1. |
Two Bums (Unknown)
00:53
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The bum on the rods is hunted down
As the enemy of mankind,
The other is driven around to his club
Is feted, wined and dined
And they who curse the bum on the rods
As the essence of all that is bad,
Will greet the other with a winning smile,
And extend a hand so glad
The bum on the rods is a social flea
Who gets an occasional bite,
The bum on the plush is a social leech
Blood-sucking day and night
The bum on the rods is a load so light
That his weight we scarcely feel,
But it takes the labor of dozens of men
To furnish the other a meal
As long as you sanction the bum on the plush
The other will always be there,
But rid yourself of the bum on the plush
And the other will disappear
Then make an intelligent, organized kick,
Get rid of the weights that crush.
Don’t worry about the bum on the rods,
Get rid of the bum on the plush!
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2. |
Shame On Shaw
04:02
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’Twas the year of ’23
On my way to Tennessee
Riding on the Norfolk Southern Line
I got pinched in Alabam’
And they crammed me in the can
I thank God I never made east Palestine
I got out in time to see
What kind of grease spot I would be
If I’d hugged that train all the way to Ohio
Vinyl Chloride in the drain
Thick black smoke and acid rain
And four thousand folks with nowhere else to go
Just about two months before
The railroaders sought for more
They set out to strike but Joe laid down the law
When you’re sick you’ll go to work
If you can’t whistle wheeze you jerk
Go out and make a dime for Alan Shaw
Shame on Joe and Mayor Pete
You know it happened on their beat
And they just sat there twiddling their thumbs
Shame the system, boy, and how
Politicians all kowtow
To greedy, sheister, grifter corporate bums
If ever on the street I saw
That parasite named Alan Show
I’d tell him before I spit in his eye
The only stocks that you should see
Are the stocks and pillory
Between the rails; set on a railroad tie
So the same old story goes
You fine the rich, you jail the ‘bos
It’s blood and sludge from sea to shining sea
NS and CSX
UP; BNSF
It’s all the same old O-L-I-garchy
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3. |
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I’ve come to tell ya people
I’ve traveled this great land
I’ve crossed two mountain ranges
And combed the desert sands
From Maine to California
By rail and by thumb
By now you all should know me
I’m the Great Historical Bum
I had hoped to write a song to sing
Of all the great things we have done
But the more that I looked back on things
It was hard to find a one
From genocide to slavery
To endless wars in far off lands
You’d have to be an amputee
To get the blood from off your hands
There was a feller come a-sailing
And I guess his name was Chris
To think about him, to this day,
Makes me double up my fist
He got a friendly welcome
Dragged the people off in chains
We’d be a whole lot better off if
He sank off the coast of Spain
On the Ivory Coast of Africa
The English and the Dutch
Doffed their caps and said my friends
We ain’t asking much
Just your mothers and your fathers
Your daughters and your sons
Smiling with their fingers
On the triggers of their guns
In the year of seventeen
Sixty-four and twelve
Said the colonies to England
We’ll do it all ourselves
All the big white wealthy landlords
Said now you’ll pay tax to me
They called it Revolution
But they set nobody free
It wasn’t so long after that
They turned their gazes west
And the big white wealthy landlords
Did what landlords do the best
They went and grabbed the land up
Threw the natives on their rears
They whipped and pushed and
Drove em down that long Trail of Tears
‘long come John Brown and Nat Turner
Of these folks we could boast
Or those who formed the Uprising
Of the German Coast
All the thousands of forgotten
Heroes with no names
Who gave their lives up fighting
To get Black folks out of chains
But the country wouldn’t give up
On that drug called slavery
So we had a war between the
Union and Confederacy
It was brother against brother
And father against son
six hundred twenty thousand
Dead before the war was done
With slavery abolished
We still had a ways to go
And we were making strides until
Along came Old Jim Crow
The Reconstruction Era
Was demolished by white fear
Separate; not quite equal
For another hundred years
Then came the Knights of Labor
And I double double you
