For there were many things I didn’t know
And daddy always smiled and took me by the hand
Saying, someday you’ll understand
Well, I’m here to tell you now, each and every mother’s son
That you better learn it fast, you better learn it young
‘Cause someday never comes
The sweet parade the morning brings
The drifters wearing angel wings
The hard distorted hymns they sing
So sad the night is over
Sometimes they were comedic— or relentlessly horrifying
They were the foes of society, whether fighting the local sheriff, or a secret agent
Frequently they mirrored our times: the gangster villains which rival real newspaper headlines of the present day
Collectively, they are the components which have fueled nightmares for decades to come
The villains
Chewed into shape like a stone on the shore
But if there was lightning in me
You’d know who it was for