Our capitalistic society is a vertical world where everything is measured in terms of success, progress and accumulation of wealth. We see life in terms of up and down, winning and losing, and success and failure where the horizontal growth of being diverse and well rounded is often labeled as lacking direction or being undisciplined.
Success, self-worth and social status are accomplished by a laser like focus on one's career and the accumulation of wealth. Competition, conquest and being the best become the central goals in a vertical world. The need to win and be the best causes our society to foster and reward obsessive and compulsive personality types where time spent with friends and family put one in at a serious disadvantage.
For every person who rises to the top by taking all the risks, making all the sacrifices and heartlessly defeating all their associates, there are hundreds that end up lonely or road kill for someone even more ruthless and dedicated than themselves.
In the end politics, connections and being at the right place at the right time decide who ultimately wins and loses more than obsessive dedication.
"Work, work, work make the deadline
Make it or don't make it you are dead"
lyrics
Vertical World 6/23/86
Living in a vertical world
Progress and decline the magic marker plots and tables (life)
Towards the future the mythic past gets warped and labeled (time)
Straight up and down we graph our success like
The Dow Jones Average (need)
We flee horizontally (what?)
Indecision plods the time until we move on, oh how we move on
Life of the warrior who never sits, he’s got his mojo working
By god he’s always working
People where are you going to?
A house in the country a four car garage
A kitchen never used, a bedroom just for sleep
Living in a vertical world
How you enjoy the time your finger pulses on the trigger (bang)
Your steel eyes of blue are focused on the green of
Facts and figures (lies)
A whiff of snow and a shot of vermouth conjure the eye of the tiger
The courage to rape and abuse
You pump a little iron and chase after youth
She’s got her mojo working by god she’s always working
Working, how ‘bout you? I know I’m quite confused
Another house in the country a 500,000 dollar massage
A bedroom never used, a kitchen just for sleep
Work, work, work make the deadline
Make it or don’t make it, you are dead
Vertical world leads nowhere
credits
from Edge of Eden,
released November 8, 2013
Vocals Jim Guido
Keys Jim Guido
Bass Jim Guido
Drums Ryan Thompson
Guitars John Barden
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