To the boss said “if we don’t catch a break
We’ll beat the brakes off you
Brave men and women lined up
To get themselves a Union card
To face off with police, Pinkertons
The army, and the guard
They struck for higher wages
And they struck for shorter days
They struck to keep the workplace safe
For the women and the babes
They struck just to have met
Their basic human needs
And they were struck for daring
To come up from off their knees
The class war was a germ inside
Civilization’s seed
They love to see us fighting
Over color, faith, and creed
The less that we’re together
The more they stand to gain
Our power lies in the simple fact
We’re all workers the same
I’d better quit my talking
Cause the hour’s running late
But before I go please tell me when
America was great
That red cap’s got you lookin
Like a patriotic dunce
How’s about we try instead
To make her great for once
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4. |
Ta Ra Ra Boom De Ay
03:04
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Will someone please tell Tennessee
The year is twenty twenty-three
Don’t joke about the hanging tree
While gutting our democracy
Well Tennessee’s a lovely land
Also the birthplace of the Klan
They’ll wash the blood from off their hands
But first there’s books and drag to ban
Ta ra ra boom de ay
White hate on full display
Expel Pearson and Jones
But leave Johnson alone
They came to the defense
Of their constituents
Two gone, but one can stay
Ta ra ra boom de ay
When word came down to Nashville town
They voted to turn Jones around
And serve as his own substitute
Then Memphis went and followed suit
Before they drained their glasses dry
Republicans, they cried, oh my!
Hey Cameron Sexton, this just in
You’ll have to let them both back in
Ta ra ra boom de ay
The people said no way
Oh, Speaker, by the way,
Where do you live, you say?
I heard just down the street
Is where you sleep and eat
Crossville’s so far away
Ta ra ra boom de ay
To say, I’d have to be a fool,
It’s the exception; not the rule
Just take a look at any state
It’s how the system operates
From city, state, up to the Fed
They don’t care just how many dead
With campaign checks signed NRA
It’s always gonna be this way
Ta ra ra boom de ay
We keep kids safe they say
Until the day they’re born
And then they’re on their own
You’ll have our prayers and thoughts
Legislation must be bought
God Bless the USA
Ta ra ra boom de ay
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5. |
What's That I See?
01:39
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What’s that I see?
I see the river rising
I think we waited too long
And now the currents too strong
I’m crying…
How can it be?
It isn’t so surprising
I see you breaking your back
To fatten someone else’s stack
And he’s lying
Cut down the trees
More plastic in the oceans
Pipelines through the sacred lands
From Standing Rock to Bethlehem
They’re trying
Gone straight to Hell
They’re pushing through the bottom
Chasing after cold hard cash
Crawling straight up Lucifer’s ass
While we’re dying
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6. |
Q Anon & On Waltz
02:36
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My poor buddy thinks he’s an outlaw
He sits at the computer all day
And he’s rambling on all about Q Anon
This is what he has to say
Donald Trump won the election
Joe Biden is a Commun-eest
Democrats can’t leave home
Without adrenochrome
And the vaccine’s the Mark of the Beast
Well I can’t understand what he’s thinking
Or whether he’s thinking at all
Someone ought to cancel his WiFi
Maybe I’ll give Verizon a call
He can still watch FOX News at McDonalds
But he couldn’t get that OAN
And it’s better no news
Than the hypocrite’s blues
And these words I will say unto him
I agree with you pal, they’re all liars
Just believe what you see for yourself
But if you don’t know shut the hell up
Don’t ya take it from anyone else
Then no one could say that you’re brainwashed
And you never once will be again
Unless you’re critically thinking
It’s only KoolAid you’re drinking
Buddy, what’s your opinion worth then?
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7. |
Antifa
03:05
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Well, I’m gonna join the Antifa
Pay my respects to great grandpa
Who died way back in ’43 (didn’t invade til 44)
In that land called Germany
Well, I’m gonna join the Antifash
‘Cause swastikas are fun to smash
For freedom’s sake, we can’t abide
Time to say goodnight to old white pride
Proud Boy, what are you proud of?
