Cold War
Written by Bob (Aku Aku) Young
To the tune of Cold War, written by Tommy Shaw
Cold war, cold war, cold war
I'm tired of your psychology
To bring us to our bended knees
And if we could only talk to you
I'm sure that we could make you see
'Cause time has a way
Of bringing even bandmates down, down, down
Storm clouds are coming
I am bailing for some greener ground
I say I can be a big hit
Girls with Guns just can't miss
No matter what you say or do
I'm leaving 'cause of you
Ambition and, What If did not
Make me a star like when in Styx
So I started up Damn Yankees and
Made fun of Babe and sold back 'Styx'
But time has a way of bringing
Even waywards back, back, back
There's a storm cloud a-comin'
And it's me working behind your back
You talk talk and you get so intense
And you always make sense
And that's what scares me the most
You as the lead of this band that I love
I'll take it Denny
And give you a nice shove, it's a
Cold war-I want to lead Styx
And when you get really sick
It's going down, don't you know
Cold war-we'll wipe you off the site
And not pay you what's right 'cause it's mine!
So get ready for a
Cold war
Don't you look now
But the skinny boy is leading a band
You say that your standards are high
And that makes Styx so bright
And that you will not let us change it
Into something that ain't gonna last
You ought to reconsider
'Cause I'm coming fast with my
Cold war-I want to lead Styx
And when you get really sick
It's going down, don't you know
Cold war-we'll wipe you off the site
And not pay you what's right 'cause it's mine!
So get ready for a cold war
Looking for me? But I'll ignore every plea
And refuse contact cause it's a
Cold war-don't you look now
But the skinny boy is leading the band
Interpretation
It all started with the release of Brave New World. Tommy Shaw and James Young wanted to release the album in the summer of 1999 and immediately tour to support the album. Dennis DeYoung was suffering from a mysterious illness that baffled doctors and left him unable to tour. He also wanted more time to finish the album. The album was released that summer over Dennis' objections, and the band went on the road with Lawrence Gowan filling in for Dennis and Glen Burtnik returning to fill in for Chuck Panozzo, who had previously decided to retire. Rumors started surfacing on the Internet, interviews and on-line chats with band members revealed conflicting and changing stories. Flame wars erupted on the various Styx e-mail lists as the fans polarized over the band's internal issues. Meanwhile, the Styx tour continued without Dennis, whose health improved enough to begin a highly-acclaimed solo tour with a 50-piece orchestra. This parody is told from Tommy's point of view. It speculates that Dennis' perfectionist control of Styx led to resentment and betrayal by Tommy. The song reflects on the history of Tommy's relationship with Styx beginning with his departure after the Kilroy Was Here.
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