Plastic Jesus
Lyrics: (bolded lyrics are from the song “Plastic Jesus” as performed by Paul Newman in the 1967 film, “Cool Hand Luke”, the rest are by Kathleen)
I don’t mind if it rains or freezes
Long as I got my plastic jesus
Hanging on
The dashboard of my car
Comes in colors pink and pleasant
Glows in the dark cause it’s iridescent
Assuring me
That I won’t go to hell
Where did you go?
When I need you most, oh
What do I do
With this hole the size of you
Are you coming back?
Or are you just a dead beat dad,
Who ran off with another planet
Nobody knows if it’s gunna get better
When I look back though was it ever
Really something worth
Tryin to save?
All in the name of a blue eyed savior
Wasn’t even white but we went ahead and
Made him in our image
Anyway…
Oh but
Where did you go?
When I need you most, oh
What do I do
With this hole the size of you
Are you coming back?
Or are you just a dead beat dad,
Who ran off with another planet
Bad “solo”
Fuck her ’til she’s ugly
Then leave her when your done
Take what you need then get back on the run
Hold her like you need her then
Tell her what she wants
Leave a big mess in the morning you’ll be gone
Fuck her ’til she’s ugly
Then leave her when your done
Take what you need then get back on the run
Hold her like you need her then
Tell her what she wants
Leave a big mess in the morning you’ll be gone
And on your way to another planet
From Kathleen:
This song was inspired by "Plastic Jesus" as performed by Paul Newman in the 1967 film "Cool Hand Luke" and interpolates the beginning lyrics. While writing what followed these beginning established verses, I was thinking about Elon Musk telling everyone "the future is gunna be awesome, trust me" and how we're going to go Mars and all the other bullshit. I was thinking about how Christianity provided the spiritual fervor to motivate colonialism throughout the globe, giving people the excuse to dehumanize "pagans" or "non believers" because they were "ignorant to the ways of god" and needed to be "saved". How it provided the belief that this land is a "gift from god" and it is our "god-given right" to take it. Giving the belief that "earth is not our home", that it is just a testing ground for our "true home in heaven", which leads to the belief that we may do whatever we want with it. How I was also raised to believe all this and how that type of man-founded Christianity is on the rise again. The "jesus" i sing to in this song is exactly that, the plastic, fake version, made by man, made in the image of the men to feed their addiction, to feed their illness, their sickness called greed.
How that greed has lead all of us to treat our planet the way all those who call themselves women and non-human species alike are treated as "resources". Treated as "pests" needing to be "exterminated" or treated as "wild" and needing to be "contained and controlled as fuel" - how much it is in our recent nature to take and destroy. I was thinking about how angry and helpless I felt at all of this and how badly I want all of us to realize that it isn't about finding bandaid solutions like the carbon offsest scam or even going to another planet - how it is about admitting that leaders are addicts and are sick with greed. How much we need to listen to and to aid those people who are not sick, those who have been protectors of the land for thousands of years and who have solutions if only we heard them. How we need to also listen to those parts within each of us that are telling us to stop. What is burn out if not this voice, screaming?
I wrote this song in 2019. I recorded and produced this song and made this video from archival footage and shots of my own in 2021. I made it all in a cabin in the mountain town of Swannanoa, a 5-7 hour drive from the coast that recently was flooded to the point of destruction in Hurricane Helene. I went to this cabin to seek refuge from the fires in California.