Songs of Protest

royits - roots
coil - coal
bield - room
brig - bridge
addled - earned
Hunslet, Holbeck - villages near Leeds
loyns - lanes
Wibsley Slack - village near Bradford
sammed - picked up
fligged - left the nest: departed

Joe Hill
Lyric by Phil Ochs
sung by Billy Bragg

Joe Hill come over from Sweden shores,
Looking for some work to do,
And the Statue of Liberty waved him by
As Joe come a sailing through, Joe Hill,
As Joe come a sailing through.

Oh his clothes were coarse and his hopes were high
As he headed for the promised land.
And it took a few weeks on the out-of-work streets
Before he began to understand,
Before he began to understand.

And Joe got hired by a Bowery bar,
Sweeping up the saloon.
As his rag would sail over the bar-room rail,
Sounded like he whistled on a tune,
You could almost hear him whistling on a tune.

And Joe rolled on from job to job,
From the docks to the railroad line.
And no matter how hungry the hand that wrote --
In his letters he was always doing fine,
In his letters he was always doing fine.

Oh, the years went by like the sun goin' down,
slowly turn the page.
And when Joe looked back at the sweat upon his tracks,
He had nothing to show but his age,
He had nothing to show but his age.

So he headed out for the California shore;
There things were just as bad.
So he joined the Industrial Workers of the World
'Cause the union was the only friend he had,
'Cause, The union was the only friend he had.

Now the strikes were bloody and the strikes were black,
as hard as they were long.
In the dark of night, Joe would stay awake and write;
In the morning he would raise them with a song,
In the morning he would raise them with a song.

And he wrote his words to the tunes of the day
To be passed along the union vine.
And the strikes were led and the songs were spread,
And Joe Hill was always on the line,
Yes, Joe Hill was always on the line.

Now in Salt Lake City, a murder was made;
There was hardly a clue to find.
Oh, the proof was poor, but the sheriff was sure
Joe was the killer of the crime,
That Joe was the killer of the crime.

Joe raised his hands but they shot him down,
he had nothing but guilt to give.
"It's a doctor I need," and they left him to bleed;
He made it 'cause he had the will to live,
Yes, he made it 'cause he had the will to live.

Then the trial was held in a building of wood,
And there the killer would be named.
And the days weighed more than the cold copper ore
'Cause he feared that he was being framed,
Cause he found out that he was being framed.

Oh, strange are the ways of western law,
Strange are the ways of fate.
For the government crawled to the mine owner's call
That the judge was appointed by the state,
Yes, The judge was appointed by the state.

Oh, Utah justice can be had,
But not for a union man.
And Joe was warned by summer early morn
That there'd be one less singer in the land,
There'd be one less singer in the land.

Now William Spry was Governor Spry,
And a life was his to hold.
On the last appeal fell a governor's tear;
May the lord have mercy on your soul,
May the lord have mercy on your soul.

Even President Wilson held up the day,
But even he would fail.
For nobody heard the soul-searching words
Of the soul in the Salt Lake City jail,
Of the soul in the Salt Lake City jail.

For thirty-six years he lived out his days,
And he more than played his part.
For his songs that he made, he was carefully paid
With a rifle bullet buried in his heart,
With a rifle bullet buried in his heart.

Yes, they lined Joe Hill up against the wall,
Blindfold over his eyes.
It's the life of a rebel that he chose to live,
It's the death of a rebel that he died,
It's the death of a rebel that he died.

Now some say Joe was guilty as charged,
And some say he wasn't even there.
And I guess nobody will ever know
'Cause the court records all disappeared,
'Cause the court records all disappeared.

Say wherever you go in this fair land,
In every union hall,
In the dusty dark these words are marked
In between all the cracks upon the wall,
In between all the cracks upon the wall.

It's the very last line that Joe Hill wrote
When he knew that his days were through:
"Boys, this is my last and final will --
Good luck to all of you,
Good luck to all of you."

Joe Hill's Last Will

My will is easy to decide,
For there is nothing to divide.
My kind don't need to fuss and moan --
"Moss does not cling to a rolling stone."

My body? Ah, If I could choose,
I would to ashes it reduce,
And let the merry breezes blow
My dust to where some flowers grow.

Perhaps some fading flower then
Would come to life and bloom again.
This is my last and final will.
Good luck to all of you.
Joe Hill

Joe Hill's Ashes

I'll sing of Joseph Hillstrom, better known as old Joe Hill.
Murdered by a firing squad, shot but never killed.
His will said that his ashes be strewn across the land
So flowers that refuse to die will rise up strong and stand.
We sing his songs to fan the flames
And talk about him much.
The ashes of this rebel voice
Are still too hot too touch. Joe's corpse lay in Chicago where thirty thousand marched.
They flew the Wobbly banner -- high above the throng it arched.
The workers sang and cheered his name, they did not eulogize.
They honored Joe Hill's last request: Don't mourn, organize.

Then the union took Joe's body, which then they did cremate.
His ashes stuffed in envelopes and mailed to every state.
Except, of course, to Utah, for Joe had clearly said,
"Don't leave me here in Utah; there I wouldn't be caught dead."

Then someone in the mailroom discovered what was up.
The postmaster was summoned the mailing to disrupt.
An envelope tore open in the canceling machine.
'Twas just Joe's way of saying automation is obscene.

With patriotic fervor that postmaster was seized.
He treated that poor envelope as if it was diseased.
He said, "I won't deliver such subversive mail."
So for a while Joe had to wait in some dead letter file.

At long last the Post Office sent Joe's ashes to D.C.,
To the Archives like an artifact of ancient history.
The Wobblies in Chicago asked that he be sent home.
They wouldn't see him catalogued down in that catacomb.

So Joe's back with the Wobblies, and thus concludes my tale.
But if there is a moral, I might say, "Don't trust the mail."
We'll build that One Big Union before Joe's ash gets cold.
And we'll bring to birth a new world from the ashes of the old.

Long-haired Preachers - Joe Hill

The IWW used to have long-running free-speech fights, whereby towns would only allow soap-boxing and collecting by groups like the Salvation Army. This song, like most of Joe Hill's, was written as part of that struggle. The tune is a hymn that was parodied. There is (I think) another verse not here which talks about working hard for children and wife, which I suspect this version has missed out just because of its inappropriateness in today's time.

Long-haired preachers come out every night
Try to tell you what's wrong and what's right
But when asked about something to eat
They will answer in voices so sweet

'You will eat, by and by,
In that glorious land above the sky
Work and pray, live on hay -
You'll get pie in the sky when you die' - that's a lie!

And the Starvation Army they play
And they sing and the clap and they pray
Till they get all your coin on the drum
Then they'll tell you when you're on the bum . . .

Holy Rollers and Jumpers come out
And they sing and they clap and they shout
'Give your money to Jesus,' they say,
'He will cure all diseases today . . .

Working folks of all countries, unite
Side by side we for freedom will fight
When the world and it's wealth we have gained
To the grafters we'll sing this refrain:

You will eat, by and by,
When you've learned how to cook and how to fry
Chop some wood, it'll do you good
Then you'll eat in the sweet by and by - that's no lie!

Joe Hill - Paul Robeson
words by Alfred Hayes
music by Earl Robinson
sung by Paul Robeson

I dreamed I saw Joe Hill last night
Alive as you and me
Says I "But Joe, you're 10 years dead"
"I never died" says he
"I never died" says he
"In Salt Lake, Joe" says I to him
Him standing by my bed
"They framed you on a murder charge"
Says Joe "But I ain't dead"
Says Joe "But I ain't dead"
"The Copper Bosses killed you Joe
They shot you Joe" says I
"Takes more than guns to kill a man"
Says Joe "I didn't die"
Says Joe "I didn't die"
And standing there as big as life
And smiling with his eyes
Says Joe "What they could never kill
Went on to organize
Went on to organize"
"Joe Hill ain't dead" he says to me
"Joe Hill ain't never dead
When workers strike and organize
Joe Hill is by their side
Joe Hill is by their side"
From San Diego up to Maine
In every mine and mill
Where workers stand up for their rights
It's there you'll find Joe Hill
It's there you'll find Joe Hill
I dreamed I saw Joe Hill last night
Alive as you and me
Says I "But Joe, you're 10 years dead"
"I never died" says he
"I never died" says he

Joe Hill - Joan Baez

I dreamed I saw Joe Hill last night,
alive as you and me.
Says I "But Joe, you're ten years dead"
"I never died" said he,
"I never died" said he.

"The Copper Bosses killed you Joe,
they shot you Joe" says I.
"Takes more than guns to kill a man"
Says Joe "I didn't die"
Says Joe "I didn't die"

And standing there as big as life
and smiling with his eyes.
Says Joe "What they can never kill
went on to organize,
went on to organize"

From San Diego up to Maine,
in every mine and mill,
where working-men defend there rights,
it's there you find Joe Hill,
it's there you find Joe Hill!

I dreamed I saw Joe Hill last night,
alive as you and me.
Says I "But Joe, you're ten years dead"
"I never died" said he,
"I never died" said he.

WHICH SIDE ARE YOU ON
by Florence Reese (1946)

This is a union strike song written in the forties when unions were encountering laws which prevented umion members from organizing.

This government had an idea
And parliament made it a law
It seems like like it's illegal
To fight for the union any more

Which side are you on, boys
Which side are you on
Which side are you on, boys
Which side are you on

We went out to join the picket line
For together we cannot fail
We got stopped by the police at the county line
They said "Go home boys or you're going to jail".

Which side are you on, boys
Which side are you on
Which side are you on, boys
Which side are you on

It's hard to explain to a crying child
Why her Daddy can't go back
So the family suffer
But it hurts me more
To hear a scab say Sod you, Jack

Which side are you on, boys
Which side are you on
Which side are you on, boys
Which side are you on

I'm bound to follow my conscience
And do whatever I can
But it'll take more than the union law
To knock the fight out of a working man

Which side are you on, boys
Which side are you on
Which side are you on, boys
Which side are you on

STRANGE FRUIT
by Lewis Allen

Billie Holiday Sings Strange Fruit

Excerpted from Billie Holiday: Singer, by Bud Kliment, Chelsea House Publishers, New York, New York, 1990.

On December 28, 1938, Café Society opened its doors. Holiday was an immediate sensation. Most of the clientele had never heard a singer like her before, and their enthusiastic response was instrumental in transforming her into a star.

Holiday wound up staying at Café Society for nine months, doing three shows a night. One night a customer named Lewis Allen*, who was a poet and schoolteacher, showed her a poem he had written. The poem, entitled "Strange Fruit," was a protest against racial brutality. The words describe lynching in the South, and the strange fruit of the title refers to the bodies of lynched blacks hanging from the branches of a tree. Holiday was moved by the poem and, with the help of Sonny White, her accompanist at the time, she adapted it into a song.

Allen's powerful imagery made "Strange Fruit" one of the most solemn and startling songs ever written. At first, Holiday was hesitant about performing it. But then she relented. She still felt bitter about the circumstances that had led to her father's death, and it was easy to recall the many times that she had encountered racial prejudice while on tour. "I'm a race woman," she once said, and "Strange Fruit" enabled her to express this sentiment to her audiences.

Holiday introduced the intensely emotional song into her act with some trepidation. "The first time I sang it I thought it was a mistake," she said. "There wasn't even a patter of applause when I finished. Then a lone person began to clap nervously. Then suddenly everyone was clapping."

Josephson, Café Society's owner, witnessed the song's effect on the audience and felt it fit right in with the club's liberal atmosphere. He insisted that Holiday close each show with "Strange Fruit." When the moment for the song arrived, table service would be suspended and all the lights in the club would be turned out except for a pin spotlight on Holiday. She would keep her eyes closed during the song's long, instrumental introduction. Then, full of emotion, she would begin to sing.

"There were no encores after it," Josephson recalled. "My instruction (to Holiday) was walk off, period. People had to remember 'Strange Fruit,' get their insides burned with it."

*Other sources document Lewis Allen as a pen name for Abel Meeropol. Abel Meeropol was a Jewish school teacher in New York who wrote the poem, Strangefruit as a result of seeing photographs of a lynching.

Josh White has also recorded a well known cover of this song.

Southern trees bear a strange fruit,
Blood on the leaves and blood on the root.
Black body swinging in the southern breeze,
Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees.

Pastoral scene of the gallant south,
The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth,
Scent of magnolia sweet and fresh,
And the sudden smell of burning flesh!

Here is a fruit for the crows to pluck,
For the rain to gather, for the winds to suck,
For the sun to rot, for a tree to drop,
Here is a strange and bitter crop.

NOW THAT THE BUFFALO'S GONE
Buffy Sainte-Marie

The ironic lament of an Indian Cassandra confronting the pious humanitarians who mourn the savagery of our past treatment of the Indians while humbly and "helplessly" assenting to the present and continuing robbery of their lands. The Kinzua dam of upper New York State is one of the many projects that are driving the North American Indians from what lands the governments have left them. Buffy dedicates this song to her friend, Peter LaFarge.
Maynard Solomon, liner notes for Buffy Sainte-Marie, It's My Way!, 1964
Lyrics transcribed by Manfred Helfert © 1965, Gypsy Music, Inc.

Writer/singer's comment - "This song was on my first album and I'd have thought it would be obsolete by now. But governments are still breaking promises and stealing indigenous lands, and I still believe that informed people can help make things better."
(http://www.creative-native.com/nowthlyr.htm)

Can you remember the times
That you have held your head high
and told all your friends of your Indian claim,
Proud good lady and proud good man?
Some great great grandfather from Indian blood sprang
and you feel in your heart for "these ones."

Oh it's written in books and in song
that we've been mistreated and wronged.
Well over and over I hear those same words
from you, good lady, and you, good man --
Well, listen to me if you care where we stand
and you feel you're a part of "these ones."

When a war between nations is lost
the loser, we know, pays the cost.
But even when Germany fell to your hands,
consider, dear lady, consider, dear man,
you left them their pride and you left them their land --
And what have you done to "these ones"?

Has a change come about Uncle Sam,
or are you still taking our lands?
A treaty forever George Washington signed --
He did, dear lady, he did, dear man --
and the treaty's being broken again by Kinzua Dam;
and what will you do for "these ones?"

Oh, it's all in the past, you can say;
but it's still going on here today.
The governments now want the Iroquois land,
that of the Seneca and the Cheyenne --
It's here and it's now you can help us, dear man --
Now that the buffalo's gone.

THE TIMES THEY ARE A' CHANGING
by Bob Dylan

Come gather round people, wherever you roam
And admit that the waters around you have grown
And accept it that soon you'll be drenched to the bone
If your time dealeth with saving
Then you better start swimming or you'll sink like a stone.
Oh, the times they are a' changing.

Come writers and critics who prophesied with your pen.
And keep your eyes wide, the chance won't come again.
And don't speak too soon for the wheels still in spin
And there's no telling who that it's naming
Cause the loser now will be later the win
Oh, the times they are a' changing.

Come senators, congressmen, please heed the call
Don't stand in the doorway, don't block up the hall
Oh, he that gets hurt will be he who has stalled
The battle outside raging
Will soon shake your windows and rattle your walls
Oh, the times they are a'changing.

Come mothers and fathers throughout the land
Then don't criticize what you can't understand
Your sons and your daughters are beyond your command
Your old road is rapidly aging
Please get out of the new one if you can't lend your hand
Oh, the times they are a'changing.

The line it is drawn, the curse it is cast
The slow one will later be fast
As the present now will later be past
The order is rapidly fading
And the first one now will later be last
Oh, the times they are a'changing.

BLOWIN IN THE WIND
Bob Dylan

How many roads must a man walk down
Before you call him a man?
Yes, 'n' how many seas must a white dove sail
Before she sleeps in the sand?
Yes, 'n' how many times must the cannon balls fly
Before they're forever banned?
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind,
The answer is blowin' in the wind.

How many times must a man look up
Before he can see the sky?
Yes, 'n' how many ears must one man have
Before he can hear people cry?
Yes, 'n' how many deaths will it take till he knows
That too many people have died?
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind,
The answer is blowin' in the wind.

How many years can a mountain exist
Before it's washed to the sea?
Yes, 'n' how many years can some people exist
Before they're allowed to be free?
Yes, 'n' how many times can a man turn his head,
Pretending he just doesn't see?
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind,
The answer is blowin' in the wind.

WITHIN YOU WITHOUT YOU
by George Harrison

We were talking
about the space between us all
and the people who hide themselves
behind a wall of illusion
never glimpse the truth
then it's far too late
when they pass away.

We were talking
about the love we all could share
When we find it
to try our best to hold it there
with our love, with our love
we could save the world
if they only knew.

Try to realize it's all within yourself
no-one else can make you change
And to see you're really only very small,
and life flows on within you and without you.

We were talking
about the love that's gone so cold
and the people who gain the world
and lose their soul
They don't know they can't see
Are you one of them?

When you've seen beyond yourself
then you may find
peace of mind is waiting there
And the time will come when you see we're all one
and life flows on within you and without you.

A DAY IN THE LIFE
by John Lennon

I read the news today, oh boy
About a lucky man who made the grade
And though the news was rather sad
Well, I just had to laugh
I saw the photograph.
He blew his mind out in a car
He didn' t notice that the lights had changed
A crowd of people stood and stared
They'd seen his face before
Nobody was really sure
If he was from the House of Lords.

I saw a film today, oh, boy
The English army had just won the war
A crowd of people turned away
But I just had to look
Having read the book.
I'd love to turn you on Woke up, fell out of bed,
Dragged a comb across my head
Found my way downstairs and drank a cup,
And looking up I noticed I was late.
Found my coat and grabbed my hat
Made the bus in seconds flat
Found my way upstairs and had a smoke,
Somebody spoke and I went into a dream

I read the news today, oh boy
Four thousand holes in Blackburn, Lancashire
And though the holes were rather small
They had to count them all
Now they know how many holes
it takes to fill the Albert Hall.
I'd love to turn you on.

THE SOUND OF SILENCE
by Paul Simon

Hello darkness my old friend,
I've come to talk with you again,
Because a vision softly creeping,
Left its seeds while I was sleeping
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains within the sound of silence.

In restless dreams I walked alone,
Narrow streets of cobblestone
"Neath the halo of a street lamp,
I turned my collar to the cold and damp
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light
That split the night, and touched the sound of silence.

And in the naked light I saw
Ten thousand people, maybe more,
People talking without speaking,
People hearing without listening,
People writing songs that voices never share
And no one dares disturb the sound of silence.

"Fools!" said I, "You do not know
Silence like a cancer grows.
Hear my words that I might teach you
Take my arms that I might reach you."
But my words like silent raindrops fell
And echoed in the wells of silence.

And the people bowed and prayed
To the neon God they made,
And the sign flashed out its warning
In the words that it was forming.
And the sign said: "The words of the Prophets are written
On the subway walls and tenement halls"
And whispered in the sounds of silence.

GOODBYE AND HELLO
by Tim Buckley

The antique people are down in the dungeons
Run by machines and afraid of the tax
Their heads in the grave and their hands on their eyes
Hauling their hearts around circular tracks
Pretending forever their masquerade towers
Are not really riddled with widening cracks
And I wave goodbye to iron
And smile hello to the air

O the new children dance All around the balloons Swaying by chance To the breeze from the moon Painting the sky With the colors of sun Freely they fly As all become one

I am young I will live I am strong I can give You the strange Seed of day Feel the change Know the Way

The velocity addicts explode on the highways
Ignoring the journey and moving so fast
Their nerves fall apart and they gasp but can't breathe
They run from the cops of the skeleton past
Petrified by tradition in a nightmare they stagger
Into nowhere at all and then look up aghast
And I wave goodbye to speed
And smile hello to a rose

O the new children play Under Juniper trees Sky blue or grey They continue at ease Moving so slow That serenely they can Gracefully grow And yes still understand

I am young I will live I am strong I can give You the strange Seed of day Feel the change Know the Way

The king and the queen in their castle of billboards
Sleepwalk down the hallways dragging behind
All their possessions and transient treasures
As they go to worship the electronic shrine
On which is playing the late late commercial
In that hollowest house of the opulent blind
And I wave goodbye to Mammon
And smile hello to a stream

O the new children buy All the world for a song Without a dime To which they belong Nobody owns Anything anywhere Everyone's grown Up so big they can share

I am young I will live I am strong I can give You the strange Seed of day Feel the change Know the Way

The vaudeville generals cavort on the stage
And shatter their audience with submachine guns
And Freedom and Violence the acrobat clowns
Do a balancing act on the graves of our sons
While the tapdancing Emperor sings "War is peace"
And Love the Magician disappears in the fun
And I wave goodbye to murder
And smile hello to the rain

O the new children can't Tell a foe from a friend Quick to enchant And to glad to extend Handfuls of dawn To kaleidoscope man Come from beyond The Great Wall of Skin

I am young I will live I am strong I can give You the strange Seed of day Feel the change Know the Way

The bloodless husbands are jesters who listen
Like sheep to the shrieks and commands of their wives
And the men who aren't men leave the woman alone
See them all faking love on a bed made of knives
Afraid to discover or trust in their bodies
And in secret divorce they will never survive
And I wave goodbye to ashes
And smile hello to a girl

O the new children kiss They are so proud to learn Womanwood bliss And the manfire that burns Knowing no fear They take off their clothes Honest and clear As a river that flows

I am young I will live I am strong I can give You the strange Seed of day Feel the change Know the Way

The antique people are fading out slowly
Like newspapers flaming in mind suicide
Godless and sexless directionless loons
Their sham sandcastles dissolve in the tide
They put on their deathmasks and compromise daily
The new children will live for the elders have died
And I wave goodbye to America
And smile hello to the world

US AND THEM
Pink Floyd

Us and them
And after all we're only ordinary men
Me and you
God only knows it's not what we would choose to do

Forward he cried from the rear
And the front rank died
The General sat, and the lines on the map
Moved from side to side

