Post your favorite inspirational/political/rebel song lyrics here!!!

One of my favorites....

Praying for Time by George Micheal

These are the days of the open hand
They will not be the last
Look around now
These are the days of the beggars and the choosers
This is the year of the hungry man
Whose place is in the past
Hand in hand with ignorance
And legitimate excuses
The rich declare themselves poor
And most of us are not sureIf we have too much
But we'll take our chances
Because God's stopped keeping score
I guess somewhere along the way
He must have let us all out to play
Turned his back and all Gods children
Crept out the back door
And its hard to love,
there's so much tohate
Hanging on to hope
When there is no hope to speak of
And the wounded skies above say it's much, much too late
Well maybe we should all be praying for time

These are the days of the empty hand
Oh you hold on to what you can
And charity is a coat you wear twice a year
This is the year of the guilty man
Your television takes a stand
And you find that what was over there is over here
So you scream from behind your door
Say what's mine is mine and not yours
I may have too much but I?ll take my chances
Because God's stopped keeping score
And you cling to the things they sold you
Did you cover your eyes when they told you
That he can't come back
Because he has no children to come back for
Its hard to love
there's so much to hate
Hanging on to hope when there is no hope to speak of
And the wounded skies above say its much too late
So maybe we should all be praying for time

MacArthur Park :rofl:

Spring was never waiting for us, girl
It ran one step ahead
As we followed in the dance
Between the parted pages and were pressed
In love's hot, fevered iron
Like a striped pair of pants

MacArthur's Park is melting in the dark
All the sweet, green icing flowing down
Someone left the cake out in the rain
I don't think that I can take it
'Cause it took so long to bake it
And I'll never have that recipe again
Oh, no!

I recall the yellow cotton dress
Foaming like a wave
On the ground around your knees
The birds, like tender babies in your hands
And the old men playing checkers by the trees

MacArthur's Park is melting in the dark
All the sweet, green icing flowing down
Someone left the cake out in the rain
I don't think that I can take it
'Cause it took so long to bake it
And I'll never have that recipe again
Oh, no!



There will be another song for me
For I will sing it
There will be another dream for me
Someone will bring it
I will drink the wine while it is warm
And never let you catch me looking at the sun
And after all the loves of my life
After all the loves of my life
You'll still be the one

I will take my life into my hands and I will use it
I will win the worship in their eyes and I will lose it
I will have the things that I desire
And my passion flow like rivers through the sky
And after all the loves of my life
After all the loves of my life
I'll be thinking of you
And wondering why



MacArthur's Park is melting in the dark
All the sweet, green icing flowing down
Someone left the cake out in the rain
I don't think that I can take it
'Cause it took so long to bake it
And I'll never have that recipe again
Oh, no!
Oh, no
No, no
Oh no!!

Never heard it...

I will download it.

:rofl:

:toast:

We used to spend hours analyzing MacArthur's Park. Still you could find a variety of meanings to MacArthur's Park but decades later I still haven't figured out Procol Harum's Whiter Shade of Pale

A HARD RAIN'S A-GONNA FALL
by Bob Dylan

Oh, where have you been, my blue-eyed son?
Oh, where have you been, my darling young one?
I've stumbled on the side of twelve misty mountains,
I've walked and I've crawled on six crooked highways,
I've stepped in the middle of seven sad forests,
I've been out in front of a dozen dead oceans,
I've been ten thousand miles in the mouth of a graveyard,

And it's a hard, and it's a hard, it's a hard, and it's a hard,
And it's a hard rain's a-gonna fall.

Oh, what did you see, my blue-eyed son?
Oh, what did you see, my darling young one?
I saw a newborn baby with wild wolves all around it,
I saw a highway of diamonds with nobody on it,
I saw a black branch with blood that kept drippin',
I saw a room full of men with their hammers a-bleedin',
I saw a white ladder all covered with water,
I saw ten thousand talkers whose tongues were all broken,
I saw guns and sharp swords in the hands of young children,

And it's a hard, and it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard,
And it's a hard rain's a-gonna fall.

And what did you hear, my blue-eyed son?
And what did you hear, my darling young one?
I heard the sound of a thunder, it roared out a warnin',
Heard the roar of a wave that could drown the whole world,
Heard one hundred drummers whose hands were a-blazin',
Heard ten thousand whisperin' and nobody listenin',
Heard one person starve, I heard many people laughin',
Heard the song of a poet who died in the gutter,
Heard the sound of a clown who cried in the alley,

And it's a hard, and it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard,
And it's a hard rain's a-gonna fall.

Oh, who did you meet, my blue-eyed son?
Who did you meet, my darling young one?
I met a young child beside a dead pony,
I met a white man who walked a black dog,
I met a young woman whose body was burning,
I met a young girl, she gave me a rainbow,
I met one man who was wounded in love,
I met another man who was wounded with hatred,

And it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard,
It's a hard rain's a-gonna fall.

Oh, what'll you do now, my blue-eyed son?
Oh, what'll you do now, my darling young one?
I'm a-goin' back out 'fore the rain starts a-fallin',
I'll walk to the depths of the deepest black forest,
Where the people are many and their hands are all empty,
Where the pellets of poison are flooding their waters,
Where the home in the valley meets the damp dirty prison,
Where the executioner's face is always well hidden,
Where hunger is ugly, where souls are forgotten,
Where black is the color, where none is the number,

And I'll tell it and think it and speak it and breathe it,
And reflect it from the mountain so all souls can see it,
Then I'll stand on the ocean until I start sinkin',
But I'll know my song well before I start singin',
And it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard, It's a hard rain's a-gonna fall.




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chicago
Dialogue (Parts I and II)
Written by - Robert Lamm
From - Chicago V


Part I

Terry:
Are you optimistic
'bout the way things are going?

Peter:
No, I never ever think of it at all

Terry:
Don't you ever worry
When you see what's going down?

