Pink Floyd's 1980 song "Mother" anticipates 2020 nanny state and Covid-19 panic

First chorus:

Hush now baby, baby, don't you cry.
Mama's gonna make all of your nightmares come true.
Mama's gonna put all of her fears into you.
Mama's gonna keep you right here under her wing.
She won't let you fly, but she might let you sing.
Mama's gonna keep baby cozy and warm.
Ooh baby, ooh baby, ooh baby,
Of course mama's gonna help build the wall.

Second chorus:

Hush now baby, baby, don't you cry.
Mama's gonna check out all your girlfriends for you.
Mama's won’t let anyone dirty get through.
Mama's gonna wait up until you come in.
Mama will always find out where you’ve been.
Mama's gonna keep baby healthy and clean.
Ooh babe, ooh babe, ooh babe,
You’ll always be baby to me.

~ Pink Floyd, "Mother," 1980

Huey Lewis & The News on the Vietnam War

Sometimes in my bed at night
I curse the dark and a pray for light
And sometimes, the light's no consolation
Blinded by a memory
Afraid of what it might do to me
And the tears and the sweat only mock my desperation

Don't you know me I'm the boy next door
The one you find so easy to ignore
Is that what I was fighting for?
Walking on a thin line
Straight off the front line
Labeled as freaks loose on the streets of the city
Walking on a thin line
Straight off the front line
Take a look at my face, see what it's doing to me

Taught me how to shoot to kill
A specialist with a deadly skill
A skill I needed to have to be a survivor
It's over now or so they say
Well, sometimes, it don't turn out that way
Cause your never the same when you've been under fire

Don't you know me I'm the boy next door
The one you find so easy to ignore
Is that what I was fighting for?
Walking on a thin line
Straight off the front line
Labeled as freaks loose on the streets of the city
Walking on a thin lineStraight off the front line
Take a look at my face, see what it's doing to me

~ Huey Lewis & The News, "Walking on a Thin Line," from the "Sports" album, released October 1983

Eagles on victimology

I turn on the tube and what do I see
A whole lotta people cryin’ ’don’t blame me’
They point their crooked little fingers at everybody else
Spend all their time feelin’ sorry for themselves
Victim of this, victim of that
Your momma’s too thin; your daddy’s too fat

Get over it
Get over it
All this whinin’ and cryin’ and pitchin’ a fit
Get over it, get over it

You say you haven’t been the same since you had your little crash
But you might feel better if I gave you some cash
The more I think about it, old billy was right
Let’s kill all the lawyers, kill ’em tonight
You don’t want to work, you want to live like a king
But the big, bad world doesn’t owe you a thing

Get over it
Get over it
If you don’t want to play, then you might as well split
Get over it, get over it

It’s like going to confession every time I hear you speak
You’re makin’ the most of your losin’ streak
Some call it sick, but I call it weak

You drag it around like a ball and chain
You wallow in the guilt; you wallow in the pain
You wave it like a flag, you wear it like a crown
Got your mind in the gutter, bringin’ everybody down
Complain about the present and blame it on the past
I’d like to find your inner child and kick it’s little ass

Get over it
Get over it
All this bitchin’ and moanin’ and pitchin’ a fit
Get over it, get over it

Get over it
Get over it
It’s gotta stop sometime, so why don’t you quit
Get over it, get over it

~ Eagles, "Get Over It," from the "Hell Freezes Over" album, 1994

Men At Work on war

Jump down the shelters to get away
The boys are cockin' up their guns
Tell us general, is it party time?
If it is can we all come

Don't think that we don't know
Don't think that we're not trying
Don't think we move too slow
It's no use after crying
Saying

It's a mistake, it's a mistake
It's a mistake, it's a mistake

After the laughter as died away
And all the boys have had their fun
No surface noise now, not much to say
They've got the bad guys on the run
Don't try to say you're sorry
Don't say he drew his gun
They've gone and grabbed old Ronnie
He's not the only one saying

It's a mistake, it's a mistake
It's a mistake, it's a mistake

Tell us commander, what do you think?
'Cos we know that you love all that power
Is it on then, are we on the brink?
We wish you'd all throw in the towel
We'll not fade out too soon
Not in this finest hour
Whistle your favourite tune
We'll send a card and flower
Saying

It's a mistake, it's a mistake
It's a mistake, it's a mistake

~ Men At Work, "It's a Mistake," from the "Cargo" album, released June 28, 1983

George Harrison on taxation

"Taxman" was when I first realized that even though we had started earning money, we were actually giving most of it away in taxes.

~ George Harrison, The Beatles

The Beatles on taxation

Let me tell you how it will be
There's one for you, nineteen for me'
Cause I'm the taxman, yeah, I'm the taxman

Should five per cent appear too small
Be thankful I don't take it all'
Cause I'm the taxman, yeah I'm the taxman

If you drive a car, I'll tax the street,
If you try to sit, I'll tax your seat.
If you get too cold I'll tax the heat,
If you take a walk, I'll tax your feet.

Don't ask me what I want it for
If you don't want to pay some more'
Cause I'm the taxman, yeah, I'm the taxman

Now my advice for those who die
Declare the pennies on your eyes'
Cause I'm the taxman, yeah, I'm the taxman
And you're working for no one but me.

~ George Harrison, The Beatles, "Taxman," from the "Revolver" album, first recorded April 20, 1966

(Here is a takeoff on The Beatles song called "Jon Corzine: Tax Man.")

Rush on egalitarianism

There is unrest in the forest
There is trouble with the trees
For the maples want more sunlight
And the oaks ignore their pleas

The trouble with the maples (and theyre quite convinced theyre right)
They say the oaks are just too lofty
And they grab up all the light
But the oaks cant help their feelings
If they like the way theyre made
And they wonder why the maples
Cant be happy in their shade?

There is trouble in the forest
And the creatures all have fled
As the maples scream 'oppression!'
And the oaks, just shake their heads

So the maples formed a union
And demanded equal rights
The oaks are just too greedy
We will make them give us light
Now there's no more oak oppression
For they passed a noble law
And the trees are all kept equal
By hatchet,
Axe,
And saw ...

~ Neil Peart, drummer, Rush, "The Trees," off the "Hemispheres" album, released October 29, 1978

Jonathan Edwards on government

Working starts to make me wonder where
Fruits of what I do are going
He says in love and war all is fair
He's got cards he ain't showin

How much does it cost, I'll buy it
The time is all we've lost, I'll try it
And he can't even run his own life
I'll be damned if he'll run mine

~ Jonathan Edwards, folk singer, "Sunshine" (1971)