1. |
So It Is
03:57
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Walkin on the street Ponce de Leon
the sun was not in sight long gone down
a big ol' car with Cobb County plates
lookin for paid sex must be some mistake
held up a gesture as he drove away... left me feel in not ok
chorus:
my father was abused and so was his and so was his and so was his
my father was abused and so was his and so was his and so it is
2.
walkin on further Ponce de Leon
an old junker pullin to the curb
have you any money have you any loot
if you hand it over I might not shoot
runnin in the dark bullets flyin by ... left me feelin not ok
3.
walkin on along Piedmont Drive
feelin lucky still alive
another ol' beat up out of county plates
askin my opinion of the battle flag
I honestly couldn't concentrate... left my feelin not ok - chorus
4.
movin on along Ponce de Leon
ran into a brother with a song
he could see I was hangin on a cliff
his estimate was accurate I could use a lift
he sang some words some peculiar way... left me feelin ok - chorus
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2. |
Teary Deluge
05:17
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Break on through the great beyond smarmy double helix ladder
itinerant assembly agenda of song teary deluge of matter
at the end of the corridor turn to the right oh
descend the stair to the black water edge oh
push off the skiff infinite night oh
late of Denver lent of din revealing garments tattered
mercantile barrister unspoken hymn teary deluge of matter
somewhere there is someplace waiting for we
and when we get there we will fly by to somewhere
where there is someplace waiting for we oh
digital monolith insipid flame Martinique kitchen a clatter
aura borealis intaglio range teary deluge of matter oh
at the end of the corridor turn to the right
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3. |
I Live in the Country
03:58
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In the meadow there's a miracle little gnat flyin past a tortoise slow
in a blossom tree labor without fee
a pollinating polyphonic buzz (twice)
in the river jumping for the sky ordinary days fish can't fly
openin a window in the cumulus
cloud burst buckets for the benefit of us (twice)
chorus:
I live in the country (2x) where there are no street lights (2x)
everytime I think I see the sun go down
wood goes dark that's what i've found
that's when I stop chasin my shadow around
2.
movin in the morning guided by the light
one eye on the bushes she don't want no fight
babies just behind moma just ahead
hopin that red fox won't be out of bed (2x)
in the median there's some animals
made it past the northbound headin for the south
they might make it by they might have to die
they don't use no crosswalk they're too damned wild (2x)
3.
take it to the city take it to the street
take it to the tenement where the people meet
now you see the warship now you see the grave
look out for the rulers look out for their flag
there are no forevers there is only ONE
stretchin from Alaska to the blazin sun
and beyond the nearest star... past the galaxy
it goes on like that in time I think infinity (2x) - chorus
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4. |
Brownshirts
04:30
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They were active in the 20s came into power in the 30s
they were more than indifferent to the liberty of others
their billy clubs and their blitzkrieg echo through the rubble
they desecrated the temple they pillaged the nation
bloodied a decade devastated a generation
their madness and their sadism echo through the rubble
chorus:
brownshirts came and went back they came back they came
brownshirts came and went back they came changed their name
back they came
2.
in forest and rice field napalm and agent orange
in hamlets where bounties were paid on Asian ears
where search and destroy echo through the rubble
they're to be found as police in Central America
bound to be around when the landlord calls
their blunt souls and sharp instruments echo through the rubble
to chorus
3.
a child is bent by cigarettes pressed to her precious skin
and fierce words that cut deep straight to her self
strangled magnificence echoing through the rubble
slashing daggers reappear inconvenient years
mutated angel suffocating rage
poison love and violence echo through the rubble - chorus
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5. |
Special Interests
03:30
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Whether the wages for labor are to be low
whether the free press is faithfully in tow
whether the bottom line is profit or loss
whether the legislator remembers who's boss
chorus:
In whose special interest are these?
2.
whether the trees are to be clear cut clear to the bone
whether the earth is commodity or home
whether the leaders have integrity or are knave
whether the people are free or slave - chorus
3.
whether the poor will live and die on the edge
whether the rich will expand their privilege
whether for all of the fine high rhetoric
whether we all will choke on what we've spent - chorus
4.
whether the races will heal or rupture
whether the women will speak without interruption
whether the prisoner will be abused
whether the cursed money drug will rule
in whose special interests are these?
