MASH Lyrics

[J4L]

The series MASH was before my time, but I ahve seen reruns.  Having said that, the theme song lyrics are bizarre:

 

"Through early morning fog I see
Visions of the things to be
The pains that are withheld for me
I realize and I can see...

That suicide is painless
It brings on many changes
And I can take or leave it if I please

I try to find a way to make
All our little joys relate
Without that ever-present hate
But now I know that it's too late, and...

That suicide is painless
It brings on many changes
And I can take or leave it if I please

The game of life is hard to play
I'm gonna lose it anyway
The losing card I'll someday lay
So this is all I have to say

That suicide is painless
It brings on many changes
And I can take or leave it if I please

The only way to win is cheat
And lay it down before I'm beat
And to another give my seat
For that's the only painless feat

That suicide is painless
It brings on many changes
And I can take or leave it if I please

The sword of time will pierce our skins
It doesn't hurt when it begins
But as it works its way on in
The pain grows stronger...watch it grin, but...

That suicide is painless
It brings on many changes
And I can take or leave it if I please

A brave man once requested me
To answer questions that are key
'is it to be or not to be'
And I replied 'oh why ask me?'

'Cause suicide is painless
It brings on many changes
And I can take or leave it if I please
...and you can do the same thing if you choose"

[DogOnPorch]

 

[DogOnPorch]

 

[Dougie93]

 

[Guest]

On 7/25/2019 at 5:48 AM, J4L said:

The series MASH was before my time, but I ahve seen reruns.  Having said that, the theme song lyrics are bizarre:

 

I love the tune, but I can't listen to whole song due to the last verse being so crap.

It's not unintentional though.  From Wiki:

Suicide Is Painless is a song written by Johnny Mandel (music) and Michael Altman (lyrics). It was the theme song for both the movie and TV series M*A*S*H. Mike Altman was 14 years old when he wrote the song’s lyrics.   Director Robert Altman had two stipulations about the song for Mandel: it had to be called "Suicide Is Painless" and it had to be the "stupidest song ever written".  Altman attempted to write the lyrics himself, but upon finding it too difficult for his 45-year-old brain to write "stupid enough," he gave the task to his 14-year-old-son Michael, who wrote the lyrics in five minutes.

Edited July 28, 2019 by bcsapper

[DogOnPorch]