Bite Back

Not very long ago, America introduced Pepsi to the Soviet Union
(You can have it, you can have it, right now)
(You can have it, you can have it, right now)
And while it may be just a coincidence, a lot of refreshing changes have taken place, ever since
(It makes your advertising dreams come true!)
Pepsi. A generation ahead

But can they really get inside my head?
As long as you keep an open mind

Here they all are
Here they all are
Here they all are
Here they all are
We want soaps and cigarettes
We want Kleenex and Kotex
We want cake mixes and candy
We want Sunkist and Gold
We want cereals and soft drinks
We want Tony and Clairol
We want frozen pies and shave creams
We want Contact and Dial
We want laxatives and beers
We want Kool-Aid and Clear
Toothpastes and margarines and fruit juices
We want Hallmark cards (Here they all are)
We want delusions, the pet booths
The shampoos and hair dyes (Here they all are)
We want puddings, margarines, cake mixes (Don't!)
All of which are preferred over all others

We do have the possibility of stopping this, and as I said the word "stopping" I realize that's it
You know, if there's any message in my book, it's...
Can I finish my point?
Yeah, please go ahead
We're fat, we're overfed. Stop building cars, stop buying cars. Eliminate wars, we don't need the daily newspaper seven or eight times every day
(We want headache remedies in their tins)
We don't need the daily newspaper seven or eight times every day
(Laxatives in their bottles)
Seven or eight times every day
(Don't fuck with me, fellas!)
Seven or eight times every day
We can control the corporations, all we have to do is stop buying what it is they're selling
(Shave creams, toothpastes and cigarettes)
(Don't fuck with me, fellas!)
(Put in the cereals too)
It's very simple, I mean, actually they need us, there's this whole campaign going on that they're somehow fulfilling a need of ours
(Don't fuck with me, fellas!)
And they're not

He is a beleaguered consumer
A confused consumer, (We want)
Battered by television, (We want beautiful teeth)
Assailed by print, (We want good clothes)
Assaulted by radio. (Don't fuck with me, fellas!)
(We want people to like us.)
They're just ripping off everybody
(So you're philosophical?)
So -- this is my story -- what would happen if, like, fifty percent of people in this country just said, no! We don't need new cars, we don't need to go to wars, we don't need your newspapers, your cigarettes, your coffee, you know, your Coca-Colas, your...
(Don't fuck with me, fellas!)
We just ain't gonna do it no more
(We do not want to smell bad.)
We just ain't gonna do it no more
(We do not want to be ugly.)
We just ain't gonna do it no more
(We want money.)
(Don't fuck with me, fellas!)

And if all the real, spiritual, religious leaders of this country, that's really what we gotta do
(So you're philosophical?)
Bite back! Bite back!
(Don't fuck with me, fellas!)
Bite back!
The only thing that's gonna solve the problem is to actually stop what it is that's causing it
We can control the corporations, all we have to do is stop buying what it is they're selling
Bite back! (Don't fuck with me, fellas!)
The only thing that's gonna solve the problem is to actually stop what it is that's causing it
Bite back! (Don't fuck with me, fellas!)
(Right now! Right now!)
Thirty million dollars a day, spent in a desperate attempt to buy brands of vivid space in the memory box of the consumer
(You can have it, you can have it, right now)
(Don't fuck with me, fellas!)
(So you're philosophical?)
(Don't fuck with me, fellas!)
This is the restless American economy
(Don't fuck with me, fellas!)
It is also economic liberty, and once economic liberty is abridged or destroyed, all other liberty is abridged or destroyed. Power over a man's subsistence, said Alexander Hamilton, is power over his will
Bite back!

A-A-and, it's like an intellectual game, to continually ask what the solution is. When you're not willing to put it into respect, you're really not--
Scary. It's very frightening
That's what my dad'd call real truth in advertising
(Don't fuck with me, fellas!)
We have never seen such a thing happen. Instead, the campaign continues to flourish, like a great tree spreading its branches and reaching to the sun. And year after year, rich and fruitful seeds continue to sift down to the earth, in new sales and customers
(Don't fuck with me, fellas!)

So, you're philosophical?
Well, like we say, if you can't lick 'em--
Join 'em
Put 'em on with a big piece of tape is what we say
Oh
Yeah, that's okay
That's fine, yeah