The Earthquake in Los Angeles

the telephone rang
my sister calling
i got to run i said
nonononono
i just want
to tell you
to tell you
dad is dead
dad is dead?
well when did it happen?
six a.m.
said she
new york time
or california?
new york time
i see

the telephone rang
the week of the earthquake
death was still in the air
at six o one
the walls came down
they never had a prayer
dad is dead?
well how is mother?
good as she
can be
say i said
when dad was goin'
did he happen
to ask
for me?

'member the way
i used to time step
lord it made him proud
he told his friends
(he never told me)
that i stood above the crowd
'member the way
he played the jew's harp
till he broke a tooth
why'd he have
to turn against me
he loved me
once
in his youth

but jesus
i couldn't live his life
make his fantasies real
i couldn't be him
i had to be me
i couldn't make up
for the deal
the dirty deal
he got in this world
he got in
a treacherous world
where six a.m.
suddenly breaks
with senseless death
and shocking quakes
senseless death
and shocking quakes...