"I wrote this song on the ferry today" Thats fucking quality. I love it when he fucks up, its great, he has some balls to play that song live considering he only wrote it that day. Best singer songwriter ever.

i love protest songs, they really show what time people were living in

Can't believe I'm listening to this again. Dark times ahead.

i was there. it was a glorious moment.

Over a decade later, I'm waiting for part 2: "When The President (Locker Room) Talks To God"

Connor is a true poet! I LOVE Bright Eyes!

what an absolute legend!!

freedom of speech at its finest.

Absolutely amazing.

this is priceless in so many ways

thank you, thank you, thank you. BRIGHT EYES!

hahaha i downloaded this same version on limewire, witht the mess up n all, i didnt know it was the 1st time he ever performed it

i love how raw this is!amazing!

2023 checking in

i was here! it was the first time i saw him live too. amazing!

I thought this was Bob Dylan. Both men amazing. Conor Oberst is magical.

Here we go again

this is the first song i heard from him, and i fell in love... it was the exact recording of THIS show... mess ups and all =p

thank you for this

fuck yeah mr. oberst. fuck yeah.

i fucking love you conor oberst. i am a strong beleiver of this song.

You know this kid was put on a list

Yeah, he's a real human being, that's refreshing!!

cool stuff man... conor is a fuckin awesome songwriter and poet. gotta love four winds too.

this was incredible

shit... gave me chills

He kind of reminds me of Isaac Brock, lead singer of Modest Mouse. Ever heard of him? =D

I love You conor.

Bush: Best President Ever. Only because of great songs that he incites, like this'n.

thank you dannystro. couldn't have said it any better.

awesome, I'm not even all about busting on people or pointing fingers. just plain old damn good

He's a good songwriter and a good musician. I wish he wouldn't get pissed before performances.

best protest song ever

great...

you go boy

im in the army, and i like this song. i used to pound the streets every night. punk rock runs through my veins, but i am pretty sure that im not fighting this fight because i believe in the war, or why im going to a foreign country for some fucked up politicians agenda. but we are here, and im fighting because i love my country, but no matter how much training i have had, or how much indoctrination i have recieved, i still fear my government. i love my country and i am willing to die for it.

fucking love

I kinda like the one from the 9:30 club more, but I'm still glad I saw this one.

im in the army and this war is fucking a waste of time.theres other places way more important for us to spend are time,money,and resources.one of those places being are own country.conor is a fucking genius and one of the greatest song writers of our time.and it takes misses to get hits.

💪🏻💪🏻💪🏻🙌🏻💪🏻💪🏻💪🏻

hahaha gotta love the "FUCK BUSH!"

I dont know.I think it makes sense.I'm not saying its all right.I like that he sort of gave everything a different perspective,making you wonder what type of person God is.

I thank him for contributing. and ask ourselves what are we doing? Gravity holds here as we hurl through space yet we focus on our next monthly payment of some over priced house or car we don't actually need. they're keeping you busy... We can have a better existence together. please re-read Ishmael. namaste.

Sure, Oberst isn't as good as Dylan but that's no reason to knock him. This song is still crazy powerful and more intrusive than anything else out there. And the line from "It's Alright Ma" is non-comparable to this song. Dylan is saying that president is just a man, just like the rest of us - not some sort of superhuman like we all expect them to be. Oberst, on the other hand, is outright tearing the president a new one for continuously claiming that God is on his side.

Closer to Phil Ochs (Draft Dodger Rag, Here's to the State of Mississippi, I'm Not a Marchin' Anymore).

i saw him live in Portsmouth, England and he played this song with the music stand reading the lyrics from it like in this video. He also said that he had wrote the song just prior to the gig.

haha, so good.

there's one that someone titled "when george bush talks to god." it's the same performance, just titled dumb.

Is this ULU in London ? If so, I was at this gig - the first time I saw him play.

Sorry, gotta chime in again, even though everyone has said this -- To my knowledge (and I have every one of his albums, singles, EPs, and compilations) he has never sung a song about cutting. Believe me, I would recognize a song about cutting, and there are a lot of them.

is he the new of bob dylan???? he is bright!!

not only do i hate bush. but i love conor obersts music and i love this fricking song! what a genius!

Anyone who doesn't think Conor is this generation's Bob Dylan-clearly isn't listening.

uhh so clicking the link, watching the video, means you were forced?

Also, what songs have you listened to that are good solid political criticisms? (I'm not being argumentative by the way, I'm just curious, because I like to listen to music that has some sort of meaning).

lol i like how he fucked up and it was all chill by the fans that was badass!!!

what's that?

@MultiMAUU lol nice play on words;)

I don't get why some people bother to leave negative comments on something they don't like. Surely, it would be better to leave positive comments on things they do. Perhaps they all have imaginary Gods too!

fuck i know, i just wanted to find it again and couldnt

I'm sorry you're so angry, but music is not meant to influence or create feelings, but to identify ones that already exist and make you feel comfortable with them. Even if you don't believe that, I hope you can agree that Conor is a great songwriter, and we haven't seen a songwriter like this in decades. Also, Conor has written a very wide variety of songs, and people misunderstand the ones that aren't like First Day of My Life.