Peter:
No, I try to mind my business
that is, no business at all

Terry:
When it's time to function
as a feeling human being, will your
Bachelor of Arts help you get by?

Peter:
I hope to study further
a few more years or so. I also hope
to keep a steady high

Terry:
Will you try to change
things, use the power that you have
the power of a million new ideas?

Peter:
What is this power you
speak of and this need for things to
change? I always thought
that everything was fine

Terry:
Don't you feel repression just
closing in around?

Peter:
No, the campus here is very, very free

Terry:
Does it make you angry
the way war is dragging on?

Peter:
Well, I hope the President
knows what he's into, I don't know

Terry:
Don't you ever see the starvation
in the city where you live, all the
needless hunger all the
needless pain?

Peter:
I haven't been there lately,
the country is so fine, but my
neighbors don't seem hungry 'cause
they haven't got the time

Terry:
Thank you for the talk
you know you really eased my mind
I was troubled by the shapes
of things to come

Peter:
Well, if you had my
outlook your feelings would be
numb, you'd always think
that everything was fine

Part II

Group:
We can make it happen
We can change the world now
We can save the children
We can make it better
We can make it happen
We can save the children
We can make it happen

work from the end of September 2004 right up until election day. Now every time I hear it I end up crying. Oh, look at that. I guess every time I read the lyrics I end up crying, too.
:cry:

I'm feeling a bit down now that I've made you cry.

The crazy thing about this particular song is how incredibly relevant it seems in the here & now. War, apathy, poverty, repression, et.al.

Anyway-- stop crying! Right now, doggonit! Laugh at the absurdities, otherwise we'll drown in our tears.







A bad joke will help-- "Two guys walk into a bar. You'd think the second one would've ducked..."

spent tending bar. Thanks for the laugh :7
Its relevency was why I had been addicted to listening repeatedly in the first place, but now the song reminds me of how I felt right after the election was stolen YET AGAIN. The other one was Ball of Confusion by the Temptations.
BTW, I wasn't out and out crying but I did seriously well up.

I've heard that song a million times but I have never read the lyrics and had it hit home so hard. OMG, how timeless is that song?

This one:
http://www.backingblair.co.uk/roses/

Geez - those guys knew who to dump on.

...written at the beginning of Clinton's last term, but even more meaningful now.

It's Christmastime in Washington
The Democrats rehearsed
Gettin' into gear for four more years
Things not gettin' worse
The Republicans drink whiskey neat
And thanked their lucky stars
They said, 'He cannot seek another term
They'll be no more FDRs'
I sat home in Tennessee
Staring at the screen
With an uneasy feeling in my chest
And I'm wonderin' what it means

Chorus:
So come back Woody Guthrie
Come back to us now
Tear your eyes from paradise
And rise again somehow
If you run into Jesus
Maybe he can help you out
Come back Woody Guthrie to us now

I followed in your footsteps once
Back in my travelin' days
Somewhere I failed to find your trail
Now I'm stumblin' through the haze
But there's killers on the highway now
And a man can't get around
So I sold my soul for wheels that roll
Now I'm stuck here in this town

Chorus

There's foxes in the hen house
Cows out in the corn
The unions have been busted
Their proud red banners torn
To listen to the radio
You'd think that all was well
But you and me and Cisco know
It's going straight to hell

So come back, Emma Goldman
Rise up, old Joe Hill
The barracades are goin' up
They cannot break our will
Come back to us, Malcolm X
And Martin Luther King
We're marching into Selma
As the bells of freedom ring

Chorus

http://steveearle.net/discography/elcorazo.php

Iris Dement's Wasteland of the Free inspired a website--where you can hear her sing the song. http://wastelandofthefree.com/

(Of course, I could post something from the old country--where being Republican didn't what it means here & now. But that would be wrong.)

Picture a bright blue ball
Just spinning, spinning free
Dizzy with eternity
Paint it with a skin of sky
Brush in some clouds and sea
Call it home for you and me
A peaceful place or so it looks from space
A closer look reveals the human race
Full of hope, full of grace, is the human face
But afraid, we may our home to waste

There's a fear down here we can't forget
Hasn't got a name just yet
Always awake, always around
Singing ashes to ashes all fall down
Ashes ashes all fall down

Now watch as the ball revolves and the nighttime falls
And again the hunt begins and again the bloodwind calls
By and by again, the morning sun will rise
But the darkness never goes from some men's eyes

It strolls the sidewalks and it rolls the streets
Stalking turf, dividing up meat
Nightmare spook, piece of heat
It's you and me, you and me

Click, flashblade in ghetto night
Rudie's looking for a fight
Rat cat alley roll them bones
Need that cash to feed that jones
And the politician's throwing stones
Singing ashes, ashes all fall down
Ashes, ashes all fall down

Commissars and pin-striped bosses role the dice
Any way they fall guess who gets to pay the price
Money green or proletarian gray
Selling guns instead of food today

So the kids they dance, they shake their bones
And the politician's throwing stones
Singing ashes, ashes all fall down
Ashes ashes all fall down

Heartless powers try to tell us what to think
If the spirit's sleeping, then the flesh is ink
History's page, it is thusly carved in stone
The future's here, we are it, we are on our own
On our own. On our own. On our own.

(guitar solo)

If the game is lost then we're all the same
No one left to place or take the blame
We will leave this place an empty stone
Or that shinning ball of blue we can call our home

So the kids they dance, they shake their bones
And the politicians are throwing stones
Singing ashes, ashes all fall down
Ashes ashes all fall down

Shipping powders back and forth
Singing "black goes south and white comes north"
And the whole world full of petty wars
Singing "I got mine and you got yours"
And the current fashions set the pace
Lose your step, fall out of grace
And the radical he rant and rage
Singing "someone got to turn the page"
And the rich man in his summer home,
Singing "Just leave well enough alone"
But his pants are down, his cover's blown

And the politicians are throwing stones
So the kids they dance they shake their bones
Cause its all too clear we're on our own
Sing ashes, ashes all fall down
Ashes ashes all fall down

Picture a bright blue ball just spinning, spinning free
It's dizzying, the possibilities

Ashes, Ashes all fall down
Ashes, Ashes all fall down
Ashes, Ashes all fall down
Ashes, Ashes all fall down
Ashes, Ashes all fall down
Ashes, Ashes all fall down
Ashes, Ashes all fall down
Ashes, Ashes all fall down

:patriot:

:kick:

I love that you love my sig line. C'mere. :hug:

proud of it too!