This stolen land? This sea of blood?
This probably isn’t news to you
But Hitler was a proud boy too
We don’t need no Ku Klux Klown
When a bad dog bites we put it down
So here’s to burning Rebel Flags
For those who lose ought not to brag
We all agreed, or I thought we had
That fascism is always bad
So how the Hell’d it come to this?
If you’re afraid then you’re fascist
I can’t just sit idly by
While Nazi flags are waving high
To curb the tide I’ll risk my neck
Hey George Soros, where’s my check!?
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8. |
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If you’ll gather ‘round people
I’ll sing you a song
About brave Tortuguita
In the Weelaunee dawn
As they lay there dreaming
About freedom and peace
Through the pines there
Came creeping the Georgia Police
For every tree that’s fell
There’s a cop that going to hell
For every martyr slain
So grows the flame
The forest is freedom
Tortuguita would say
With a heart full of fire
And a face full of play
The songbirds all scattered
'Fore the rifles and boots
Tortuguita sat firmly
Among the leaves and the roots
For every tree that’s fell…
Just a year older than
Thirteen and Twelve
Caring more for the people
Than they did for themselves
As the rifles were lowered
They raised up their hands
A young life is the price
A Police State demands
For every tree that’s fell…
Way out in Atlanta
The candles are lit
How ever many shots fired
Fifty-seven shots hit
To build a Cop City
How low will they go?
Thanks to brave Tortuguita
Now the whole damn world knows
For every tree that’s fell…
I’ll ask you this people
While I still have your ear
Why give weapons of war
To those so full of fear?
To those itchy of finger
And empty of spine?
When do we put our foot down?
Where do we draw the line?
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9. |
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If you dam up the river of progress
At your peril and cost let it be
That river must seawards despite you
Twill break down your dams and be free
And we heed not the pitiful barriers
That you in its way have downcast
For your efforts but add to the torrent
Whose flood must overwhelm you at last
For our banner is raised and unfurled
at your head our defiance is hurled
our cry is the cry of the ages
our hope is the hope of the world
We laugh in the face of the forces
Who strengthen the tide they oppose
For the harder oppression, the fiercer
The current will be when it flows
We shall win and the tyrants battalions
Will be scattered like chaff in the fight
From which the true Soldiers of Freedom
Shall gather new courage and might
For our banner is raised and unfurled
at your head our defiance is hurled
our cry is the cry of the ages
our hope is the hope of the world
Whether leading the van of the fighters
In the bitterest stress of the strife
Or patiently bearing the burden
Of ceaselessly commonplace life
One hope we have ever before us
Our aim to attain and fulfill
One watchword we cherish to mark us
One kindred and brotherhood still
For our banner is raised and unfurled
at your head our defiance is hurled
our cry is the cry of the ages
our hope is the hope of the world
What matter if failure on failure
Crowd closely upon us and press
When a hundred have bravely been beaten
The hundred and first wins success
Our watchword is Freedom; new soldiers
Flock each day where her flag’s unfurled
Our cry is the cry of the ages
Our hope is the hope of the world
For our banner is raised and unfurled
at your head our defiance is hurled
our cry is the cry of the ages
our hope is the hope of the world
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10. |
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When the Union’s inspiration through the worker’s blood shall run
There can be no power greater anywhere beneath the sun
Yet what force on earth is weaker than the feeble strength of one
The Union makes us strong
Solidarity Forever, Solidarity Forever, Solidarity Forever
The Union makes us strong
Is there aught we hold in common with the greedy parasite
Who would lash us into serfdom and would crush us with it’s might
Is there anything left for us but to Organize and Fight
The Union makes us strong
Solidarity Forever…
It is we who plowed the prairies; built the cities where they trade
Dug the mines and built the workshops; endless miles of railroad laid
Now we stand outcast and starving ‘mid the wonders we have made
The Union makes us strong
Solidarity Forever…
All the world that’s owned by idle drones is ours and ours alone
We have laid the wide foundation; built it skyward stone by stone
It is ours; not to slave in, but to master and to own
The Union makes us strong
Solidarity Forever…
They have taken untold millions that they never toiled to earn
But without our brain and muscle not a single wheel could turn
We can break their haughty power; gain our freedom, when we learn
The Union makes us strong
Solidarity Forever…
In our hands is placed a power greater than their hoarded gold
Greater than the might of armies magnified a thousand fold
We can bring to birth a new world from the ashes of the old
The Union makes us strong
Solidarity Forever…
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11. |
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Well you’re lookin’ at a self made man
Ain’t nobody nowhere ever gave me a hand
And now I send rocket ships up to the moon
But I wasn’t born with a silver spoon!
