We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

Last Train Out of Babylon (Act 1)

by MISSION 66

supported by
niklas borjesson
niklas borjesson thumbnail
niklas borjesson taking our class break to happily to support your project Dr. Long! thank you for sharing this with us students especially. Favorite track: 1960.
/
  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $4 USD  or more

     

1.
TEN THOUSAND FANS CAN'T BE WRONG The devil’s at the wheel of a big black Buick The beast is asleep in the big back seat The light from the dash throws a shadow on the window As the devil sucks the juices from the tender young meat A cigarette smolders in an open ashtray The air in the car is stale and dry There’s a woman on the floorboard with a bottle in her hand There’s a snake in the road, a fell moon in the sky I think I saw his face before On the cover of a Rolling Stone magazine His face was tan, his hands were red His eyes were green . . . . Ten thousand fans can’t be wrong Ten thousand fans can’t be wrong The reporters all armed with their cameras and their clipboards Satan steps from the automobile Donald Trump announces via satellite We finally find a way to strike up a deal Deep downtown at the convention center The backstage men mop the blood from the floor The false prophet ties up loose ends in the lobby The harlot listens in from the ladies’ room door I think I saw his face before On the CBS news in El Salvador His face was tan, his hands were red His eyes were green . . . . Ten thousand fans can’t be wrong Ten thousand fans can’t be wrong He wants one world vision and one world center One new age church, one melody He wants to overthrow the powers, the priests, and politicians And hang the troublemakers on cable t.v. Somebody said it was Jesus Somebody said it was the Buddha I think I’m gonna be sick . . . . Ten thousand fans can’t be wrong Ten thousand fans can’t be wrong © 1993 Charles Bradford & Todd R. Long All Rights Reserved
2.
VIA SATELLITE Via via satellite Via via satellite Via via satellite There will be a show tonight Via via satellite There will be a show tonight Via via satellite There will be a show tonight Come what may, come what might There will be a show tonight Come what may, come what might There will be a show tonight Via via satellite via via satellite Come what may, come what might There will be a show tonight Won’t you wait and see Turn on your t.v. Won’t you watch with me . . . . Via via satellite There will be a show tonight Via via satellite There will be a show tonight On your screen, in your heart This is where the shooting starts Won’t you wait and see Turn on your t.v. Via via satellite Come what may come what might There will be a show tonight Won’t you wait and see Turn on your t.v. Won’t you watch with me . . . . © 1993 Charles Bradford & Todd R. Long All Rights Reserved
3.
ORCHESTRA PIT In the new world order There will be no death You shall not surely die You will be as gods One world government One world religion One world vision One world hope One world peace . . . . This way . . . . © 1993 Todd R. Long & Charles Bradford All Rights Reserved
4.
Drive 02:38
DRIVE Eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one Well, the engine was running But the show wasn’t over So I tapped you on the shoulder And I told you to move over Move over and drive Green dial, red taillights Hot static, radio No one to tune into Except for maybe, just maybe . . . Move over and drive Drive . . . Black clouds seal the sky off From the stars and the moonlight So we’re here under the mercy Of the V8 and the headlights Move over and drive Like a rocket in the midnight Like a comet burning so bright Like a diamond star cruiser Like a Mississippi state trouper Move over and drive © 1993 Charles Bradford & Todd R. Long All Rights Reserved
5.
1960 04:00
1960 We drove like hell to the university To talk to a professor of philosophy Famed author in deconstruction and etymology Who was speaking on the resurgence of theosophy We asked him what could all this terror mean He pointed to his television screen As the spirits bet who could consume the most The professor raised his glass to propose a toast He said, “This is a spiritual awakening.” He’d been looking for it since 1960 The science tower tall, stark, and ominous Like a savior it drew us to its breast As the scientist sucked on his cigarettes The radio announced the daily deaths We asked him what are we to make of this Said he was dying to get to where the action is To remove the masks of “all of those counterfeits” Who had “sunk into the paranormal pit” He smiled at the thought of making history He’d been waiting for his chance since 1960 Where do we go, what do we do? Who has an answer, which one is true? Which turn is right, which turn is wrong? What is the tune, who knows the song? Dr. Childeed, the surgeon of the century In the makeup room with blush on his cheek Prepared for his fifteen minute spotlight The first surgery of its kind on t.v. He said, “Boys, boys, I don’t have time for you I’m on in six minutes, sit down, enjoy the view”. As the pregnant mother held tightly to her rights The doctor wrestled with the fetus, held it up to the lights He cried, “Peoples of the world, we’ve just made history I’ve been hoping for this day since 1960”. Where do we go, what do we do? Who has an answer, which one is true? Which turn is right, which turn is wrong? What is the tune, who knows the song? The spiritualist, mad-stricken, in a strange voice he sings At a séance proposed by presidents and kings He started his career reading palms, went on to bigger things Like cosmic consciousness, astral travel, and spirit channeling He leaned back and vomited a prophecy A stinking form appeared and it began to speak The governors shrank, the politicians ran To flee the terror they had conjured up to man It said, “I am the ruler of the earth and sea; I’ve been waiting for this night since the dawn of history”. © 1993 Todd R. Long & Charles Bradford All Rights Reserved

about

*Last Train Out of Babylon (Act 1)* is a narrative album of rock and roll songs written, recorded, and produced by MISSION 66 (Charles Bradford & Todd R. Long). Using apocalyptic imagery and biblical allusions as metaphors for the moral and spiritual transformation of two American men from youth toward adult maturity, the album ostensibly chronicles their thoughts and actions as they encounter personified evil in a world that sees wickedness as good. In this EP (Act 1), as diabolical confusion erupts in concrete ways, the two young men flee in fear before seeking guidance for how to respond.

After sitting in storage for 23 years, and after many requests from friends and fans, we are pleased finally to release this EP comprising some of the songs we spent much of our young adulthood composing and playing live in shows around the American South. We're happy to report that the story will reach its completion in the forthcoming *Last Train Out of Babylon (Act 2)*, which is scheduled for release in 2017. Stay tuned: MISSION 66 is back!

credits

released October 10, 2016

All songs written by Charles Bradford & Todd R. Long
Produced by Todd Long & Charles Bradford
Musicians: Charles Bradford, Todd Long, Brian Mulhearn
Recorded & Mixed at LongSongs in Vicksburg & Jackson, Mississippi, 1991-93; Remastered 2016

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

MISSION 66 Vicksburg, Mississippi

MISSION 66 is a long-term art project by Charles Bradford and Todd R. Long. Comprising rock and roll, poetry, visual arts, and video, MISSION 66 expresses by alluring artistic means the moral transformation in two friends over a lifetime.

contact / help

Contact MISSION 66

Streaming and
Download help

Report this album or account

MISSION 66 recommends:

If you like MISSION 66, you may also like: