song for theme #28A: Hedonistic Orientation

“I Want to Live” by Stephen P. Cook

to be sung to the tune of “Ain’t We Got Fun” by Richard Whiting, Raymond Egan, Gus Kahn / Billy Jones

Every meal time, in between time

I like to eat

Jelly doughnuts, cheese and cold cuts

I like to eat

Sugar coasting¹, herbs and roasting

Make for tasty treat

Peking duck thighs, spicy Pad Thai

I like to eat

Each night or day, home or away

I like to drink

Good Scotch whiskey, makes me frisky

I like to drink

Give me fine wine, just right to dine

Let me relax not think

Turkey’s raki, Japan’s sake

I like to drink

In the meantime, in between time

Let’s use pot

Reefer madness, prolong gladness

Let’s use pot

Smoking sweet leaf, eating brownies

Munchies hot to trot

Just one more toke, silly old bloke

Let’s use pot

In the summer, in the winter

I like to rock

Music blasting, iconoclasting²

I like to rock

Rock opens doors, lets me out³

Gives me the key to the lock

Free form dancing, playful prancing

I like to rock

In the morning, in the evening

Don’t we make love?

Groping lusting, rhythmic thrusting

Don’t we make love?

Earthy creatures reach for the sky

The heavens above⁴

Heads are spinning⁵, sleep on linen

Don’t we make love?

The rest of life, sunny and bright

I want to live

At my leisure, constant pleasure

I want to live

Live for today, cares go away

For bliss what I’d give

Maximize gain, minimize pain

I want to live

SONG—NOTES / COMMENTS

1—Sugar coating here would fit and make sense, but sugar coasting = on a sugar high is more playful!

2— Iconoclasting can be thought of as the challenging of societal conventions, widely held beliefs, etc. 

3—David Bowie sings about this in his 1970s song “When You Rock and Roll With Me.”

4—Both orgasmic pleasure and intense feeling of oneness that bonding in love-making provides can lead to the type of

      transcending experience that has been likened to mystical union with God, going to Heaven, etc. 

5—Naturally high, we feel drugged—and we are. The neurochemicals (like oxytocin, serotonin, dopamine, etc) released in

      lovemaking are designed by evolution to immobilize us and improve the chances of conception / successful reproduction.

Comment: behavior associated with this theme has value as emotional armor. Many people comfort themselves when emotionally upset by indulging in treats. Whether this can truly be termed a (conscious) coping mechanism is unclear, since it may be an unconscious response that our brain—assisted by the enteric nervous system (ENS) in our gut—is instigating. After discussing  (see Part Ic) the role of dopamine in reward circuits in the brain, we note here that ENR neurons are thought to release as much dopamine (and another signaling molecule serotonin) as those in the brain. It seems signals the gut sends the brain affect our moods.