Black and blue
And who knows which is which and who is who
Up and down
And in the end it's only round and round and round

Haven't you heard it's a battle of words
The poster bearer cried
Listen son, said the man with the gun
There's room for you inside

Down and out
It can't be helped but there's a lot of it about
With, without
And who'll deny it's what the fightings all about

Out of the way, it's a busy day
And I've got things on my mind
For want of the price of tea and a slice
The old man died

MONEY
Pink Floyd

Money, get away
Get a good job with more pay and you're O.K.
Money, it's a gas
Grab that cash with both hands and make a stash
A new car, caviar, four star daydream
Think I'll buy me a football team

Money, get back
I'm all right Jack, keep your hands off of my stack
Money, it's a hit
Don't give me that do goody-good bullshit
I'm in the hi-fidelity first class traveling set
And I think I need a Lear jet

Money, it's a crime
Share it fairly but don't take a slice of my pie
Money, so they say
Is the root of all evil today
But if you ask for a rise it's no surprise that they're giving
None away, away, away, away, away, away, away, away

STAR SPANGLED BANNER
Jimi Hendrix

WAR
Bruce Springsteen

THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER
Jim Morrison

Wait until the war is over
And we're both a little older
The unknown soldier
Breakfast where the news is read
Television children fed
Unborn living, living, dead
Bullet strikes the helmet's head

And it's all over
For the unknown soldier
It's all over
For the unknown soldier

Hut
Hut
Hut ho hee up
Hut
Hut
Hut ho hee up
Hut
Hut
Hut ho hee up
Comp'nee
Halt
Preeee-zent!
Arms!

Make a grave for the unknown soldier
Nestled in your hollow shoulder
The unknown soldier

Breakfast where the news is read
Television children fed
Bullet strikes the helmet's head

And, it's all over
The war is over
It's all over, the war is over
Well, all over, baby
All over, baby
Oh, over, yeah, all over, baby
Wooooo, hah-hah
All over, all over, baby
Oh, woa-yeah
All over, all over
Heeeeyyyy

GOODNIGHT SAIGON
(Billy Joel)

We met as soul mates
On Parris Island
We left as inmates
From an asylum And we were sharp
As sharp as knives
And we were so gung ho
To lay down our lives
We came in spastic
Like tameless horses
We left in plastic
As numbered corpses
And we learned fast
To travel light
Our arms were heavy
But our bellies were tight
We had no home front
We had no soft soap
They sent us Playboy
They gave us Bob Hope
We dug in deep
And shot on sight
And prayed to
Jesus Christ
With all of our might
We had no cameras
To shoot the landscape
We passed the
hash pipe
And played our
Doors tapes
And it was dark
So dark at night
And we held on to
each other
Like brother to
brother
We Promised our
mothers we'd write
And we would all go
down together
We said we'd all go
down together
Yes we would all
go down together
Remember Charlie
Remember Baker
They left their
childhood
On every acre
And who was wrong?
And who was right?
It didn't matter in
the thick of the fight
We held the day
In the palm
Of our hand
They ruled the night
And the night
Seemed to last as long
as six weeks
On Parris Island
We held the coastline
They held the highlands
And they were sharp
As sharp as knives
They heard the hum of
our motors
They counted the rotors
And waited for us to
arrive
And we would all go
down together
We said we'd all go
down together
Yes we would all go
down together

SICK OF YOU
Lou Reed

I was up in the morning with the TV blarin'
brush my teeth sittin' watchin' the news
All the beaches were closed the ocean was a Red Sea
but there was no one there to part in two
There was no fresh salad because there's hypos in the cabbage
Staten Island disappeared at noon
And they say the midwest is in great distress
and NASA blew up the moon

The ozone layer has no ozone anymore
and you're gonna leave me for the guy next door
I'm Sick of You
I'm Sick of You

They arrested the Mayor for an illegal favor
sold the Empire State to Japan
And Oliver North married William Secord
and gave birth to a little Teheran
And the Ayatollah bought a nuclear warship
if he dies he wants to go out in style
And there's nothing to eat that don't carry the stink
of some human waste dumped in the Nile

We one thing is certainly true
no one here knows what to do
And I'm Sick of You
I'm Sick of You

The radio said there were 400 dead
in some small town in Arkansas
Some whacked out trucker drove into a nuclear reactor
and killed everybody he saw
Now he's on Morton Downey and he's glowing and shining
doctors say this is a medical advance
They say the bad makes the good and there's something to be learned
in every human experience

Well I know one thing that really is true
this here's a zoo and the keeper ain't you
And I'm sick of it
I'm Sick of You

They ordained the Trumps and then he got the mumps
and died being treated at Mt. Sinal
And my best friend Bill died from a poison pill
some wired doctor prescribed for stress
My arms and legs are shrunk the food all has lumps
they discovered some animal no one's ever seen
It was an inside trader eating a rubber tire
after running over Rudy Giuliani

They say the President's dead but no one can find his head
it's been missing now for weeks
But no one noticed it he had seemed so fit
and I'm Sick of it

I'm Sick of You
I'm so Sick of You, bye, bye, bye

Bye, bye, bye

GOOD EVENING MR. WALDHEIM
Lou Reed

Good evening Mr.Waldheim
and Pontiff how are you?
you have so much in common
in the things you do

And here comes Jesse Jackson
he talks of Common Ground
does that Common Ground include me
or is it just a sound

A sound that shakes
oh Jesse, you must watch the sounds you make

A sound that quakes
there are fears that still reverberate

Jesse you say Common Ground
does that include the PLO?
what about people right here right now
who fought for you not so long ago?

The words that flow so freely
falling dancing from your lips
I hope that you don't cheapen them
with a racist slip

Oh Common Ground
is Common Ground a word or just a sound
Common Ground
remember those civil rights workers buried in the ground

If I ran for President
and once was a member of the Klan
wouldn't you call me on it
the way I call you on Farrakhan

And Pontiff, pretty Pontiff
can anyone shake your hand ?
or is it just that you like uniforms
and someone kissing your hand

Or is it true
the Common Ground for me includes you too

Oh, oh, is it true
the Common Ground for me includes you too

Good evening Mr.Waldheim
pontiff how are you
as you both stroll through the woods at night
I'm thinking thoughts of you

And Jesse you're inside my thoughts
as the rhythmic words subside
my Common Ground invites you in
or do you prefer to wait outside

Or is it true
the Common Ground for me is without you

Or is it true
the Common Ground for me is without you

Oh is it true
there's no Ground Common enough for me and you

TALKIN' ABOUT A REVOLUTION
Tracy Chapman

Don't you know
They're talkin' bout a revolution
It sounds like a whisper
Don't you know
They're talkin' about a revolution
It sounds like a whisper

While they're standing in the welfare lines
Crying at the doorsteps of those armies of salvation
Wasting time in the unemployment lines
Sitting around waiting for a promotion

Poor people gonna rise up
And get their share
Poor people gonna rise up
And take what's theirs

Don't you know
You better run, run, run...
Oh I said you better
Run, run, run...

Finally the tables are starting to turn
Talkin' bout a revolution

GET UP, STAND UP
Bob Marley

Get up, stand up: stand up for your rights!
Get up, stand up: stand up for your rights!
Get up, stand up: stand up for your rights!
Get up, stand up: don't give up the fight!

Preacherman, don't tell me,
Heaven is under the earth.
I know you don't know
What life is really worth.
It's not all that glitters is gold;
'Alf the story has never been told:
So now you see the light, eh!
Stand up for your rights. Come on!

Get up, stand up: stand up for your rights!
Get up, stand up: don't give up the fight!
Get up, stand up: stand up for your rights!
Get up, stand up: don't give up the fight!

Most people think,
Great God will come from the skies,
Take away everything
And make everybody feel high.
But if you know what life is worth,
You will look for yours on earth:
And now you see the light,
You stand up for your rights. Jah!

Get up, stand up! (Jah, Jah!)
Stand up for your rights! (Oh-hoo!)
Get up, stand up! (Get up, stand up!)
Don't give up the fight! (Life is your right!)
Get up, stand up! (So we can't give up the fight!)
Stand up for your rights! (Lord, Lord!)
Get up, stand up! (Keep on struggling on!)
Don't give up the fight! (Yeah!)

We sick an' tired of-a your ism-skism game -
Dyin' 'n' goin' to heaven in-a Jesus' name, Lord.
We know when we understand:
Almighty God is a living man.
You can fool some people sometimes,
But you can't fool all the people all the time.
So now we see the light (What you gonna do?),
We gonna stand up for our rights! (Yeah, yeah, yeah!)

So you better:
Get up, stand up! (In the morning! Git it up!)
Stand up for your rights! (Stand up for our rights!)
Get up, stand up!
Don't give up the fight! (Don't give it up, don't give it up!)
Get up, stand up! (Get up, stand up!)
Stand up for your rights! (Get up, stand up!)
Get up, stand up! ( ... )
Don't give up the fight! (Get up, stand up!)
Get up, stand up! ( ... )
Stand up for your rights!
Get up, stand up!
Don't give up the fight! /fadeout/

400 YEARS
Bob Marley

400 years (400 years, 400 years. Wo-o-o-o)
And it's the same -
The same (wo-o-o-o) philosophy
I've said it's four hundred years;
(400 years, 400 years. Wo-o-o-o, wo-o-o-o)
Look, how long (wo-o-o-o)
And the people they (wo-o-o-o) still can't see.
Why do they fight against the poor youth of today?
And without these youths, they would be gone -
All gone astray

Come on, let's make a move:
(make a move, make a move. Wo-o-o-o, wo-o-o-o)
I can (wo-o-o-o) see time (wo-o-o-o) - time has come,
And if-a fools don't see
(fools don't see, fools don't see. Wo-o-o-o)
I can't save the youth:
The youth (wo-o-o-o) is gonna be strong.
So, won't you come with me;
I'll take you to a land of liberty
Where we can live - live a good, good life
And be free.

Look how long: 400 years, (400 years, 400 years) -
Way too long! (wo-o-o-o)
That's the reason my people (wo-o-o-o) - my people can't see.
Said, it's four hundred long years - (400 years, 400 years.
Wo-o-o-o)
Give me patience (wo-o-o-o) - same philosophy.

It's been 400 years, (400 years, 400 years)
Wait so long! Wo-o-o-o, wo-o-o-o.
How long? 400 long, long years. /fadeout/

SILVER AND GOLD
(U2)

In the shit house a shotgun
Praying hands hold me down
Only the hunter was hunted
In this tin can town
Tin can town

No stars in the black night
Looks like the sky fell down
No sun in the daylight
Looks like it's chained to the ground
Chained to the ground
The warden said
The exit is sold
If you want a way out
Silver and gold

Broken back to the ceiling
Broken nose to the floor
I scream at the silence, it's crawling
It crawls under the door
There's a rope around my neck
And there's a trigger in your gun
Jesus say something
I am someone, I am someone
I am someone

Captain and kings
In the ships hold
They came to collect
Silver and gold
Silver and gold

Seen the coming and going
Seen them captains and the kings
See them navy blue uniforms
See them bright and shiny things
Bright shiny things

The temperature is rising
The fever white hot
Mister, I ain't got nothing
But it's more than you got

Chains no longer bind me
Not the shackles at my feet
Outside are the prisoners
Inside the free
Set them free
Set them free

A prize fighter in a corner is told
Hit where it hurts
Silver and gold
Silver and gold

LAND OF CONFUSION
(Genesis)

I must've dreamed a thousand dreams
By haunted by a million screams
I can hear the marching feet
They're moving into the street.
Now did you read the news today
They say the danger's gone away
But I can see the fire's alight
Burning into the night.

CHORUS
Too many men
Too many people
Making too many problems
And not much love to go around
Can't you see
This is a Land of Confusion
This is the world we live in
And these are the hands we are given
Use them and start trying
To make it a place worth living in.

Superman where are you now
Everything's gone wrong somehow
The men of steel, the men of power
And losing control by the hour.
This is the time, this is the place
So we look for the future
But there's not much love to go around

Tell me why, this the Land of Confusion
This is the world we live in
And these are the hands we are given
Use them and start trying
To make it a place worth living in.

I remember long ago,
When the sun was shining
The stars were bright
All through the night
And the sound of your laughter
As I held you tight
So long ago.
I won't be coming home tonight
My generation will put it right
We're just not making promises
That we know we'll never keep.

CHORUS
This is the world we live in
These are the hands we given
Use them and let's start trying
To make it a place worth fighting for
This is the world we live in
And these are the names we are given
Stand up and let's start showing
Just where our lives are going to

SHAME ON YOU
Indigo Girls

my friends they wash the windows
and they shine in the sun
they tell me wake up early in the morning sometime
see what a beautiful job we've done

i say let's put on some tunes
sing a long and dolittle all day
go down to the riverside take off our shoes
and wash these sins away

and the river said
la la la it said shame on you
and the river said
la la la it said shame on you

i go down to chicano city park
cause it makes me feel so fine
and when the weeds go down you can see up close
in the dead of the winter time

but when the summer comes everythings in bloom
and you wouldn't know it's there
and the white folks like to pretend it's not
but their music's in the air

and you can hear em singing
la la la they said shame on you
you can feel em dancing
la la la they said shame on you

my friend tanner she says you know
me and jesus we're of the same heart
the only thing that keeps us distant
is that i keep fuckin up

i said come on down to chicano city park
and wash your blues away
the beautiful ladies walk right by
you know i never know what to say

and they'll be singing
oo la la la la la la la la shame on you
and they'll be dancing
ooo la la la they said shame on you
shame on you

let's go road block trippin in the middle of the night
up in gainesville town
there'll be blue lights flashin down the long dirt road
when they ask me to step out

they say we've been looking for illegal immigrants
can we check your car
i say you know it's funny
i think we were on the same boat back in 1694

and i said
oo la la la la la la la la shame on you
they'll be dancing
la la la i said shame on you
i said
oo la la la la la la la la la la shame on you
shame on you la la
la la la la la shame on you
i said
i said
la la la shame on you
i'll be dancing
and they'll be singing
la la la i said shame on you
shame on you

road block trippin in the middle of the night
gainesville town
blue lights flashin down the long dirt road

TOLERANCE
Natalie Merchant
(10000 Maniacs)

The still and silence is torn with violence.
A loud breaking sound in the night is made.
Hear it grow, hear it fade.
The sound you're hearing, the sound you're fearing
is the hate that parades up and down our streets, coming
within bounds and within reach.

Now, inside the place we hide away, we hear it near and hope it
turns away.
Turn away...

