"Shake Hands With The Dragon" genre: Groove
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	When we enlightened Westerners celebrate the New Year, we get drunk and puke; in Chinatown, folks greeting the new year make up for past mistakes by shaking hands with the dragon.
	CD: : "Flippin' Wig"   Label: : Suede Mouse Records (artist independent) Credits: : words & music © 2000 by Nate Butler ¥ lead vocal: Mark Ribera
	Story Behind the Song I was in San Francisco in early 1989 during the Chinese New Year's celebration, and while attending the big annual parade there I had a life-changing experience. See, in the parade there's this big ol' dragon that sympbolizes all the mistakes and misdeeds of the past year, and he goes dancing around the crowd, and everyone in the crowd shakes hands with the dragon, as if to reconcile themselves with whatever steps they took in the previous year; then, as they shake hands woth the dragon, everyone makes a vow to live the upcoming year as virtously as they can. Well, okay, that may not be exactly what the Chinese New Year ritual is all about, but at least that's what I got out of it that night. Now then, about this song: well, what can I say? Okay, so I'm a liberal! I admit it. I wrote this song in 1990 as a challenge to then-President George Bush to ... aw hell, I don't know, do SOMETHING. I just felt at that moment that all of us could learn a little something from shaking hands with the dragon. Lyrics when I go to hell I want a wishing well New Year's Day, it's all over the nineties on a New Year's day, in the land of the dollar sign we got the big migraine from leaving yesterday behind but in Chinatown the big beast goes 'round and everything they did to bring him they put down shake hands with the dragon, New Year's Day shake hands with the dragon, if you would, hey it seems the perfect way to start a brand new day but it seems so queer to the people here as if we got the truth, because we are a superpower as if we got the proof, when we gonna face the hour? our turn to face up to the dragon, New Year's Day why don't you shake hands with the dragon, if you would, hey! and we got the chance, but we go to bed looks like we ain't gonna dance unless we take a tough stance on the Reds! (because we'd rather be dead!) facing up to what we've done is just the test and if you face that dragon, you had better come prepared to be your best when I go to hell I want a wishing well there's no complacency for spreading our democracy we got the answers for the biz, and want to show you what freedom is (huh!) but if we got solutions, why do we have such bad pollution? Georgie, while you lay their plans, you ask them how they run their land: what do they do about hunger? what do they do about farms? what do they do about the population? couldn't do no harm what do they do about drugs? what do they do about crime? what do they do about the homeless? don't you think that's it's about time, Mr. Bush? to shake hands with the dragon, New Year's Day shake hands with the dragon, if you would shake hands with the dragon, New Year's Day shake hands with the dragon, if you would!

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