Bob Marley
Get Up Stand Up
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!

feel inspired every time I hear it now.

Let the Day Begin (sung by The Call)

Here's to the babies in a brand new world
Here's to the beauty of the stars
Here's to the travellers on the open road
Here's to the dreamers in the bars

Here's to the teachers in the crowded rooms
Here's to the workers in the fields
Here's to the preachers of the sacred words
Here's to the drivers at the wheel

Here's to you my little loves with blessings from above
Now let the day begin
Here's to you my little loves with blessings from above
Now let the day begin, let the day begin

Here's to the winners of the human race
Here's to the losers in the game
Here's to the soldiers of the bitter war
Here's to the wall that bears their names

Here's to you my little loves with blessings from above
Now let the day begin
Here's to you my little loves with blessings from above
Let the day begin, let the day begin, let the day start

Here's to the doctors and their healing work
Here's to the loved ones in their care
Here's to the strangers on the streets tonight
Here's to the lonely everywhere

Here's to the wisdom from the mouths of babes
Here's to the lions in the cage
Here's to the struggles of the silent war
Here's to the closing of the age.

Here's to you my little loves with blessings from above
Now let the day begin
Here's to you my little loves with blessings from above
Let the day begin

Here's to you my little loves with blessings from above
Let the day begin
Here's to you my little loves with blessings from above
Now let the day begin, let the day begin, let the day start

:7

and we shall overcome...

:patriot: Pete Seeger

If I Had A Rocket Launcher...

Here comes the helicopter -- second time today
Everybody scatters and hopes it goes away
How many kids they've murdered only God can say
If I had a rocket launcher...I'd make somebody pay

I don't believe in guarded borders and I don't believe in hate
I don't believe in generals or their stinking torture states
And when I talk with the survivors of things too sickening to relate
If I had a rocket launcher...I would retaliate

On the Rio Lacantun, one hundred thousand wait
To fall down from starvation -- or some less humane fate
Cry for guatemala, with a corpse in every gate
If I had a rocket launcher...I would not hesitate

I want to raise every voice -- at least I've got to try
Every time I think about it water rises to my eyes.
Situation desperate, echoes of the victims cry
If I had a rocket launcher...Some son of a bitch would die

Power to the people
Power to the people
Power to the people
Power to the people
Power to the people
Power to the people
Power to the people
Power to the people, right on

Say you want a revolution
We better get on right away
Well you get on your feet
And out on the street

Singing power to the people
Power to the people
Power to the people
Power to the people, right on

A million workers working for nothing
You better give ’em what they really own
We got to put you down
When we come into town

Singing power to the people
Power to the people
Power to the people
Power to the people, right on

I gotta ask you comrades and brothers
How do you treat you own woman back home
She got to be herself
So she can free herself

Singing power to the people
Power to the people
Power to the people
Power to the people, right on
Now, now, now, now

Oh well, power to the people
Power to the people
Power to the people
Power to the people, right on

Yeah, power to the people
Power to the people
Power to the people
Power to the people, right on

Power to the people
Power to the people
Power to the people
Power to the people, right on

As soon as you’re born they make you feel small
By giving you no time instead of it all
Till the pain is so big you feel nothing at all
A working class hero is something to be
A working class hero is something to be
They hurt you at home and they hit you at school
They hate you if you’re clever and they despise a fool
Till you’re so fucking crazy you can’t follow their rules
A working class hero is something to be
A working class hero is something to be

When they’ve tortured and scared you for twenty odd years
Then they expect you to pick a career
When you can’t really function you’re so full of fear
A working class hero is something to be
A working class hero is something to be

Keep you doped with religion and sex and tv
And you think you’re so clever and classless and free
But you’re still fucking peasants as far as I can see
A working class hero is something to be
A working class hero is something to be

There’s room at the top they are telling you still
But first you must learn how to smile as you kill
If you want to be like the folks on the hill
A working class hero is something to be
A working class hero is something to be

If you want to be a hero well just follow me
If you want to be a hero well just follow me

Abraham,Martin and John -Dion

Has anybody here seen my old friend Abraham?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
He freed a lot of people,
But it seems the good they die young.
You know, I just looked around and he's gone.

Anybody here seen my old friend John?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
He freed a lot of people,
But it seems the good they die young.
I just looked around and he's gone.

Anybody here seen my old friend Martin?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
He freed a lot of people,
But it seems the good they die young.
I just looked 'round and he's gone.

Didn't you love the things that they stood for?
Didn't they try to find some good for you and me?
And we'll be free
Some day soon, and it's a-gonna be one day ...

Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walk up over the hill,
With Abraham, Martin and John.

And here is an old one that has always given me a melancholy kind of feeling;


Well, I dreamed I saw the knights in armour coming,
Sayin' something about a queen.
There were peasants singin' and drummers drummin'
And the archer split the tree.
There's a fanfare blowin' to the sun
That was floating on the breeze.
Look at Mother Nature on the run in the nineteen seventies.
Look at Mother Nature on the run in the nineteen seventies.

I was lyin' in a burned out basement
With the full moon in my eyes.
I was hopin' for a replacement
When the sun burst through the sky.
There was a band playin' in my head
And I felt like getting high.
I was thinkin' about what a friend had said I was hopin' it was a lie.
Thinkin' about what a friend had said I was hopin' it was a lie.