There's something seething in the air we're breathing.
We learn slash and burn is the method to use.
Set a flame, burn it new.
We're overpowered.
We kneel, we cower, we cover our heads.
Feel the threat of blows that will come and the damage that will
be done in its wake.

Now, inside this place we hide away, we hear it near although
it's miles away.
We hear it near and hope it turns away.
Turn away...

This house divided, we live inside it.
Hate's dwelling place is behind our door in fitful nights.
Hear it walk the floor and hear it rave as it moans and drags
along its ball and chain,
as it moves through this house it can't escape.

Now inside this place we hide away.
We hear it near and hope it turns away.
Turn away....

FREEDOM
Rage against the Machine

Uggh!
Pull, pull
Wuh! (Sung sorta like Michael Jackson)
Come on!
Uggh!
Solo, I'm a soloist on a solo list
All live, never on a floppy disk
Inka, inka, bottle of ink
Paintings of rebellion
Drawn up by the thoughts I think

Yeah!
Come on!
The militant poet in once again, check it

It's set up like a deck of cards
They're sending us to early graves
For all the diamonds
They'll use a pair of clubs to beat the spades
With poetry I paint the pictures that hit
More like the murals that fit
Don't turn away
Get in front of it

Brotha, did ya forget ya name?
Did ya lose it on the wall
Playin' tic-tac-toe?

Yo, check the diagonal
Three brothers gone
Come on
Doesn't that make it three in a row?

Spoken quietly: "Anger is a gift"

Come on!
Uggh!

(Guitar solo)

Check that!
Uggh!
Come on
Yeah
Uggh

Brotha, did ya forget ya name?
Did ya lose it on the wall
Playin' tic-tac-toe?

Yo, check the diagonal
Three million gone
Come on
'Cause they're counting backwards to zero

Environment
The environment exceeding on the level
Of our unconciousness
For example
What does the billboard say
Come and play, come and play
Forget about the movement

Spoken quietly: "Anger is a gift"

Yeeeaaahhhh!
Uggh!
Awww, bring that shit in!
Uggh!
Hey!

Freedom...yea...
Freedom...yea right...
Freedom...yeeeaaahhh!
Freedom!
Yea!
Freedom!
Yea right!
Freedom!
Yea!
Freedom!
Yea!
Right!

GOD SHUFFLED HIS FEET
Crash Test Dummies

After seven days
He was quite tired, so god said:
"Let there be a day
Just for picnics, with wine and bread"
He gathered up some people he had made
Created blankets and laid back in the shade

The people sipped their wine
And what with God there, they asked him questions
Like: do you have to eat
Or get your hair cut in heaven?
And if your eye got poked out in this life
Would it be waiting up in heaven with your wife?

God shuffled his feet and glanced around at them;
The people cleared their throats and stared right back at him

So he said: "Once there was a boy
Who woke up with blue hair
To him it was a joy
Until he ran out into warm air -
He thought of how his friends would come to see;
And would they laugh, or had he got some strange disease?"

God shuffled his feet and glanced around at them;
The people cleared their throats and stared right back at him

The people sat waiting
Out on their blankets in the garden
But God said nothing
So someone asked him, "I beg your pardon:
I'm not quite clear about what you just spoke -
Was that a parable, or a very subtle joke?

God shuffled his feet and glanced around at them;
The people cleared their throats and stared right back at him

THE LAST STOP
Dave Mathews

Fire
The sun is well asleep
Moon is high above
Fire grows from the east
How is this
Hate so deep
Lead us all so blindly killing killing
Fools we are
If hate's the gate to peace
This is the last stop
For raining tears
War
The only way to Peace
I don't fall for that
Raining tears
You're righteous, so righteous
You're always so right
Go ahead and dream
Go ahead believe that you are the chosen one
Raining tears
Oh no
Gracious even God
Bloodied the cross
Your sins are washed enough
Mother's cry
"Is hate so deep
Must a baby's bones
This hungry fire feed?"
As smoke clouds roll in
The symphony of death
This is the last stop
Scream
Right is wrong now
Shut up you big lie
This black and white lie
You comb your hair to hide
Your lying eyes
You're righteous, so righteous
You're always so right
But why your lie
Go ahead and dream
Go ahead believe that you are the chosen one
This is the last stop
Here there's more than is showing up
Hope that we can break it down
It's not so black and white
You're righteous
You're righteous
You're righteous
You're always so right
There you are nailing a good tree
Then say forgive me, forgive me
Why
Raining tears
This is the last stop
Here there is more than is showing up
Hope that we can break it down
It's not so black and white

O SUPERMAN
Laurie Anderson

O Superman. O judge. O Mom and Dad. Mom and Dad.
O Superman. O judge. O Mom and Dad. Mom and Dad.
Hi. I'm not home right now. But if you want to leave a
message, just start talking at the sound of the tone.
Hello? This is your Mother. Are you there? Are you
coming home?
Hello? Is anybody home? Well, you don't know me,
but I know you.
And I've got a message to give to you.
Here come the planes.
So you better get ready. Ready to go. You can come
as you are, but pay as you go. Pay as you go.

And I said: OK. Who is this really? And the voice said:
This is the hand, the hand that takes. This is
the hand, the hand that takes.
This is the hand, the hand that takes.
Here come the planes.
They're American planes. Made in America.
Smoking or non-smoking?
And the voice said: Neither snow nor rain nor gloom
of night shall stay these couriers from the swift
completion of their appointed rounds.

'Cause when love is gone, there's always justice.
And when justive is gone, there's always force.
And when force is gone, there's always Mom. Hi Mom!

So hold me, Mom, in your long arms. So hold me,
Mom, in your long arms.
In your automatic arms. Your electronic arms.
In your arms.
So hold me, Mom, in your long arms.
Your petrochemical arms. Your military arms.
In your electronic arms.

YOUR RACIST FRIEND
They Might Be Giants

This is where the party ends
I can't stand here listening to you
And your racist friend
I know politics bore you
But I feel like a hypocrite talking to you
And your racist friend

It was the loveliest party that I've ever attended
If anything was broken I'm sure it could be mended
My head can't tolerate this bobbing and pretending
Listen to some bullet-head and the madness that he's saying

This is where the party ends
I'll just sit here wondering how you
Can stand by your racist friend
I know politics bore you
But I feel like a hypocrite talking to you
You and your racist friend

This is where the party ends
I can't stand here listening to you
And your racist friend
I know politics bore you
But I feel like a hypocrite talking to you
And your racist friend

Out from the kitchen to the bedroom to the hallway
Your friend apologizes, he could see it my way
He let the contents of the bottle do the thinking
Can't shake the devil's hand and say you're only kidding

This is where the party ends
I can't stand here listening to you
And your racist friend
I know politics bore you
But I feel like a hypocrite talking to you
And your racist friend

Notes
Most alternate versions are very similar. The farthest removed
is the "extended mix" Dial-a-Song version:

This is where the party ends
I can't stand here wondering how you
Can stand by your racist friend
This is where the party ends
I can't stand here wondering how you
Can stand by your racist friend

It was the loveliest party
That I've ever attended
If anything got broken
I'm sure it could be mended
But my head can't stand this bobbin' and pretendin'
Tolerate some bullethead and the bullshit that he's sayin'

This is where the party ends
I can't stand here listening to your
Your racist friend
This is where the party ends
I'll just sit here wondering how you
Can stand by your racist friend

It was the loveliest party
That I've ever attended
If anything got broken
I'm sure it could be mended
My head can't stand this bobbin', sittin' and pretendin'
Tolerate some bullethead and the bullshit that he's sayin'

