Lookinf East

Nino, walking around on sunday
Nino, just one more kid in l.a.
With a hubcap and a stick in his hand
In his own parade, leading the band
His head in the sky, his feet nearly touching the sand
Nino, three thousand miles away
Nino, la familia stares at the bay

Turning off sunset boulevard
Playing the fence around somebody's yard
Thinking of home and keeping tumbao on the hood of a car
Nino, people will know you one day
Nino, they're going to call you el rey

Nino de la playa y la ciudad
Nino de las calles y la verdad
El ritmo de tu pueblo se siente aqui
Al canto de la tierra que vive en ti
La magia de tu mano en el tambor
Retumba aqui con alma y con sabor
Y al toque de campanas al sonar
Los angeles te guardan desde el mar

(child of the beach and the city
Child of the streets and of the truth
The rhythm of your people is felt here
To the song of the country that lives in you
The magic of your hand on the drum
Resonates here with soul and good feeling
And at the strike of bells as they ring
The angels guard you from the sea)

With a hubcap and a stick in his hand
In his own parade, leading the band
His head in the sky, his feet nearly touching the sand of the homeland
Nino, walking around in l.a.
Nino, this will be your town one day

I live in a small town . . . deep in la
About five miles north of where the lakers play
Everybody here's from someplace else
Working all together just like santa's elves

Baby, culver me
And i'll culver you
When the streets are shining with the smoggy dew
When the lights are glowing with the mists of june
And the whole world is lit up by the culver moon

Baby don't worry 'bout angelyne
She ain't the prettiest thing i've ever seen
Nothing she wears ever fits her right
And her complexion is just a little too tight
And the way she looks down from so high above
Makes me think the poor child's never been in love

Baby, culver me
And i'll culver you
When the streets are shining with the smoggy dew
When the lights are glowing with the mists of june
And the whole world is lit up by the culver moon

Baby i'm going to love you 'til the stars come down
'til they park their limos and they walk to town
'til the l.a. river overflows its banks
'til the whole alternative nation bows its knobby head in thanks
'til the fish are jumping in ballona creek
'til the earth is inherited by the meek

Baby, culver me
And i'll culver you
When the streets are shining with the smoggy dew
When the lights are glowing with the mists of june
And the whole world is illuminated by the culver moon

Under the rainbow and behind versailles
From the aisles of fedco to the 405
From mgm to veteran's park
Way down at chippendale's fumblin' in the dark
Where the ghostly specter of howard hughes
Hovers in the smoke of a thousand bar-b-ques

Baby, culver me
And i'll culver you
When the streets are shining with the smoggy dew
When the lights are glowing with the mists of june
And the whole world is lit up by the culver moon

Standing in the ocean with the sun burning low in the west
Like a fire in the cavernous darkness at the heart of the beast
With my beliefs and possessions, stopped at the frontier in my chest
At the edge of my country, my back to the sea, looking east

Where the search for the truth is conducted with a wink and a nod
And where power and position are equated with the grace of god
These times are famine for the soul while for the senses it's a feast
From the edge of my country, as far as you see, looking east

Hunger in the midnight, hunger at the stroke of noon
Hunger in the mansion, hunger in the rented room
Hunger on the tv, hunger on the printed page
And there's a god-sized hunger underneath the laughing and the rage
In the absence of light
And the deepening night
Where i wait for the sun
Looking east

How long have i left my mind to the powers that be?
How long will it take to find the higher power moving in me?

Power in the insect
Power in the sea
Power in the snow falling silently
Power in the blossom
Power in the stone
Power in the song being sung alone
Power in the wheatfield
Power in the rain
Power in the sunlight and the hurricane
Power in the silence
Power in the flame
Power in the sound of the lover's name
The power of the sunrise and the power of a prayer released
On the edge of my country, i pray for the ones with the least

Hunger in the midnight, hunger at the stroke of noon
Hunger in the banquet, hunger in the bride and groom
Hunger on the tv, hunger on the printed page
And there's a god-sized hunger underneath the questions of the age
And an absence of light
In the deepening night
Where i wait for the sun
Looking east

They shot a man into the sky
The moon and stars became his bed
He saw the sun rise seven times
And when he came back down he said

It is one, it is one
One world spinning 'round the sun
Wherever it is you call home
Whatever country you come from
It is one, it is one, it is one, it is one

They shot a man if africa
At a time of rivalry and war
He had some dreams of a good life
But dreams aren't what they killed him for

Now people stand themselves next to the righteous
And they believe the things they say are true
They speak in terms of what divides us
To justify the violence they do

But it is one, it is one
One world spinning 'round the sun
Wherever it is you call home
Whatever country you come from
It is one, it is one, it is one, it is one
One -- the deep blue ocean
One -- the endless sky
One -- the purple mountains
One -- you and i

It's not a world of our own choosing
We don'd decide where we are born
This life is a battleground between right and wrong
One way or other we are torn

And people stand themselves next to the righteous
And they believe the things they say are true
And speak in terms of what divides us
To justify the violence they do

But it is one, it is one
One world spinning 'round the sun
Wherever it is you call home
Whatever country you come from
It is one, it is one, it is one, it is one
It is one, it is one, it is one, it is one
One -- the deep blue ocean
One -- the endless sky
One -- the purple mountains
One -- you and i

Give us twenty minutes and we'll give you the world
We bring good things to life
The news you need from people you can count on
Doing what we do best

The heartbeat of america
Your true voice
You're in good hands
Now more than ever before

And in the flickering light and the comforting glow
You get the world every night as a tv show
The latest spin on the shit we're in, blow by blow
And the more you watch, the less you know

Beyond the hundred million darkened living rooms
Out where the human ocean roars
Into the failing light, the generations go
Heading for the information wars

Do people really spend millions upon millions
To make us think we care about the planet
At the same time polluting and looting the only world we've got
So they can maximize their profit?
People do.

The heartbeat of america
Your true voice
For the life of your business
It's everywhere you want to be

And there's a front row seat for the precious few
The latest war as a pay-per-view
Famine and disaster right in front of you
And the more you watch, the less you do

Beyond the hundred million darkened living rooms
Out where the human ocean roars
Into the failing light, the generations go
Heading for the information wars