Well, I dreamed I saw the silver spaceships flyin'
In the yellow haze of the sun,
There were children cryin' and colours flyin'
All around the chosen ones
All in a dream, all in a dream the loading had begun.
Flying Mother Nature's silver seed to a new home in the sun.
Flying Mother Nature's silver seed to a new home

The Revolution Starts Now
by Steve Earle

I was walkin’ down the street
In the town where I was born
I was movin’ to a beat
That I’d never felt before
So I opened up my eyes
And I took a look around
I saw it written ‘cross the sky
The revolution starts now
Yeah, the revolution starts now

The revolution starts now
When you rise above your fear
And tear the walls around you down
The revolution starts here
Where you work and where you play
Where you lay your money down
What you do and what you say
The revolution starts now
Yeah the revolution starts now

Yeah the revolution starts now
In your own backyard
In your own hometown
So what you doin’ standin’ around?
Just follow your heart
The revolution starts now

Last night I had a dream
That the world had turned around
And all our hopes had come to be
And the people gathered ‘round
They all brought what they could bring
And nobody went without
And I learned a song to sing
The revolution starts now


COPS OF THE WORLD
By Phil Ochs

Come, get out of the way, boys
Quick, get out of the way
You'd better watch what you say, boys
Better watch what you say
We've rammed in your harbor and tied to your port
And our pistols are hungry and our tempers are short
So bring your daughters around to the port
'Cause we're the Cops of the World, boys
We're the Cops of the World

We pick and choose as please, boys
Pick and choose as please
You'd best get down on your knees, boys
Best get down on your knees
We're hairy and horny and ready to shack
We don't care if you're yellow or black
Just take off your clothes and lie down on your back
'Cause we're the Cops of the World, boys
We're the Cops of the World

Our boots are needing a shine, boys
Boots are needing a shine
But our Coca-cola is fine, boys
Coca-cola is fine
We've got to protect all our citizens fair
So we'll send a battalion for everyone there
And maybe we'll leave in a couple of years
'Cause we're the Cops of the World, boys
We're the Cops of the World

Dump the reds in a pile, boys
Dump the reds in a pile
You'd better wipe off that smile, boys
Better wipe off that smile
We'll spit through the streets of the cities we wreck
We'll find you a leader that you can't elect
Those treaties we signed were a pain in the neck
'Cause we're the Cops of the World, boys
We're the Cops of the World

Clean the johns with a rag, boys
Clean the johns with a rag
If you like you can use your flag, boys
If you like you can use your flag
We've got too much money we're looking for toys
And guns will be guns and boys will be boys
But we'll gladly pay for all we destroy
'Cause we're the Cops of the World, boys
We're the Cops of the World

Please stay off of the grass, boys
Please stay off of the grass
Here's a kick in the ass, boys
Here's a kick in the ass
We'll smash down your doors, we don't bother to knock
We've done it before, so why all the shock?
We're the biggest and toughest kids on the block
'Cause we're the Cops of the World, boys
We're the Cops of the World

When we butchered your son, boys
When we butchered your son
Have a stick of our gum, boys
Have a stick of our buble-gum
We own half the world, oh say can you see
The name for our profits is democracy
So, like it or not, you will have to be free
'Cause we're the Cops of the World, boys
We're the Cops of the World.

My 2 favorites by him "The Band Played Waltzing Matilda" and "No Man's Land" both about WWI.


However these lyrics pack a punch.

Other People's Children


The Korean girl lay dying by the icy road
As the soldiers shuffled past her, their bodies hunched against the cold
Snowflakes clung like small white stars to the black blood in her hair
I looked for the rifle in her hands but I saw no rifle there

The young Vietnamese boy sat wailing by his dead mother's side
Behind him his home was burning as he sat there terrified
I saw the horror in his eyes the terror and despair
I looked for the rifles in his hands but I saw no rifle there.

Chorus:
No more dead kids, please, no more dead kids
No more, no more, no more

The Kurdish children were lying where the gas had cut them down
Like small bundles of discarded rags in the streets of the silent town
When I saw them I wept and cried "Dear Christ" --half a curse and half a prayer
I looked for the rifles in their hands, but I saw no rifles there.

The Iraqi family sprawled on the floor in violent death's blood-soaked release
Beside his dead wife and children the father screamed aloud his grief
Just one more piece of collateral damage that no tears can ever repair
I looked for the rifles in their hands, but I saw no rifles there.

Korea, Rwanda, Vietnam, Palestine and Lebanon
Chechnya and Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan
Other people's children, sons and daughters, husbands, wives
Yet we still send our children to take other people's children's lives


Eric Bogle 2003

He has many great protest songs.

Cheers

Bomb the World (acoustic version)
Please tell me the reason
Behind the colors that you fly
Love just one nation
And the whole world we divide
You say you're "sorry"
Say, "there is no other choice"
But god bless the people them
Who cannot raise their voice
(chorus)

We can chase down all our enemies
Bring them to their knees
We can bomb the world to pieces
But we can't bomb it into peace
Whoa we may even find a solution
To hunger and disease
We can bomb the world to pieces
But we can't bomb it into peace

Violence brings one thing
More more of the same
Military madness
The smell of flesh and burning pain
So i sing out to the masses
Stand up if you're still sane!
To all of us gone crazy
I sing this one refrain
(chorus)

And i sing power to the peaceful
Love to the people y'all
Power to the peaceful
Love to the people y'all

Bomb the world (armageddon version produced by Sly & Robbie)

I don't understand the whole reason why
You tellin' us all that we need to unify
Rally round the flag
And beat the drums of war
Sing the same old songs
Ya know we heard 'em all before
You tellin' me it's unpatriotic
But i call it what i see it
When i see it's idiotic
The tears of one mother
Are the same as any other
Drop food on the kids
While you're murderin' their fathers
But don't bother to show it on cnn
Brothers and sisters don't believe them
It's not a war against evil
It's really just revenge
Engaged on the poorest by the same rich men
Fight terrorists wherever they be found
But why you not bombing tim mcveigh's hometown
You can say what you want propaganda television
But all bombing is terrorism
(chorus)