This is where the party ends
I can't stand here listening to your
Your racist friend
This is where the party ends
I'll just sit here wondering how you
Can stand by your racist friend

This is where the party ends
I can't stand here listening to your
Your racist friend
This is where the party ends
I'll just sit here wondering how you
Can stand by your racist friend

This is where the party ends
This is where the party ends
This is

WAR?
System of a Down

Dark is the light,
The man you fight,
With all your prayers, incantations,
Running away, a trivial day,
Of judgment and deliverance,
To whom was sold, this bounty soul,
A gentile or a priest ?
Who victored over, the Seljuks,
When the holy land was taken

We will fight the heathens, We will fight the heathens
We will fight the heathens, We will fight the heathens

Was it the riches, of the land,
Powers of bright darkness,
That lead the noble, to the East,
To fight the heathens

We will fight the heathens, We will fight the heathens
We will fight the heathens, We will fight the heathens
We will fight the heathens, We will fight the heathens
We will fight the heathens, We will fight the heathens

We must call upon our bright darkness,
Beliefs, they're the bullets of the wicked,
One was written on the sword,
For you must enter a room to destroy it,
International security,
Call of the righteous man,
Needs a reason to kill man,
History teaches us so,
The reason he must attain,
Must be approved by his God,
His child, partisan brother of war,

Of war, we don't speak anymore,
Of war, we don't speak anymore,
Of war, we don't speak anymore,
Of war, we don't speak anymore,

We will fight the heathens, We will fight the heathens
We will fight the heathens, We will fight the heathens
We will fight the heathens, We will fight the heathens
We will fight the heathens, We will fight the heathens

United States Global Empire
Mason Jennings

Our United States of America
Has quickly become a global empire
Come on!
See it now for what it really is
Power hungry with nothing much to give
And violent, all in the name of freedom

Freedom is not domination
I believe freedom has got to come from within
Yes it does
And without the gun
Freedom is the ability to feel love for everyone

The Empire controls the media
The media controls the world
Come on!
The media is the empire's mouth
Capitalist propaganda coming out
And violence, all in the name of freedom

Freedom is not competition
I believe that freedom's got to come from within
Yes it does
Not with the gun
Freedom's the ability to feel love for everyone

DR. KING
Mason Jennings

Dr. King
I think often of you
And the love that you learned
From Jesus
Dr. King
I think often of you
And the love that you learned
From Jesus

Alabama
Alabama
Bethlehem
(Repeat)

Up ahead we've a mighty task
To love the face behind hatred's mask
Cuz on the day we understand our past
God almighty we'll be free at last

Alabama
Alabama
Bethlehem

self evident

by Ani DiFranco (inspired by the WTC disaster)

yes,
us people are just poems
we're 90% metaphor
with a leanness of meaning
approaching hyper-distillation
and once upon a time
we were moonshine
rushing down the throat of a giraffe
yes, rushing down the long hallway
despite what the p.a. announcement says
yes, rushing down the long stairs
with the whiskey of eternity
fermented and distilled
to eighteen minutes
burning down our throats
down the hall
down the stairs
in a building so tall
that it will always be there
yes, it's part of a pair
there on the bow of noah's ark
the most prestigious couple
just kickin back parked
against a perfectly blue sky
on a morning beatific
in its indian summer breeze
on the day that america
fell to its knees
after strutting around for a century
without saying thank you
or please

and the shock was subsonic
and the smoke was deafening
between the setup and the punch line
cuz we were all on time for work that day
we all boarded that plane for to fly
and then while the fires were raging
we all climbed up on the windowsill
and then we all held hands
and jumped into the sky

and every borough looked up when it heard the first blast
and then every dumb action movie was summarily surpassed
and the exodus uptown by foot and motorcar
looked more like war than anything i've seen so far
so far
so far
so fierce and ingenious
a poetic specter so far gone
that every jackass newscaster was struck dumb and stumbling
over 'oh my god' and 'this is unbelievable' and on and on
and i'll tell you what, while we're at it
you can keep the pentagon
keep the propaganda
keep each and every tv
that's been trying to convince me
to participate
in some prep school punk's plan to perpetuate retribution
perpetuate retribution
even as the blue toxic smoke of our lesson in retribution
is still hanging in the air
and there's ash on our shoes
and there's ash in our hair
and there's a fine silt on every mantle
from hell's kitchen to brooklyn
and the streets are full of stories
sudden twists and near misses
and soon every open bar is crammed to the rafters
with tales of narrowly averted disasters
and the whiskey is flowin
like never before
as all over the country
folks just shake their heads
and pour
so here's a toast to all the folks who live in palestine
afghanistan
iraq

el salvador

here's a toast to the folks living on the pine ridge reservation
under the stone cold gaze of mt. rushmore

here's a toast to all those nurses and doctors
who daily provide women with a choice
who stand down a threat the size of oklahoma city
just to listen to a young woman's voice

here's a toast to all the folks on death row right now
awaiting the executioner's guillotine
who are shackled there with dread and can only escape into their heads
to find peace in the form of a dream

cuz take away our playstations
and we are a third world nation
under the thumb of some blue blood royal son
who stole the oval office and that phony election
i mean
it don't take a weatherman
to look around and see the weather
jeb said he'd deliver florida, folks
and boy did he ever

and we hold these truths to be self evident:
#1 george w. bush is not president
#2 america is not a true democracy
#3 the media is not fooling me
cuz i am a poem heeding hyper-distillation
i've got no room for a lie so verbose
i'm looking out over my whole human family
and i'm raising my glass in a toast

here's to our last drink of fossil fuels
let us vow to get off of this sauce
shoo away the swarms of commuter planes
and find that train ticket we lost
cuz once upon a time the line followed the river
and peeked into all the backyards
and the laundry was waving
the graffiti was teasing us
from brick walls and bridges
we were rolling over ridges
through valleys
under stars
i dream of touring like duke ellington
in my own railroad car
i dream of waiting on the tall blonde wooden benches
in a grand station aglow with grace
and then standing out on the platform
and feeling the air on my face

give back the night its distant whistle
give the darkness back its soul
give the big oil companies the finger finally
and relearn how to rock-n-roll
yes, the lessons are all around us and a change is waiting there
s it's time to pick through the rubble, clean the streets
and clear the air
get our government to pull its big dick out of the sand
of someone else's desert
put it back in its pants
and quit the hypocritical chants of
freedom forever

cuz when one lone phone rang
in two thousand and one
at ten after nine
on nine one one
which is the number we all called
when that lone phone rang right off the wall
right off our desk and down the long hall
down the long stairs
in a building so tall
that the whole world turned
just to watch it fall

and while we're at it
remember the first time around?
the bomb?
the ryder truck?
the parking garage?
the princess that didn't even feel the pea?
remember joking around in our apartment on avenue D?

can you imagine how many paper coffee cups would have to change their design
following a fantastical reversal of the new york skyline?

it was a joke, of course
it was a joke
at the time
and that was just a few years ago
so let the record show
that the FBI was all over that case
that the plot was obvious and in everybody's face
and scoping that scene
religiously
the CIA
or is it KGB?
committing countless crimes against humanity
with this kind of eventuality
as its excuse
for abuse after expensive abuse
and it didn't have a clue
look, another window to see through
way up here
on the 104th floor
look
another key
another door
10% literal
90% metaphor
3000 some poems disguised as people
on an almost too perfect day
should be more than pawns
in some asshole's passion play
so now it's your job
and it's my job
to make it that way
to make sure they didn't die in vain
sshhhhhh....
baby listen
hear the train?

