But What the Hell…

Hello Cruel World

Hello cruel world so this is you
A broken heart a withered view
I'm looking out to face another day

The angry mob, the happy mass
This birthday cake may be the last
I'm looking out to find another way

Norman Rockwell colors fade
All my favorite things have changed
What the hell,
Hello cruel world

I thought I heard an opera star
Who had no home under the stars
She sang and sang and sang the night away

And mother nature changed her name
She doesn't want to play the game
I don't believe she'll ever be the same

So big brother never came
Howdy-Doodie gets the blame
But what the hell
Hello cruel world

Bad and beautiful and strange
Monkeys dancing in a cage
But what the hell
Hello cruel world

Venus de Milo grew an arm
And old McDonald bought the farm
Say goodbye
Hello cruel world

Norman Rockwell colors fade
All my favorite things have changed
But what the hell, hello cruel world

Bad and beautiful and strange
Monkeys dancing in a cage
But what the hell
Hello cruel world

Say goodbye, hello cruel world

But what the hell
Hello cruel world
Hello hello
Ooooh ooooh
Hello cruel world

Sometimes you hear something that hits you deep and never goes away.

I first heard this song in the early days of the 90’s on the (then new) 107.7 the End. It was a different sound than what was playing at the time; soft yet powerful compared to the likes of what was big then… and I was hooked. But I never really thought about why it connected with me. It took a conversation years later I had with an admitted nihilist to realize why it had deep meaning with me.

(Out of respect and courtesy I will not mention names.)

We were out one night having a couple drinks and picking each other’s minds about our personal philosophies. I thought I was cynical, but she easily trumped me. She actively hopes for humanity’s demise. ‘Let the animals have it all’ is her belief. Me, while I despise a LOT of what humanity does to itself, other species, and the world in general, I see occasional flashes where I can see our potential. And seeing that, I know hope. (While she vehemently disagrees with me, we understand each other’s views and don’t let it get in the way of friendship.) Realizing this about myself lets me understand why I love this song.

It comes down to two reasons. Reason one deals with the narrator’s reaction to the events in the song. When he first starts to witness all that’s going around him, he expresses disbelief. (‘What the hell?’) But also in the song, he says that despite this, he will keep going, to find better (‘I’m looking out to find another way’); and while not liking what he sees, he accepts it as part of the journey. (‘But what the hell, hello cruel world.’)

The second part is a line repeated twice in the song; a line that perfectly describes how I feel about humanity:

‘Bad and beautiful and strange.’

I have used a variation of this line before when talking about why I feel we have redeeming qualities as a species. Are we broken? Most likely… but are we irreparable? No, we just have to get over our inherent stupidity to realize what we can truly be.

PS- I would be remiss not to mention the artist of this song. It is from the album ‘A Man Called E’ by- err- A man called ‘E’. I highly recommend this album as well as others he has done with his band, The Eels. They are deceptively easy listening that will make you think after the last note has played…

PPS- When looking for copies of the lyrics to this song, I found out they are listed two ways: the way I have them here, and a way where ‘Bad and beautiful and strange’ is instead ‘Fat and beautiful and strange.’ As you can guess, I prefer the first version, and so that is what I will continue to sing it (badly) as…