We can chase down all our enemies
Bring them to their knees
We can bomb the world to pieces
But we can't bomb it into peace
Whoa we may even find a solution
To hunger and disease
We can bomb the world to pieces
But we can't bomb it into peace

911
Fire in the skies
Many people died
And no one even really knows why
They tellin' lies of division and fear
We yelled and cried
No one listened for years
But like, "who put us here?"
And who's responsible?
Well, there's no debatin'
Cause if they ask me i say
It's big corporations
World trade organization
Tri-lateral action
International sanctions, satan
Seems like it'll be an endless price tag
Of wars tremendous
And most disturbingly
The death toll is so horrendous
So i send this to those
Who say they defend us
Send us into harm's way
We should all make a rememberence that
This is bigger than terrorism
Blood is blood is blood and um
Love is true vision
Who will listen?
How many songs it takes for you to see
You can bomb the world to pieces
You can't bomb it into peace

(chorus)

Power to the peaceful
And i say, love to the people y'all
Power to the peaceful
And i say, love to the people y'all

-- Michael Franti & Spearhead (& a host of others on the armageddon version)

Well I’m about to get sick
Form watching my tv
Been checking out the news
Till my eyeballs fail to see
Seems that every day
Just another rotten mess
And when’s gonna change my friends
Is anybody’s guess

So I’m watching and I’m waitn’
And hopin’ for the best
Even think I’ll get to prayin’
Every time I hear them sayin’
There’s no way to delay that trouble comin’ every day
There’s no way to delay more trouble comin’ every day


(Live at the Roxy Version)

As soon as your born they make you feel small
by giving you no time instead of it all
Till the pain is so big you feel nothing at all
Working Class Hero is something to be
Working Class Hero is something to be

They hurt you at home and they hit you at school
They hate you if you're clever and despise a fool
Till you're so fucking crazy you can't follow their rules
Working Class Hero is something to be
Working Class Hero is something to be

When they've tortured and scared you for 20 odd years
then they expect you to pick a career
When you can't really function you're so full of fear
Working Class Hero is something to be
Working Class Hero is something to be

Keep you doped with religon, sex and T.V.
and you think you're so clever and classless and free
but you're still fucking peasents as far as I can see
Working Class Hero is something to be
Working Class Hero is something to be

There's room at the top I'm telling you still
but first you must learn how to smile as you kill
if you want to be like the folks on the hill
Working Class Hero is something to be

Yes , A Working Class Hero is something to be
If you want to be a hero well just follow me
If you want to be a hero well just follow me

BALL OF CONFUSION (Temptations)

1, 2... 1, 2, 3, 4, Ow!
People moving out, people moving in. Why, because of the color of their skin.
Run, run, run but you sure can't hide. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.
Vote for me and I'll set you free. Rap on, brother, rap on.
Well, the only person talking about love thy brother is the...(preacher.)
And it seems nobody's interested in learning but the...(teacher.)
Segregation, determination, demonstration, integration, Aggravation, humiliation, obligation to our nation.
Ball of confusion. Oh yeah, that's what the world is today. Woo, hey, hey.
The sale of pills are at an all time high.
Young folks walking round with their heads in the sky.
The cities ablaze in the summer time.
And oh, the beat goes on.
Evolution, revolution, gun control, sound of soul.
Shooting rockets to the moon, kids growing up too soon.
Politicians say more taxes will solve everything.
And the band played on.
So, round and around and around we go.
Where the world's headed, nobody knows.

Oh, great GoogaMooga, can't you hear me talking to you.
Just a ball of confusion.
Oh yeah, that's what the world is today.
Woo, hey, hey.
Fear in the air, tension everywhere.
Unemployment rising fast, the Beatles new record's a gas.
And the only safe place to live is on an Indian reservation.
And the band played on.
Eve of destruction, tax deduction, city inspectors, bill collectors,
Mod clothes in demand, population out of hand, suicide, too many bills,
Hippies moving to the hills. People all over the world are shouting, 'End the war.'
And the band played on.

Great GoogaMooga, can't you hear me talking to you.
Sayin'... ball of confusion.
That's what the world is today, hey, hey.
Let me hear ya, let me hear ya, let me hear ya.
Sayin'... ball of confusion.
That's what the world is today, hey, hey.
Let me hear ya, let me hear ya, let me hear ya, let me hear ya, let me hear ya.
Sayin'... ball of confusion.

Poor man`s anger rising.
The ostrich hides his head.
Soon the red blood will be boiling.
And blue blood will be dead.
While we say.

(Chorus)
Little by little by little,
And stone by stone.
Rich man`s mountain comes crumbling down

Poor boy sleeps on straw,
The rich boy sleeps in bed.
That fat boy fills his belly,
My poor boys`s a dead,
While we say.

(Chorus)
Little by little by little,
And stone by stone.
Rich man`s mountain comes crumbling down.

The rich man drives his car past,
The poor man on bare feet.
That rich man do get what he wants
The poor must know defeat,
While we say.

(Chorus)
Little by little by little,
And stone by stone.
Rich man`s mountain comes crumbling down.

I had the honor of seeing her perform this two different times in concert. AMAZING experience.

People Have the Power

I was dreaming in my dreaming
of an aspect bright and fair
and my sleeping it was broken
but my dream it lingered near
in the form of shining valleys
where the pure air recognized
and my senses newly opened
I awakened to the cry
that the people / have the power
to redeem / the work of fools
upon the meek / the graces shower
it's decreed / the people rule

The people have the power
The people have the power
The people have the power
The people have the power

Vengeful aspects became suspect
and bending low as if to hear
and the armies ceased advancing
because the people had their ear
and the shepherds and the soldiers
lay beneath the stars
exchanging visions
and laying arms
to waste / in the dust
in the form of / shining valleys
where the pure air / recognized
and my senses / newly opened
I awakened / to the cry

Refrain

Where there were deserts
I saw fountains
like cream the waters rise
and we strolled there together
with none to laugh or criticize
and the leopard
and the lamb
lay together truly bound
I was hoping in my hoping
to recall what I had found
I was dreaming in my dreaming
god knows / a purer view
as I surrender to my sleeping
I commit my dream to you

Refrain

The power to dream / to rule
to wrestle the world from fools
it's decreed the people rule
it's decreed the people rule
LISTEN
I believe everything we dream
can come to pass through our union
we can turn the world around
we can turn the earth's revolution
we have the power
People have the power ...

