Lyrics: I took three days to drive down one street The radio on, tuned to the big fleet Invisible planes are cracking the concrete That's just what some people say
I put down my blanket on Cigarette Butt Beach I saw the old man, he was doing OK He's making his last stand On old bottles and cans 'Round there, Calistan way
Used to be sixteen lanes Used to be Nuevo Spain Used to be Juan Wayne Used to be Mexico Used to be Navajo Used to be yippy-ay-I-don't know
Went in from the weather when I got wheezy I play some pachinko I play pachisi And St. Anne is still making it breezy In the valley of tar that once was L.A.
And my best friend he's the king of karaoke He struck up a chord and he took it away Out of the pan And into Japan 'Round there, Calistan way
Used to be sixteen lanes Used to be Juan Wayne Used to Mexican Used to be Espano Nuevo Used to Navajo Used to be yippie-ay-I-don't know
Notes: - An alternate rendition exists with only Frank Black on vocals and Eric Drew Feldman on keyboard
Quotes: "And through the layers of California, from pre-Navajo (as the Spaniards said) all the way to a time found somewhere between now and Blade Runner." - Frank Black, from the Teenager press kit.
"My Calistan, playing on the whole 'Stan' suffix, you know, Turkistan, Afghanistan; this is 'california-stan', which sounds a little silly, so Calistan. It sorta takes us into the future sometime between now and bladerunner." - Frank Black, Glr Radio interview, May 18, 1994
