Everybody's Free (to wear sunscreen) Mix
Song Lyrics:
Lee Perry -
Ladies and gentleman of the Class of '97.
Wear sunscreen.
If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long-term
benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no
basis more reliable than my own meandering experience. I will dispense this advice now.
*backing music begins*
Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Oh, never mind. You will not understand the
power and beauty of your youth until they've faded. But trust me, in 20 years, you'll look
back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much possibility
lay before you and how fabulous you really looked. You are not as fat as you imagine.
Don't worry about the future. Or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying
to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum. The real troubles in your life are apt
to be things that never crossed your worried mind, the kind that blindside you at 4pm on
some idle Tuesday.
Do one thing every day that scares you.
Sing.
Don't be reckless with other people's hearts. Don't put up with people who are reckless
with yours.
Floss.
Don't waste your time on jealousy. Sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind. The
race is long and, in the end, it's only with yourself.
Remember compliments you receive. Forget the insults. If you succeed in doing this, tell
me how.
Keep your old love letters. Throw away your old bank statements.
Stretch.
Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life. The most
interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives. Some
of the most interesting 40-year-olds I know still don't.
Get plenty of calcium. Be kind to your knees. You'll miss them when they're gone.
Maybe you'll marry, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll have children, maybe you won't. Maybe
you'll divorce at 40, maybe you'll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding
anniversary. Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much, or berate yourself
either. Your choices are half chance. So are everybody else's.
Enjoy your body. Use it every way you can. Don't be afraid of it or of what other people
think of it. It's the greatest instrument you'll ever own.
Dance, even if you have nowhere to do it but in your living room.
Read the directions, even if you don't follow them.
Do not read beauty magazines. They will only make you feel ugly.
Quindon Tarver -
Brother and sister together will make it through,
Someday a spirit will take you and guide you there.
I know you've been hurting but I've been waiting to be there for you,
And I'll be there just helping you our whenever I can.
Lee Perry -
Get to know your parents. You never know when they'll be gone for good. Be nice to your
siblings. They're your best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you
in the future.
Understand that friends come and go, but with a precious few you should hold on. Work hard
to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle, because the older you get, the more you
need the people who knew you when you were young.
Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard. Live in Northern
California once, but leave before it makes you soft.
Travel.
Accept certain inalienable truths: Prices will rise. Politicians will philander. You, too,
will get old. And when you do, you'll fantasise that when you were young, prices were
reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders.
Respect your elders.
Don't expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund. Maybe you'll have a
wealthy spouse. But you never know when either one might run out.
Don't mess too much with your hair or by the time you're 40 it will look 85.
Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form
of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off,
painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's worth.
But trust me on the sunscreen.
Quindon Tarver -
Brother and sister together will make it through,
Someday a spirit will take you and guide you there.
I know you've been hurting but I've been waiting to be there for you,
And I'll be there just helping you our whenever I can.
Everybody's free,
Everybody's free to feel good.