I don't have the lyrics, but you can watch/listen here. Catchy little tune :7

http://www.bushflash.com/ihr.html

Everybody knows that the dice are loaded
Everybody rolls with their fingers crossed
Everybody knows that the war is over
Everybody knows the good guys lost
Everybody knows the fight was fixed
The poor stay poor, the rich get rich
That's how it goes
Everybody knows
Everybody knows that the boat is leaking
Everybody knows that the captain lied
Everybody got this broken feeling
Like their father or their dog just died

Everybody talking to their pockets
Everybody wants a box of chocolates
And a long stem rose
Everybody knows

Everybody knows that you love me baby
Everybody knows that you really do
Everybody knows that you've been faithful
Ah give or take a night or two
Everybody knows you've been discreet
But there were so many people you just had to meet
Without your clothes
And everybody knows

Everybody knows, everybody knows
That's how it goes
Everybody knows

Everybody knows, everybody knows
That's how it goes
Everybody knows

And everybody knows that it's now or never
Everybody knows that it's me or you
And everybody knows that you live forever
Ah when you've done a line or two
Everybody knows the deal is rotten
Old Black Joe's still pickin' cotton
For your ribbons and bows
And everybody knows

And everybody knows that the Plague is coming
Everybody knows that it's moving fast
Everybody knows that the naked man and woman
Are just a shining artifact of the past
Everybody knows the scene is dead
But there's gonna be a meter on your bed
That will disclose
What everybody knows

And everybody knows that you're in trouble
Everybody knows what you've been through
From the bloody cross on top of Calvary
To the beach of Malibu
Everybody knows it's coming apart
Take one last look at this Sacred Heart
Before it blows
And everybody knows

Everybody knows, everybody knows
That's how it goes
Everybody knows

Oh everybody knows, everybody knows
That's how it goes
Everybody knows

Everybody knows

I believe it was Country Joe and the Fish

And it's 1..2..3..
What are we fighting for?
Don't ask me, I don't give a damn,
Next stop is Viet Nam.

And it's 5..6..7...
Open up the pearly gates.
Ain't no time to wonder why.
Whoopee! We're all gonna die.


It goes on for a while, I don't remember all the lines, but one couplet stuck with me:

Hey! Be the first one on your block
To have your son sent home in a box.

The 60's and early 70's can't be matched for protest songs. :)

I used to wonder what it'd be like
to live and work up on the death star
'til I grew up inside a vast corrupt and evil empire
and now I'd like to think I'd riot
or be the leader of a well-planned uprising
but my life is rather quiet

Besides I'm not exactly known
for stirring up things...
Like when I rally round the emperor
or participate in his state sponsored events,
I'm really sticking it to the man!

Although I practice no religion
I do believe in one all-encompassing God
And as far as definitions or descriptions
I thought this was enough

Now I used to say I'll stay young and full of piss and vinegar
Now I used to say I'll stay young and full of beans
and yet somehow I got older
and I started caring less and less and less
and I grew up and grew complacent
I hoped the rebels would retreat or released I guess
but it appears they upped the ante
and it appears they're following through on their threats
the rhetoric from both sides sticks me somewhere in the middle of it
sticks me somewhere in the middle of it

If every action has a consequence
how come I did not foresee these future events?
If every action has a consequence
how come I did not foresee these future events?

how did I end up a target?
how did I end up a target?
how did I...

I handed over all my freedoms
So I could feel all warm and safe and secure...
But I could tell there's something wrong here
Without our freedom, something bad is bound to occur.
I'm scared to death here on the death star
I'm afraid of what I'm sure is coming next
I don't want to die inside the belly of the beast that suckled me


Now it's right here at my doorstep
and now it's breathing down my neck

Now it's right here at my doorstep
and now it's breathing down my neck

Karma Police, arrest this man, he talks in maths
He buzzes like a fridge, he's like a detuned radio
Karma Police, arrest this girl, her hitler hairdo,
is making me feel ill
And we have crashed her party
This is what you get, this is what you get
This is what you get, when you mess with us

Karma Police, I've given all I can, it's not enough
I've given all I can, but we're still on the payroll
This is what you get, this is what you get
This is what you get, when you mess with us
And for a minute there, I lost myself, I lost myself
And for a minute there, I lost myself, I lost myself

This song ALWAYS makes me think of Bush & Condi!

Vietnam Vet with a cardboard sign
Sitting there by the left turn line
Flag on the wheelchair flapping in the breeze
One leg missing, both hands free
No one's paying much mind to him
The V.A. budget's stretched so thin
And there's more comin' home from the Mideast war
We can't make it here anymore

That big ol' building was the textile mill
It fed our kids and it paid our bills
But they turned us out and they closed the doors
We can't make it here anymore

See all those pallets piled up on the loading dock
They're just gonna set there till they rot
'Cause there's nothing to ship, nothing to pack
Just busted concrete and rusted tracks
Empty storefronts around the square
There's a needle in the gutter and glass everywhere
You don't come down here 'less you're looking to score
We can't make it here anymore

The bar's still open but man it's slow
The tip jar's light and the register's low
The bartender don't have much to say
The regular crowd gets thinner each day

Some have maxed out all their credit cards
Some are working two jobs and living in cars
Minimum wage won't pay for a roof, won't pay for a drink
If you gotta have proof just try it yourself Mr. CEO
See how far 5.15 an hour will go
Take a part time job at one of your stores
Bet you can't make it here anymore

