Urban Art

Minimal Jim Contact

Commuting from Hillsboro to Portland via HWY. 26 with the mind numbing rush hour traffic was part of the ( should I say inspiration) for this song.

I commute by bike and train as well, but after working out there for 21 years I vividly remember crawling up over Sylvan hill to downtown Portland and sitting at the off ramp forever listening to the radio – load.. After an intense day at work, the brain nicely fried, and crispy, your just not thinking deep, it’s “get me home” and hope you can hold out for the bathroom.

One hot summer day I was on the off-ramp right after the tunnel and saw a phrase on a card board sign that keyed off the chorus for this song, not exactly the same but close enough to keep me engaged long after I left the traffic.

Lyrics

Jammed in a rush hour mess,
radio blaring as my thoughts digress.
Stop and go by the off-ramp light…
Urban art,
on the wall to my right.

In between the profane expressions;
these words stood out from the other suggestions.
———–
“I cannot believe the things I’ve seen
in the name of a man from Galilee.”
———–
Makes you think for a minute at best,
light turns and you quickly forget.
Forget the ones, that died before….
in bloody ages of religious wars.
———–
Sometimes it just appears to be,
some kind of pointless conspiracy.
Push the pills, feed the guilt and just deceive.
Dumb us down, make us numb till we concede.
———–
Jammed in a rush hour mess,
radio blaring as my thoughts digress.
Stop and go by the off ramp light…
Mind numbs,
day fades to night.

In between the profane expressions;
these words stood out from the other suggestions.
———–
“I cannot believe the things I’ve seen
in the name of a man from Galilee.”

Sometimes if you listen when you breathe,
you can feel the world
give you what you need…