Boom QT - System of a Down
Boom UT

Yes We Can UT - Black Eyed Peas
Yes We Can DD

Our Deliverance

Indigo Girls

Now we can say that nothing’s lost and only change brings round the prophecy
Where now it’s melting, the solid frost was once a veil on greener landscapes we would see
Beneath my surface the water’s heating
And steam comes up and out the tears you see me shine
For every strange and bitter moment there was never a better time
For every pleasure exacts its pain
How you hurt me how you were good to me
Beneath my window a mournful train that makes me smile at my bad poetry
Beneath my surface a song is rising
It may be simple while it hides its true intent
We may be looking for our deliverance but it has already been sent
It’s in the night fall when the light falls
And what you’ve seen isn’t there anymore
It’s in our blind trust that love will find us
Just like it has before
They’re sending soldiers to distant places
X’s and O’s on someone’s drawing board
Like green and plastic but with human faces
And they want to tell you it’s a merciful sword
But with all the blood newly dried in the desert
Can we not fertilize the land with something else
There is no nation by god exempted
Lay down your weapons and love your neighbor as yourself
In the night fall when the light falls
And what you’ve seen isn’t there anymore
It’s through our blind trust that love will find us
Just like it has before

We As Americans

Eminem

There's an intruder
in my house
He cut my phone-lines
can't dial out
I scream for police
but I doubt
They're gonna hear me
when I shout

[rapping]

A couple of cocktails will send me to jail
there's a couple of cops hot on my trail
But this time, when I get pulled over
there's a doberman pinscher and a pitbull in the seat
these pigs 'll get bit fooling with me
quit fooling with me
Bitch, you're gonna see
No pistol in the seat
why it always gotta be an issue when you're me
and which you're gonna see in the long run
Im'a be the wrong one
you wanna harass with this limo tinted glass
flashin that flash-light on my ass where was you at
last night when them assholes
ran up on my grass
rapper slash actor
kiss the crack on my cracker slashed ass
they took away my right to bear arms
what I'm posed to fight with bear palms?
yeah right
they coming with bombs, I'm comin with flare-guns
We as americans

[Chorus]

We as a Americans
Us as a citizen
Gotta protect ourselves
Look at our shit has been
We better check ourselves
Livin up in these streets
Through worse and through better health
Surviving by any means
We as Americans
Us as a citizen
We are samaritans
What do we get us in
We better check ourselves
Look at our shit has been
Take a look where you live
This is America
And we are Americans

Im'a make Vuku bucks
wearin Vuku vests
Drama hanging over my head like a voodoo hex
I could've been next to fly over the cuckoo's nest
but you know who
whith an "S" tatooed to my chest
But I've innested
Now I got the Industry pissy
eversince me and Dre split it fifty-fifty on fifty it's funny
We got a buzz spreading quicker than making paper-airplanes out of a twenty
Fuck money I don't rap for dead presidents
I'd rather see the president dead
It's never been said
but I said precedents and the standards
and they can't stand it
My name should've been bastard
the shit should've been plastered
on my forehead with a stamp
I should've been blasted
I should've been had a cap pulled in my ass
but I'm too swift and fast
for that, I'm past it
I'm too old to go and cruise Gratiot
Fuck that shit
I done seen a fastest rap shit
and turning into some pap-pap shit
that quick
snap click
but this time they got fucking auto-ma-tic
(jamaican) and no one gon' test this mon
Clack

[Chorus]
We as a Americans
Us as a citizen
Gotta protect ourselves
Look at our shit has been
We better check ourselves
Livin up in these streets
Through worse and through better health
Surviving by any means
We as Americans
Us as a citizen
We are samaritans
What do we get us in
We better check ourselves
Look at our shit has been
Take a look where you live
This is America
And we are Americans

(SSHHH)
I got a secret if you can keep it between us
I tuck two Nina's under my jeans either side of my penis
under my Long Johns
under my Sean Johns
when running with the long arm or the long long gone
Im'a do five years no less than that
no questions asked
it might be a good idea to stop right here
and quit while I'm ahead
already in the red
already got a steady infrared meant for my head
A target on my back
bigger problems than that
Bin Laden on my ass
he probly gone send a task
I ain't gone even ask
they ain't gone let me pack
they ain't gone gimme my semi but I got my Whizz at

We as a Americans
Us as a citizen
Gotta protect ourselves
Look at our shit has been
We better check ourselves
Livin up in these streets
Through worse and through better health
Surviving by any means
We are Americans
Us as a citizen
We as samaritans
What do we get us in
We better check ourselves
Look at our shit has been
Take a look where you live
This is America
And we are Americans

SHINE
Dirty Heads

Tad of a minor threat
Born out of a sun set
Been holdin the mic for many years
And still dont have any guns yet
Any one havin fun yet
My heart beats like a drum set
Take a look up in the sky and feel the heat
Thats were I'm from yes
Take a look around when we startin the sound
We're like a public toilet seat
Man you dont want to sit down
And if you come to be yourself original then let it shine
And if your friends are friends of love then all your
Friends are friends of mine.

[CHORUS]
If you come to be yourself original then let it shine
And if your friends are friends of love then all your
Friends are friends of mine
If you come to be yourself original then let it shine
If your friends are friends of love then were all friends
Let it shine
Let it shine
Let it shine
Why dont you let yourself
When you need yourself
Why dont you let yourself shine

Original we can flow, test the waters deep below
Temperature set to explode, never stoppin till its
Gold, through the fire through the cold, over mountains
Down the road, cities come and cities go, movin individuals.
So if you seen us then you know we aint trying to
Be no one, we just dirty headed kids from the city of
The sun, and I wish that we could stay but its time
For us to shine if your friends are friends with love
Then your friends are friends of mine.

[CHORUS]

Why dont you let yourself
Why dont you let yourself shine

[CHORUS]
Tad of a minor threat
Born out of a sun set
Been holdin the mic for many years
And still dont have any guns yet
Any one havin fun yet
My heart beats like a drum set
Take a look up in the sky and feel the heat
Thats were I'm from yes
Take a look around when we startin the sound
Were like a public toilet seat
Man you dont want to sit down
And if you come to be yourself original then let it shine
And if your friends are friends of love then all your
Friends are friends of mine.

[CHORUS]
If you come to be yourself original then let it shine
And if your friends are friends of love then all your
Friends are friends of mine
If you come to be yourself original then let it shine
If your friends are friends of love then were all friends
Let it shine
Let it shine
Let it shine
Why dont you let yourself
When you need yourself
Why dont you let yourself shine

Original we can flow, test the waters deep below
Temperature set to explode, never stoppin till its
Gold, through the fire through the cold, over mountains
Down the road, cities come and cities go, movin individuals.
So if you seen us then you know we aint trying to
Be no one, we just dirty headed kids from the city of
The sun, and I wish that we could stay but its time
For us to shine if your friends are friends with love
Then your friends are friends of mine.

[CHORUS]

Why dont you let yourself
Why dont you let yourself shine

[CHORUS]

[ These are Shine Lyrics on http://www.lyricsmania.com/ ]

More lyrics: http://www.lyricsmania.com/shine_lyrics_dirty_heads.html
All about Dirty Heads: http://www.musictory.com/music/Dirty+Heads