High school girl with a bourgeois dream
Just like the pictures in the magazine
She found on the floor of the laundromat
A woman with kids can forget all that
If she comes up pregnant what'll she do
Forget the career, forget about school
Can she live on faith? live on hope?
High on Jesus or hooked on dope
When it's way too late to just say no
You can't make it here anymore

Now I'm stocking shirts in the Wal-Mart store
Just like the ones we made before
'Cept this one came from Singapore
I guess we can't make it here anymore

Should I hate a people for the shade of their skin
Or the shape of their eyes or the shape I'm in
Should I hate 'em for having our jobs today
No I hate the men sent the jobs away
I can see them all now, they haunt my dreams
All lily white and squeaky clean
They've never known want, they'll never know need
Their shit don't stink and their kids won't bleed
Their kids won't bleed in the damn little war
And we can't make it here anymore

Will work for food
Will die for oil
Will kill for power and to us the spoils
The billionaires get to pay less tax
The working poor get to fall through the cracks
Let 'em eat jellybeans let 'em eat cake
Let 'em eat shit, whatever it takes
They can join the Air Force, or join the Corps
If they can't make it here anymore

And that's how it is
That's what we got
If the president wants to admit it or not
You can read it in the paper
Read it on the wall
Hear it on the wind
If you're listening at all
Get out of that limo
Look us in the eye
Call us on the cell phone
Tell us all why

In Dayton, Ohio
Or Portland, Maine
Or a cotton gin out on the great high plains
That's done closed down along with the school
And the hospital and the swimming pool
Dust devils dance in the noonday heat
There's rats in the alley
And trash in the street
Gang graffiti on a boxcar door
We can't make it here anymore

Man In Black - Johnny Cash

Well, you wonder why I always dress in black,
Why you never see bright colors on my back,
And why does my appearance seem to have a somber tone.
Well, there's a reason for the things that I have on.

I wear the black for the poor and the beaten down,
Livin' in the hopeless, hungry side of town,
I wear it for the prisoner who has long paid for his crime,
But is there because he's a victim of the times.

I wear the black for those who never read,
Or listened to the words that Jesus said,
About the road to happiness through love and charity,
Why, you'd think He's talking straight to you and me.

Well, we're doin' mighty fine, I do suppose,
In our streak of lightnin' cars and fancy clothes,
But just so we're reminded of the ones who are held back,
Up front there ought 'a be a Man In Black.

I wear it for the sick and lonely old,
For the reckless ones whose bad trip left them cold,
I wear the black in mournin' for the lives that could have been,
Each week we lose a hundred fine young men.

And, I wear it for the thousands who have died,
Believen' that the Lord was on their side,
I wear it for another hundred thousand who have died,
Believen' that we all were on their side.

Well, there's things that never will be right I know,
And things need changin' everywhere you go,
But 'til we start to make a move to make a few things right,
You'll never see me wear a suit of white.

Ah, I'd love to wear a rainbow every day,
And tell the world that everything's OK,
But I'll try to carry off a little darkness on my back,
'Till things are brighter, I'm the Man In Black

:bounce:

Oh, a storm is threat'ning
My very life today
If I don't get some shelter
Oh yeah, I'm gonna fade away

War, children, it's just a shot away
It's just a shot away
War, children, it's just a shot away
It's just a shot away

Ooh, see the fire is sweepin'
Our very street today
Burns like a red coal carpet
Mad bull lost its way

War, children, it's just a shot away
It's just a shot away
War, children, it's just a shot away
It's just a shot away

Rape, murder!
It's just a shot away
It's just a shot away

Rape, murder!
It's just a shot away
It's just a shot away

Rape, murder!
It's just a shot away
It's just a shot away

The floods is threat'ning
My very life today
Gimme, gimme shelter
Or I'm gonna fade away

War, children, it's just a shot away
It's just a shot away
It's just a shot away
It's just a shot away
It's just a shot away
I tell you love, sister, it's just a kiss away
It's just a kiss away
It's just a kiss away
It's just a kiss away
It's just a kiss away
Kiss away, kiss away

both pretty good-

here's a link to a free mp3 of Girl in the war-

It's deeper than it sounds-
http://www.dougrice.net/mp3_JoshRitter_GirlInTheWar.mp3

Peter said to Paul
"All those words that we wrote
Are just the rules of the game and the rules are the first to go"
But now talkin' to God is Laurel beggin' Hardy for a gun
I gotta girl in the war, man I wonder what it is we done

Paul said to Petey
"You gotta rock yourself a little harder;
Pretend the dove from above is a dragon and your feet are on fire"
And I got a girl in the war, Paul the only thing I know to do
Is turn up the music and pray that she makes it through

Because the keys to the kingdom got locked inside the kingdom
And the angels fly around in there, but we can't see them
And I gotta girl in the war, Paul I know that they can hear me yell
If they can't find a way to help, they can go to Hell
If they can't find a way to help her, they can go to Hell

Paul to Petey "you gotta rock yourself a little harder;
Pretend the dove from above is a dragon and your feet are on fire"
But I gotta girl in the war, Paul her eyes are like champagne
They sparkle, bubble over, in the morning all you got is rain
Sparkle, bubble over, in the morning all you got is rain
They sparkle, bubble over, in the morning all you got is rain

Josh Ritter-



hope you like them- I do-
blu

For anyone who ever spent time in our juvenile system, this means more to them than it will to most. Some may not get it. Ra, Do You Call My Name.