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6. |
Downwinders
04:28
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Once up on a time there was a propaganda campaign
to divert attention from nightmare weapons
beautiful words hid the terrible sword
chorus:
we were innocent we were trained to be
the rulers like a free hand so they lie to we
live better electricity too cheap to meter vicious strategy
and now we're all downwinders
2.
up went the cooling towers across our trembling planet
did the devil's dance in the state of France
60 sites in that little space - chorus
3.
rows of drums 55 gallons big and little leaks in the aquifer
in a million years it'll all decay
meanwhile we'll just keep it someplace safe
in Europe there were volcanoes ten thousand years ago
and glaciers in Wisconsin - chorus
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7. |
Paper Tiger
04:50
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1a
Who is my customer are we potential clients
do we manage worker units are we so compliant
chorus:
we are rather siblings siblings in the wild
take another metaphor make another world
1b
dining on the 7th floor embassy U.S.A.
overlooking French colonial Saigon
zero Asians present other than the help
paper tiger gnawing on the fawn
2a
who is employable are we passive wage slaves
do we possess other resource are we without option - chorus
2b
bobbing in the southern winter get away Carribean
friendly plotting overthrowing Haiti
agent camaraderie veterans of Chili
paper tiger eating on our baby
3a
who is occupying me is our lord our boss
are we subject to the whim of business state or both - chorus
3b
dancing on the holy temple marble floor terra firm
put your foot down kick your heels up in waltz-time
whirling dervish to the toe-tap curtsy to the other
paper tiger cannot swallow all time
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8. |
Goin Killin
06:05
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It's a sunny sentimental day an old and sentimental art
not so innocently violent
chorus:
I'm goin down the road straw hat bare foot bamboo pole goin killin
2.
Its a dark and long cor-i-dor day
a long line creatures consciously awake
another day they will not know
to do this to frightened living things
life thief for roast beef
the sacred breath is wrenched in play
like children pulling butterfly wings - chorus
3.
it's a long and dusty winding road
a long line soldiers march again
lying hemorrhaging civilians
to do this to frightened living things
death sower for power
the sacred breath is wrenched in play
like children pulling butterfly wings - chorus
hard hook hard knife hard heart goin killin
steel hat steel gun steel heart goin killin
like children pulling butterfly wings
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9. |
Irene
03:35
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Matthew had a wife who told him how to live
how to think how to act when to blink what he lacked
that he never done nothin right
Matthew was defenseless he couldn't retaliate
accepted her pronouncement he wasn't worthy
2.
Irene had a mother who told her how to live
how to think how to act when to drink what she lacked
that she never did nothin right
Irene married Matthew walked in her mother's step
brought children into this world whom she taught
3.
Irene had a daughter she told her how to live
how to think how to act when to blink what she lacked
that she never did nothin right
daughter was defenseless she couldn't retaliate
accepted her pronouncements she wasn't worthy
4.
daughter had children she told'em how to live
how to think how to act when to drink what they lacked
that they never did nothin right
children were defenseless until they came of age
rejected her pronouncement they were worthy
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10. |
What God Can Do
03:40
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Maybe you'll starve to death perhaps a bayonet
will bring you home again to his lovin arms
maybe the landlord's thug perhaps a billy club
will bring you home again to his loving arms
chorus:
it is no secret what god can do
what he's done for others he'll do for you
2.
maybe some child abuse perhaps a naughty noose
will bring you home again to his loving arms
maybe a hurricane perhaps Zan Zinger's cane
will bring you home again to his lovin arms
refrain:
when you are on the street steppin across the street
look that you don't chance to meet a bumper from Detroit
3.
maybe some celebrant with consciousness so bent
will bring you home again to his lovin arms
maybe a lovely lay will bring you your first aids
and bring you home again to his loving arms - chorus
finale:
like the fishes in their swirling dance
we are subject to the nets of chance
don't it make you wanna go 'n prance
in his lovin arms - chorus
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Thinkspeak Atlanta, Georgia
Tom Ferguson has been writing songs since 1969, all of which are collected in Songs, 1969-2018. It's coil-bound to nicely fit a music stand, available at lulu.com just search tom ferguson there.
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