Rat Race

“Langs de A12 bij Veenendaal staan al jaren een wisselend aantal Friese paarden. Als ik er langs rij op weg naar het westen groet ik ze steevast: ‘Mannenbroeders!’ als waren zij gereformeerde ouderlingen, in stemmig zwart.
Het contrast tussen de rustige geaardheid van de paarden en het jakkerende verkeer inspireerde me tot het schrijven van Rat Race. Muzikaal stond dat al een poosje, de titel hing er ook al aan, maar ik kon er geen zinnige tekst bij verzinnen zonder terug te vallen op clichés en foute collega’s. De paarden deed dat allemaal niks, en juist dat bracht me op deze vergelijking” Jeewee Donkers

“Every day for years I have passed a field with five big black Friesian horses in it. I always greet them on my way to work and back: “Brothers!” as if they were Reformed elders, dressed in moody black. The contrast between the quiet nature of the horses and the noisy traffic speeding right past their pasture inspired me to write “Rat Race.” I had the music, but I wrestled for a long time with finding the right lyrics. Then I realized: the horses had been there for ages, at least in my perception, with none of the earthly worries of the humans passing by. But me? All this time, I’ve been driving/working my ass off—for what exactly? And that was the song.”  JeeWee Donkers

Luister dit nummer op Spotify of Youtube:

Rat Race – words by JeeWee Donkers, music by Live Poets Society

Five brothers in the field
Minding their own business
On two point three acres
Deepest green

Sixty thousand cars
Rushing past the fences
On two times three lanes
Of rolling steel

The brothers don’t give a damn about the rat race
The brothers don’t give a damn about being on time
The brothers just don’t care about the deadlines
The brothers are just fine

Five brothers in the field
Peacefully together
Twenty feet
Firmly on the ground

I pass them every day
Chasing the horizon
Counting on a goal
That can’t be found

The brothers don’t give a damn about the rat race
The brothers don’t give a damn about being on time
The brothers just don’t care about the headlines
The brothers are just fine

 

JeeWee Donkers – vocals & guitars
Peter Holen – keyboards and space sounds
Ronald Voskens – drums
Martin duarte Favaro – bass
Emma Donkers – backing vocals