Blues. Q&A
Who wrote Ben Zaidi’s Blues.'s ?
Ben Zaidi’s Blues. was written by Ben Zaidi.
Who produced Ben Zaidi’s Blues.'s ?
Ben Zaidi’s Blues. was produced by Tony Berg.
When did Ben Zaidi release Ben Zaidi’s Blues.?
Ben Zaidi released Ben Zaidi’s Blues. on Fri Aug 06 2021.
Is this a true story?
Yes. In 2016 my grandfather’s house was foreclosed on by the bank literally while he was on his death bed in the hospital. I went down there with my dad to try and take care of him, and we basically had to get everything we wanted to keep from his whole life out of the house in a matter of hours bef...
What does this song have to do with 'Landslide' by Fleetwood Mac?
To me, ‘Landslide’ is a perfect song about the strife of aging. And so, writing a song out of that same tension, it felt like there was scarcely anything I could add, that isn’t said in that song.
In a funny twist of fate, I actually ended up recording this song, and the whole album, at Sound City...
What did Ben Zaidi say about "Ben Zaidi's Blues."?
In the Fall of 2020, I sank into a pit of hopelessness. Politically, interpersonally, existentially… shit was bleak. A collection of experiences, including seeing my grandfather’s house foreclosed on while he was dying in the hospital, fed that hopelessness. This song came out of that place––out of...