Janis Joplin - Mercedes Benz - 1971

Oh lord, wont you buy me a mercedes benz ?
My friends all drive porsches, I must make amends.
Worked hard all my lifetime, no help from my friends,
So lord, wont you buy me a mercedes benz ?

Oh lord, wont you buy me a color tv ?
Dialing for dollars is trying to find me.
I wait for delivery each day until three,
So oh lord, wont you buy me a color tv ?

Oh lord, wont you buy me a night on the town ?
Im counting on you, lord, please dont let me down.
Prove that you love me and buy the next round,
Oh lord, wont you buy me a night on the town ?

Everybody!
Oh lord, wont you buy me a mercedes benz ?
My friends all drive porsches, I must make amends,
Worked hard all my lifetime, no help from my friends,
So oh lord, wont you buy me a mercedes benz ?

Thats it!

This loud a capella song by Janis Joplin is indicative of the "meta-materialistic" values so explicitly expressed by the hippie-movement and transmitted to the ecological and green movement. The sarcasm of consumerist desires is overwhelming. It also contains an underlining criticism of the religious approval of individual accumulation of material wealth as an indication of God's favor or grace. According to wikipedia:

Joplin wrote "Mercedes Benz" together with the poet Michael McClure and Bob Neuwirth, as a social commentary on how people relate happiness to money and material possessions

.
McClure's beat poetry is known as heavily infused with an awareness of nature, especially in the animal consciousness that often lies dormant in mankind. McClure has since published eight books of plays and four collections of essays, including essays on Bob Dylan and the environment. On the 14th January 1967, McClure read at the famous Human Be-In event in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco and transcended his Beat label to become an important member of the Sixties Hippie counterculture. McClure was a close friend of Doors lead singer Jim Morrison and is generally acknowledged as having been responsible for promoting Morrison as a poet. To this day, McClure still performs spoken word poetry concerts with Doors keyboard player Ray Manzarek and they have released several CDs of their work.
"Mercedes Benz" was recorded on October 1, 1970, and was the last song Joplin ever recorded; she died on October 4th.

you can hear this song in youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XlTxc1CjD8