I would like to find the title and artist of a song that I very
vaguely remember from the late 80s or early 90s.

The lyrics were mostly ironic in nature and I particularly remember a
reference to "being all you can be" or "being the best you can be" in
central america that I assume was a reference to the U.S. invasion of
Panama.

It was probably a folk or country influenced rock song.  Perhaps
something like John Hiatt, but I haven't found it in any of his
lyrics.

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Request for Question Clarification by sgtcory-ga on 23 Nov 2002 14:01 PST

I don't suppose you can recall more lyrics?

Did it go anything like this :

"So busy being "all you can be", Instead of who you are,..."

Thanks

SgtCory

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Clarification of Question by shawn70-ga on 23 Nov 2002 15:23 PST

Unfortunately, I can't remember any more lyrics.  I just remember the
ironic, almost "smart mouth," yet understated attitude of the song
that I enjoyed so much.  It is not "Soldier First" by Dennis Phelps
nor did it really have a military theme.

The only other information that I have that might narrow it down is
that I heard it on the radio in Iowa between 1988 and 1994, so it must
have been at least somewhat popular and was likely released during
that period of time.

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Request for Question Clarification by ericynot-ga on 17 Dec 2002 16:12 PST

Could it be "Zooropa" by U2?   

"Zooropa...Vorsprung durch Technik
Zooropa...be all that you can be
Be a winner
Eat to get slimmer 

Zooropa...a bluer kind of white
Zooropa...it could be yours tonight
We're mild and green
And squeaky clean"
Here are the rest of the U2 lyrics:
http://www.musiclinks.nl/songteksten/U2/2282.html

It might also be the Prince song "Zannalee". Lyrics are here:
http://www.leoslyrics.com/listlyrics.php?sid=%98%B6%D61%3B%F8L%7D

And one more really obscure possibility - "No Change In Me" written by
Murray McLauchlin (I found a version of it recorded by the Ennis
Sisters): http://www.lyricsdownload.com/cgi-bin/frames.cgi?http://www.lyricsdownload.com/data/m/murray_mclauchlin/murray_mclauchlin_no_change_in_me.php4

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Clarification of Question by shawn70-ga on 17 Dec 2002 22:45 PST

Thanks ericynot and a belated thank you to sgtcory,

None of those suggestions are what I'm looking for, but the Murray
McLauchlin song is the right kind of idea, I think.  I've never heard
of him and that's a start.  Also, the tone of the lyrics is almost
what I remember.  I think U2, REM, Peter Gabriel, Prince and Don
Henley are all too popular to be the artist in this case.

Before I posted the question, I did a search of lyrics for John Hiatt,
Randy Newman and The Tragically Hip, because they seemed like good
bets based on musical and lyrical style and I came up empty.  Perhaps
it is some other artist with a similar style whom I'm not aware of.

I do want to emphasize, that while I don't remember the exact lyric
(which makes searching very hard), I do remember the immediate
association I made and understanding I had upon hearing it, that it
was referring to someone in the army who was part of the Panama
invasion.  It was not a flattering lyric and on some level was making
fun of the person.  The song was not centered around the invasion or
even the fact that the person was in the army.  It was just one of a
series of ironic, somewhat self-reflective personal comments that made
up the song and unfortunately the only one that formed an association
that has stuck this long in my mind.

The closet thing I have been able to come up with so far is :

Shakin' The Tree by Peter Gabriel 1989
"There's nothing to gain when there's nothing to be lost There's
nothing to gain if you stay behind and count the cost Make a decision
that you can be who you can be, you can be..."


I'll keep my eyes *peeled*

SgtCory

you might wanna review this site it has some lyrics of the 80s
http://www.80smusiclyrics.com/

I hate to do it, but I've gotta bail on this one (my eyes are
beginning to cross). Your price is generous, but I'm afraid this
search could take a year since the parameters are, as you acknowledge,
ambiguous. There are many songwriters who could be candidates for this
type of lyric, among them Elvis Costello, Graham Parker, Leonard
Cohen, and Mark Knopfler.

Best of luck. Maybe this comment will put your question back at the
top of the queue where another reader will have an "ah ha" moment.

ericynot-ga