It was summertime in the city
& the evening air
was luminous
electric
blue
when Eddy he
stepped out on Brain Street
in his brand new steppin’ shoes.
You take one look at Eddy
& you just gotta know
that neon moves
in that man’s blood –
his eyes
flash that slow neon flash
& his slicked back blond hair
glows pink & blue
when them candy stripes
ripple ‘cross his
light-weight
shantung silk suit
imported all the way
from Hong Kong.
Man Alive,
a feelin’ so good
just can’t be wrong!

So Eddy’s hand flips car keys,
spare change, while
car horns & saxophones
cry inside his reptile brain
stained with an inner light
that shines all the way down
from the beginning of the world,
the beginning of time
so fine, so right,
so tight,
so tuned into Eddy’s delight
to be out & about
on such a fine summer night,
the streetcar goin’
clickety-clack in the dry heat,
& the sweet wild music
flowin’ right down Brain Street
so that Eddy’s just got to
pick up the beat
starts with the feet
moves up through the calves,
thighs, hips, stomach, arms,
neck & head
makin’ Eddy realize . . .
 
This can’t be necessity & it can’t be merely chance,
this must be what they call the Evolutionary Dance,
moving forward – then slidin’ back,
always on that same ol’ Evolutionary Track.

‘Cause you know Eddy was there
to see the clouds of yellow dust
& the blue waters risin’ up.
He was there when the dirt took form
& the flowers & the grass were born.
He was there to see the flying insects
take up the burden of consciousness.
He was there when the animals
crawled up out of the sea
or drifted down from outer space
(wherever the hell they came from)
some of them
working their teeth into points,
some gettin’ hard shells,
soft guts, sharp eyes,
big ears –
some yellin’ loud
& some sheddin’ tears,
some learnin’ how to get heavy,
some how to travel light –
everybody makin’ mistakes
then trying to get it right.

Movin’ forward – then slidin’ back,
always on that same ol’ Evolutionary Track.

Yes indeed! Eddy was there to see
the big cats & baboons
take their prey apart,
start to analyze things,
let their thoughts take wing,
or grow roots – you know how words are.
He was there to watch
the first kid learn to walk.
Hell, he taught that kid
how to talk, steal fire, dig roots,
invent the plough
& learn how to shoot.
Shit, he taught him
how to dress up,
get down,
cut hair & stitch tattoos,
taught him how to
carve a tooth, get some
animal tails, bones, feathers & feet
& set up a little jewelry booth
right down on Brain Street.

This can’t just be necessity & it can’t be merely chance,
this must be what they call the Evolutionary Dance.

Act like a heavy – but travel light,
make a mistake, then try to get it right,
movin’ forward – then slidin’ back,
always on that same ol’ Evolutionary Track.

‘Cause if anybody knows,
Eddy knows,
If you want to dance down Brain Street
you can’t be slow.
If you want to get things done,
you got to put in the time,
you got to get down to business,
got to read the signs,
you got to do the head work,
the grunt-work, the bone, stone,
gold & iron-work.
If you’re gonna start a city,
start a bank,
if you wanta jump in your car
& fill up the tank,
you got to tame the waters,
flip the switch,
turn on the lights
all up & down the strip.
You got to learn the alphabet,
sign on the dotted line,
you got to get up, get dressed,
invent the printing press.
Not only that, you got to figure out
TV, Radar, X Rays,
moon shots & bank machines.
You got to write comic books
self-help tracts & muscle magazines.
Hell, you got to get yourself together,
make a movie of your life,
you got to take yourself a lover,
never mind a wife.
You got to start a war,
got to end one too.
You got to walk down Brain Street
in your brand new steppin’ shoes.

‘Cause this can’t be necessity & it can’t be merely chance,
this must be what they call the Evolution of the Dance.
Yes indeed! Rushin’ forward & fallin’ back,
Eddy’s always on that same ol’ Evolutionary Track.

He’s a travellin’ man;
he’s a live wire.
Eddy he’s a joker
& his head’s on fire.
Hell, Eddy’s been comin’ down
that evolutionary track,
low road, highway,
turn-around & switch back,
for so long & so fast,
that if you did happen
to look on back,
all you’d see
is a smear of flash blue light,
aimed right down at the very centre
of Saturday Night,
which is,
if you really think about it,
a concept situated at the very apex
& culmination of the evolution
of the body & the brain
Saturday Night –
just another name for our dream . . .
Let your mind take flight!

Big city concrete & bright bright lights.
Make a mistake, then you just got to try to get it right.
This can’t be just necessity & it can’t just be chance,
this must be what they call the Evolutionary Dance.

Getting’ heavy –  walkin’ light,
make a mistake then try to get it right,
Rushin’ forward – slidin’ back,
always on that same ol’ Evolutionary Track.