Some people seem to think
They always know what's best for you
Their little minds try to
Create a world to keep you still

The bolt is thrown, the cage is locked
You saw this, don't you lie
At first you cry and then you hate
Those people stole your will

Do as you are told
And maybe then we'll let you out
You might be dead and cold
You might be full of doubt

Don't try to escape
Cuz you don't have nowhere to go
If nothing is your fate
There's no scenario
No nothing

Do you call my name?
Do you stain my brain?
My eyes are blurry
And I can't see you anymore

Do you call my name?
Do you breed my pain?
My heart is bloody
And I can't take it anymore

So you just sit there stuck
Afraid to risk reality
Afraid to cause yourself more pain
To face insanity

But nothing ventured, nothing gained
You see, your fear's your cage
You beg for help but you're alone
Stuck in a helpless rage

Do as you are told
And maybe then we'll let you out
You might be dead and cold
You might be full of doubt

Don't try to escape
Cuz you don't have nowhere to go
If nothing is your fate
There's no scenario

(It's me)

(I see)

(Please)

(Let me out I'm petrified)

Do as you are told
And maybe then we'll let you out
You might be dead and cold
You might be full of doubt

Don't try to escape
Cuz you don't have nowhere to go
If nothing is your fate
There's no scenario
C'mon

(2x)
Do you call my name?
Do you stain my brain?
My eyes are blurry
And I can't see you anymore

Do you call my name?
Do you breed my pain?
My heart is bloody
And I can't take it anymore

By Caustic Christ:

Chorus:

Doesn't anyone want to impress Jodie Foster
Doesn't anyone want to impress Jodie Foster
Doesn't anyone want to impress Jodie Foster
Doesn't anyone want to impress Jodie Foster anymore?

(Repeat the above 3x.)

Stole the election
Started the war in Iraq
Knew 9/11 would happen
Lied about weapons of mass destruction
Banned gay marriage
Everyone's a terrorist
Economy is getting worse
Kiss your healthcare goodbye

(Chorus)

Christian fundamentalist
Claims to hear the voice of god
Wants to ban abortion
Thousands die for Halliburton
In the cross of a rifle scope
"Hinckley Had a Vision"
A thousand times worse then Bush Sr.
Million times worse than Reagan


The liner notes stop there but CC goes on to slam Christian Fundies. The kicker line is the one where they say they want to cut off the pResident's head and mail it to the Fundies in a garbage bag. :rofl:


Note: "Hinckley Had A Vision" is the the title of a Crucifucks song.


Ya gotta love the punks. They hate Dubya, they hated Dubya's dad and they STILL hate Reagan. Even the young pups that weren't even born when he was in power hate Reagan. Ah, it's so nice to see things passed down from generation to generation. :headbang:

We Got The Right By Helloween:

Don’t turn your head
Back to the wall
Don’t close your eyes
And wait for your fall

If you belive that you know in this time
You’ve got anything to win
If you belive that you know
Then I say "you’ll lose all again"

In this time there’s nothing to get for you
You cannot really do what you want
You’re a child, a prisoner in your mind
You are a victim of this hopeless time

You better believe all you do has a sense
It’s not for nothing
You better believe all the troubles you have
Will pay you someday

Why don’t you help yourself and do the best
Put all the bombs back up their builders’ ass
Why don’t you stand up to say who you are
To show the people that paradise is not far

Oh, can’t you see we got the right
To look into the future without no need to hide
No we won’t accept what you do
We stand up ’cause we’re not the people
You can abuse
Oh, can’t you see we got the right
To say we are here to see the light
No, we don’t wanna lose all again
Stand up, you people, to save the world
As good as you can

We are credulous idiots
And won’t understand what they plan
We march with the times
It’s what they expect and we do
Why don’t you open your eyes
To undercover all of these lies
I think you won’t accept this
Go oppose with your fist
Fight for your rights

Oh, can’ t you see we got the right
To say we are here to see the light
No, we don’t wanna lose all again
Stand up, you people, to save the world
As good as you can

Listen, children, to a story
That was written long ago
'Bout a kingdom on a mountain
And the valley folk below.
On the mountain was a treasure
Buried deep beneath the stone
And the valley people swore
They'd have it for their very own.

Go ahead and hate your neighbors,
Go ahead and cheat your friends.
Do it in the name of heaven,
You can justify it in the end.
There won't be any trumpets blowin'
Come the judgement day
Or the bloody mornin' after........
One tin soldier rides away.........

So the people of the valley
Sent a message up the hill
Asking for their buried treasure
Tons of gold for which they'd kill.
Came an answer from the kingdom
With our brothers we will share
All the treasures of our mountain
All the riches buried there.

Now the valley cried with anger,
"Mount your horses! Draw your swords!"
And they killed the mountain people
So they won their just reward.
Now they stood beside the treasure
On the mountain dark and red.
Turned the stone and looked beneath it:
PEACE ON EARTH was all it said.

Go ahead and hate your neighbors,
Go ahead and cheat your friends.
Do it in the name of heaven,
You can justify it in the end.
There won't be any trumpets blowin'
Come the judgement day
Or the bloody mornin' after........
One tin soldier rides away.........


(don't remember who wrote or recorded this, in the early 70s - but it's probably my favorite anti-war song)

I've been waiting for something to happen
For a week or a month or a year
With the blood in the ink of the headlines
And the sound of the crowd in my ear
You might ask what it takes to remember
When you know that you've seen it before
Where a government lies to a people
And a country is drifting to war

And there's a shadow on the faces
Of the men who send the guns
To the wars that are fought in places
Where their business interest runs

On the radio talk shows and the TV
You hear one thing again and again
How the USA stands for freedom
And we come to the aid of a friend
But who are the ones we call our friends -
These governments killing their own?
Or the people who finally can't take any more
And they pick up a gun or a brick or a stone
And there are lives in the balance
There are people under fire
There are children at the cannons
And there is blood on the wire

There's a shadow on the faces
Of the men who fan the flames
Of the wars that are fought in places
Where we can't even say the names

They sell us the President the same way
They sell us our clothes and our cars
They sell us everything from youth to religion
The same time they sell us our wars
I want to know who the men in the shadows are
I want to hear somebody asking them why
They can be counted on to tell us who our enemies are
But they're never the ones to fight or die
And there are lives in the balance
There are people under fire
There are children at the cannons
And there is blood on the wire


(my friend's husband, Jorge Strunz, does the beautiful acoustic guitar solo on this piece, if you listen on JB's album from 2004 - absolutely gorgeous music!)