Anything Helps

Anything Helps. Song notes

Anything Helps was written in response to seeing so many neglected dogs, cruelty to other animals, and requests for donations for cars, in various advertisements on television. I thought, will it never end. And there were people in front of stores, people knocking on our front door, and people on the street all asking for donations. I am a very giving generous person, but the neediness, and the guilt in not providing for those causes started to create internal conflict for me. How can one walk by a homeless individual, who looks ill, and not help? Yet most people, including myself, just walk on by. There is so much need out there, and if we gave everything away, there would still be great need.

So we turn our heads, continue our conversations, change the channel, or endure the advertisement, to avoid the awfulness of those conditions.

Anything Helps is an acknowledgement of need, and about feeling worn out with it all, and the battle in one’s head whether I’ve done enough, or not.

“ANYTHING HELPS”

CARDBOARD SIGN, SHOVED IN MY FACE,

SAID I BELIEVE IN GOD, AND I, LOST MY JOB,

ANYTHING HELPS,

THREW SOME WRINKLED DOLLARS, IN THE AIR,

WENT NUMB A LONG TIME AGO,

I THOUGHT IT SHOWED I STILL CARED,

DOES ANYTHING HELP,

SAVE THE DOGS, SAVE THE KIDS,

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CALL YOUR CONGRESSMAN, VOLUNTEER,

DONATE YOUR CAR, DONATE YOUR BLOOD,

THERE’S A WAR OVERSEAS, THERE’S A WAR, … IN MY HEAD,

LATER THAT NIGHT, I WAS WATCHING TV,

A MAN CAME ON THE NEWS, AND SAID THERE’S BEEN A TRAGIC INCIDENT ON THE STREET,

THEY’RE LOOKING FOR LEADS,

A WITNESS TOOK A PICTURE AT THE SCENE OF THE CRIME,

THE PHOTO WENT VIRAL, THE PROFILE WAS MINE,

THE NEWSMAN SAID, “ HAS ANYBODY SEEN THIS GUY”

SAVE THE DOGS, SAVE THE KIDS,

CALL YOUR CONGRESSMAN, VOLUNTEER,

DONATE YOUR CAR, DONATE YOUR BLOOD,

THERE’S A WAR OVERSEAS, THERE’S A WAR, IN MY HEAD

2:00 AM, I HEARD A BANGING ON THE DOOR,

COPS YELLED LET US IN, WE THINK YOU KNOW MORE,

I TURNED MY HEADPHONE MUSIC, AS LOUD AS IT WOULD GO,

I YELLED I WASN’T THERE, I DIDN’T SEE A THING,

I GOT 100 ALIBIS, THEY ALL WORK FOR ME,

I GOT, I GOT NOTHING LEFT TO GIVE,

SAVE THE DOGS, SAVE THE KIDS,

CALL YOUR CONGRESSMAN, VOLUNTEER,

DONATE YOUR CAR, DONATE YOUR BLOOD,

THERE’S A WAR OVERSEAS, ……THERE’S A WAR,

RINGING IN MY EARS,

A VOICE I CAN BARELY HEAR,

ANYTHING HELPS, …….ANYTHING HELPS,…….ANYTHING HELPS…