Or, It's the case they can't appreciate ascetic value. It's obvious this song doesn't address matters of fact, but is interesting none the less.

@glowingcactus I hate to say it, but look up the Balefore agreements back in the early 1900's and you'll learn testaments as to how the states inherited britains problems and why our friends are out there in the field shooting and being shot at. its all just a shame, but what has to be done has to be done. I dont know what would happen if we werent over sea's, but i do know its a lose lose situation.

i like the guy who screams fuck bush randomly? :D

He sounded nervous

Hmm...I thought the sound was okay and I kinda get their angle, but I had some problems with it's message: 1) I didn't really get who they were saying needed to take the power back...were they talking about the students? Wouldn't they have to have had the power at some point in order to take it back? 2) I didn't really like how they blamed the school system for mass ignorance. The reality is that there will always be a majority of folks who don't know how to think for themselves...

excellent command of the language...simpleton

he is so nervous

@burnintrees420 Dude the word you're looking for is "our", not "are". Take a chill pill.

Pretty much anything by Rage Against the Machine.

I don't particularly like that about him. He does it more when he doesn't have a decent melody to work or is unsure about it. For instance, here is a newly written song he hasn't completely found the melody yet, so he let's the so called passion come through a lot more.

20 people need to go to see an ear doctor

@burnintrees420 : conor > barack + george...it's that simple...the politicians have their own interests in mind...we've got to pull the political system back into the realm of reality...debt needs to be reduced...these stupid wars need to be stopped...(esp., iraq was a mistake -- THERE WERE NO WMD...HELLO???)...

Ah, I see. Well, when you said "Tune into BBC and educate yourself you fucking moron," I did not understand that you were talking about the previous commentator; I thought you were saying that Oberst needed to educate himself. The song: I think you would need a much longer song to truly address an issue. It would need to be more of a speech than a barely three minute diddly. Personally, I like this song because I think the lyrics and theme are very cleverly put together.

exactly my impression. He fucked that shit up! Eloquence in anger and disgust, bravo!

why the fuck are people talking about abortion with this video thats not what this movies about

lol

Wow. You sound like you "know" something about world affairs. I listen to BBC and NPR and I don't know why you would think that this song is uneducated. If you would like for me to lay out the reasons that Bush was a bad president, I could do it for you.

maybe it is pointless to you man. but you DEFINITELY dont have the guts to join, and stand up for something. im not gonna knock you down, but you should be thankful that people like me exist. im defending your right to say these stupid things on youtube, and defending your rights as a citizen of these beautiful united states. i am not in denial son, im just crazy enough to risk my life for individuals like yourself. youre welcome.

@burnintrees420 you need to brush up on your grammar. its OUR. not are.

popularity decides skill? lololololololollol

"crowd pleaser"? Ever think he might just want to incorperate how he feels about the world into his music? If he is very political then no doubt it will show in his art... turd

idk bout all that paper planes > lime tree just sayin, why so bland - keep listening.

you guys are mostly real gay

This is such a bad song, Conor Oberst wishes he could be Dylan but fails so badly. Listen to the song It's Alright Ma (I'm only bleeding) Conor wishes his songs were that good. The one line Dylan delivers about the president is so much more powerful then this whole song. "But even the president of the United States sometimes must have to stand naked."

I can agree that this is one of the worst I've heard. I simply roll my eyes when I hear this kind of blatant political bashing. Isn't this type of back-and-forth insulting what has tired us out. Why write an obvious crowd pleaser. Is Conor an artist or a politician? Maybe he is like Bono after all.

I made a challenge with my gf to write up a list of 'The 10 Worst Songs Ever Written.' This song topped my list. It even beat out Heino, a beautiful German country singer whose songs are rather vomit inducing. Thanks for making choice of number 1 spot pretty much a no brainer, Conor, and enjoy the money stupid little punk girls pay you from the big money chest their daddies have for them while they revolt before joining daddy's business.

this is one of conors worst songs

I don't particularly like that about him. He does it more when he doesn't have a decent melody to work or is unsure about it. For instance, here is a newly written song he hasn't completely found the melody yet, so he let's the so called passion come through a lot more.

@burnintrees420 : conor > barack + george...it's that simple...the politicians have their own interests in mind...we've got to pull the political system back into the realm of reality...debt needs to be reduced...these stupid wars need to be stopped...(esp., iraq was a mistake -- THERE WERE NO WMD...HELLO???)...

I can agree that this is one of the worst I've heard. I simply roll my eyes when I hear this kind of blatant political bashing. Isn't this type of back-and-forth insulting what has tired us out. Why write an obvious crowd pleaser. Is Conor an artist or a politician? Maybe he is like Bono after all.