When I was in my early 20's I ended up meeting (flirting) with a couple of young ladies I met at the park. When I asked them about what they did one of the girls stated that the other girl worked for the FBI. She was reluctant to talk much about it, but she eventually said she was "just" a secretary and did nothing more than type and organize files.
When I asked if they had a file on me, she looked at my long hair, smiled and said probably. This conversation took place some 35 years ago and was the first time I learned that the FBI kept files on anyone who was involved with peace marches, demonstrations or even took out library books on specific subjects.
They Got Me was written with this in mind. The singer of the song tells his story of once being a man of social influence with integrity. Yet, his message angered and disturbed some very important people. They used their power and influence to intimate, bully and eventually torture him until he "gave in for sanity".
While apologizing to his audience for betraying himself and their trust, he states very clearly that while they got him, they will get you too. Wow, isn't it fascinating that these words were written in the mid seventies. Maybe his message was just paranoia or maybe it was prescient.
lyrics
They Got Me 1/24/76
How I had you feel life
Laugh and cry and argue
God did they despise it
So they tried to silence – my mind
So they threatened my wife with their ugly letters
Tortured me with jailings, spreading vicious rumors
Ruining my life
Asked so many questions, they tried to make me trip
Constant pressure was hard for me to miss
Made me bend to their demands
Begged so for them to let me go
They made me lie, they made me cheat
They made me screw you
Crawling, hiding, will you believe me?
Unceasing lies plagued me thru the years
Torn between my convictions and my fears
I struggled to keep my dignity
My respect lost, gave in for sanity
They made me lie, they made me cheat,
They made me screw you
All my words they turned around
Made me feel so ashamed
Won’t you please give to me a little liberty
Won’t you please leave me alone
I’ll be good please don’t harm me
Beating, bleeding, I’ll get you someday
They tried hard to break up my mind
Reduced me to a heaving animal
Made my young face an aged bloody mess
They made me lie, they made me cheat,
They made me screw you
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