Do What You Gotta Do

That's the title of one of my all-time favorite songs, which was written by Pat Flynn and originally recorded by New Grass Revival almost 20 years ago. More recently, Garth Brooks made it a hit.

Sometimes you've got to take the heat
If you're gonna walk down on the mean street
Take the heat and you see it through
'Cause sometimes it comes down to
Do what you gotta do

Sometimes it goes right down to the wire
And you might have to walk through the fire
Walk on, boy all the way through
Sometimes it just comes down to
Do what you gotta do

Well, there's people that'll tell you
It's just no use
And there's people that'll tell you
That you're gonna lose
People that'll tell you
Anything you're gonna listen to
Do what you gotta do

Someday they're going to call your name
They'll come looking for some one to blame
What's your name, boy
Hey, you just tell them true
'Cause they can't take the truth from you
So do what you gotta do

Well, they'll call you a hero or a traitor
But you'll find out that, sooner or later,
Nobody in this world is gonna do it for you
Do what you gotta do

There ain't nobody in this world
That's gonna do it for you
Do what you gotta do

Here's a version recorded off TV where Brooks sang it, accompanied by New Grass Revival (songwriter Flynn is the guitarist in the red shirt):



I agree with some of the YouTube reviewers that NGR's original version is much better, in large part because their lead singer (John Cowan) has a much better voice than Brooks. Heck, I have a much better voice than Garth Brooks.

"Do What You Gotta Do" is really an anthem for those who believe -- no, who absolutely know -- that they are doing the right thing. That's the way I feel about trying to "out" the whole Traffic.com scandal. It's the right thing to expose major fraud and corruption in our federal government and to shut down a program that works strongly against the public's interest in many of our nation's most traffic congested cities. It's also the right thing for the crooks, particularly those high-profile "public servants" who have betrayed the public's trust, to find justice.

I'm quite sure that as a result of my recent mailings to over 300 people in the ITS field (including over 80 to FHWA staff), some of my colleagues consider me a "traitor," as the song says. From their own narrow perspectives, they see me as attacking the federal ITS program (and thus, their own livelihood), rather than trying to fix a major wrong in the program so that it actually works in the public interest. They choose to just look the other way and ignore such major fraud and corruption, so long as they can continue to feed at the federal trough. They're all about the status quo.

Pat Flynn has clearly been there, and knows how people react when someone rocks the boat and threatens their self-serving position.

Too bad, that boat is going to continue rockin'.

Jerry