"8. On the Fritz--Steve Taylor"
Sure enough, more Steve Taylor. Technically, she didn't know the song yet, but "On the Fritz" was an ominous title in itself and "This Disco" had been quite the humdinger.
He wished to right the wrongs / He sang religious songs / He kept the private he / Under a lock and key / Heat keeps rising in an age of passion / Shakes a conscience to the core / Stopgap, hand-slap, take a tongue-lashin' / My poor soul can't take any more
On the fritz / On the fritz / There he sits / On the fritz
He kept his ego there / It was a sad affair / The inner circle knows / And so the story goes / On the fritz / Airborne rumors chip away the image / But you knew the stakes were high / First they get you thinkin' you're a prophet / Now they've got you living a lie
...
So the crowds grew and the praise did too / And a mailing list sent you money / So they love Jerry Lewis in France / Does that make him funny? / It's too late for apologies when trust has been betrayed / Now victims of your double life are naming names
He kept his ego there / It was a sad affair / On the fritz / The public's had enough / They've come to call your bluff / On the fritz / Small talk breeds where kingdoms come crashin' / Rumor conquers where it wills / No one hears you, go ahead and cash in / If you don't die to yourself, pride kills...
Yes indeed, she had guessed correctly. The chorus was even punctuated with notes reminiscent of a lightning strike. He had definitely used this one to vent. The now-creepy visage of Jim Jones came to mind and his spirit--or rather, the one that he had carried--seemed to waft among the rafters of churches across the nation like poisonous gas, pouring out of pastors' mouths and seeping into the ears of sleepy congregants. Would the next track show her the results this climate produced?