5/7/09: The Escorts “Disrespect Can Wreck” (1973)

Some entries at RightWingTrash have been salvage operations. We’ve printed the lyrics of a few forgotten songs that just weren’t showing up on search engines. Here’s an example. “Disrespect Can Wreck” is another one that we’ve been meaning to write up for a while. The Escorts are almost forgotten as the biggest R&B act to ever record their songs from Rahway State Prison in New Jersey. The group (understandably) had a rotating line-up, and “Disrespect Can Wreck” has somehow become a neglected classic.

It’s a funky and moralistic tune from a time when black men could talk about disrespect without making a reference to organized crime. (Nowadays, it makes plenty of sense to hear Al Sharpton use the word.) “Disrespect Can Wreck” is a great song, but nobody’s ever printed the lyrics online. We can understand why. The transcribing is a daunting task. We’re still sure that we got every line right, except for one that we just left out. That’s the final line before the theatrical business at the end—which we’ve also carefully documented:

    When I think back when I was a child
    Very rarely did I smile
    I used to think it was a disgrace
    How my life and times seemed like a waste
    Wished that I could change and be like him
    Because I never never knew, never knew nothing about my kin

    Living like rats
    With garbage piled high
    Didn’t make much sense

         Disrespect
         Sure can wreck
         (Sure it can, it really can, you know it can, it really can)

    I think about the cops
    And that man that owned the store
    Treated me like that I was uneducated and poor
    Used to make me cry sometimes
    When I thought nothing in this world was mine

    Shoes didn’t fit
    Clothes looked bad
    What could I do? That was all I had

    It took a long time to think things through
    But I finally realized what I had to do
    My values were wrong
    I had to straighten them out…

         Disrespect
         Sure can wreck
         (Sure it can, it really can, I know it can, it really can)

    [Police siren]

Honky Cop: Okay, okay, pull over! Alright, up against the wall! Up against the wall, I said!

Our Narrator: Look, man, I ain’t done nothin’.

The Judge: By the powers of this court. I sentence you to a prison term of not less than 25 and no more than 30 years. I can only hope that this sentence, as harsh as it may seem or sound, may grant you all the opportunities for rehabilitation, and serve as a deterrent to others who may feel they can violate the laws of the world.

Mother: Larry! Where you been, boy? You didn’t clean your room and you didn’t take out that garbage!

Our Narrator: Aw, ma! I ain’t got no time to take out no garbage, clean no room!

Father: Now, boy, don’t you dare talk to your mom like that! Ain’t you got the respect?

Our Narrator: Aw, damn, there you go with that buuull—

Backing Singers: Shut your mouth!

Our Narrator: Man, I must’ve been crazy when I think back over the things I did and said to my folks. Lord knows I’m sorry, but it’s too late now. Oh, how disrespect can wreck your whole life. If only I had the chance to do it all over again. Lord knows, I wouldn’t have did the things I did before. If only I could do it all over again…

Make it your own: The back catalogue of The Escorts has been treated much like you would’ve treated the band members if you’d caught them breaking into your house. Look Over Your Shoulder is a reasonably priced 2-CD reissue with all their best work. It could use a remastering, though. The complete story of the Escorts isn’t an entirely happy one, but  some of the members carry on today as The Legendary Escorts.

 

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