Story Behind The Song

This is a documentary rock song about what passed for corruption in Madison, Wisconsin in the 1980s & 90s, when a notorious coke bar flourished while minorities were imprisoned for smoking crack.

Song Description

A rocking 8-bar blues with a cool chromatic bridge.

Lyrics

Jocko's Rocket Ship

Take a little trip
Down to Jocko's Rocket Ship
If they know who you are,
You can get it at the bar
Down at the Ship'
The Ship that's hip

Put out that fire
Then you want to get a little higher
When it's party time
Follow those little white lines
Down to the Ship
The Ship that's hip

Br. Hey Festus how's the barbecue?
Don't tell me that's been stepped on too.
The straws are shorter than an ant's tentpole
I think I know what they're using them for

A real good time can be so hard to find
But it was never a bummer when it was snowing in the summer
Down at Jocko's Rocket Ship

Boot was the "Bluto" of Sigma Chi
The "Good Time Charlie," who kept the brothers high
When he dropped out of school
He did his business from a stool
Down at Jocko's Rocket Ship

South Side, they went to jail for crack
But somebody had old Jocko's back
Cause for 20 years it was clear
Boot was selling more than beer
Down at Jocko's Rocket Ship

Don't need a train
Don't need a plane
Down at Jocko's you'll be flying just the
same
Get hip and take that crazy trip
Take a little whiff, get a little stiff
At Jocko's Rocket Ship


Br: Take a whiff, take a whiff on me
Just don't let anybody see
Too many know what's going on behind these doors
So many empty bindles on the bathroom floor

"Untouchable, nothing to fear
We got the power brokers snorting up in here"
But all those connections
Couldn't provide protection
For Jocko's Rocket Ship

Look out for that new bartender
He might just be a game-ender
Cause the dealers still left a share
Of what they cut downstairs
At Jocko's Rocket Ship

They took down the bar and nine small dealers
Another Drug War victory for the true believers
The shepherds may change,
But the sheep remain the same
It's just that kind of game

Br. Take a whiff, take a whiff on me
C'mon Baby take a whiff for free
It's all over here don't you see,
We'll have a new spot before you can count to three

(It was) fun while it lasted,
Politicians, lawyers, TV anchors got blasted
If they knew who you were, you could get it for sure
Down at Jocko's Rocket Ship

It was a Gilman Street dive, but it came alive at 5,
Talking Jocko's Rocket Ship

A strange place to meet, for the city's elite,
But that was Jocko's Rocket Ship

If you gave them the look, you could get a "matchbook"
Down at Jocko's Rocket Ship