It was a shovel… full of emeralds
I made my first billion by the sweat of my brow
On the stock market where I hoed and I plowed
With these lily white hands seeds of investment sewn
Till my back started aching from the tilt of my throne
It sure wasn’t easy…
Ya know, a renaissance man needs diversity
So I decided to start up my own company
My folks work ten hour days for fifteen an hour
So when they talk about Unions I get a little bit sour
Seems a little ungrateful if you ask me…
After all I gave em… a pot to piss in
I love this land and wanna keep it safe from the takers
So I went out and bought two million acres
I promise to God this here land will be free
Yes, free of free use cause it’s all owned by me
Private property… no trespassing…
I do my duty, my taxes, I don’t forsake
I have to pay a whole dollar for every hundred I make
I wanna stay in the good graces of the Federal bank
Cause I might have to borrow when my company tanks
Get my bail out… get my dollar back… and maybe a couple of yours
I take out my yacht when I don’t wanna be home
When I don’t, I gotta park it in the Saint’s Superdome
If I gotta be somewhere and don’t wanna get wet
I’ll be there in an hour in my own Gulfstream Jet
Places to go… people to screw…
Now don’t get it twisted I believe in Philanthropy
Just ask FOX Business News or Time Magazine
Time after time after time it has shown
If you’d just tune into any news media I own
Err... interviewed with…
Sure, hunger and homelessness, these could be fixed
I could fund Healthcare For All and still I’d be rich
I could call up my buddies, Musk, Bezos, and Zuck
And fix it up for y’all but we don’t give a damn
Who wants to be Robin Hood… When you could just rob instead…
So now as I’m leaving for my mansion on Mars
I wanna remind y’all to reach for the stars
It’s much easier to fleece you with your hands in the air
When you don’t see the hole your in, or who put you there
Or who’s keeping ya there…
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12. |
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There was a cop in Minnesota
Who just had to make his quota
Saw me, one day, singing on the street
He pulled out his bully club
And into my back he shoved
But as I fell I didn’t miss a beat
I’m in the jailhouse now
I’m in the jailhouse now
He said I disturbed the peace
As he smashed my face in grease
I’m in the jailhouse now
Well the Wall Street Occupation
Was a peaceful demonstration
But the cops came out to show just who they served
And as the people choked on smoke
All the sheeple joked and spoke
And said “those lazy commies got what they deserved”
They’re in the jailhouse now
They’re in the jailhouse now
They told the rich they didn’t need ‘em
So the cops came down and beat ‘em
They’re in the jailhouse now
Well the Senate passed a bill
To bend the people to their will
Called the National Defense Authorization Act
And at the next protest they’ll insist
That you’re a terrorist
That way they won’t need a single fact
And you’ll be jailhouse bound
Yeah you’ll be jailhouse bound
If you try to speak your mind
You’ll be in Gitmo, doing time
Yeah you’ll be jailhouse bound
Lady Liberty she swore
Give me your tired, and your poor
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free
But when they got here, tu sabes
They ripped mothers from their babes
In the US we spell freedom I-C-E
They’re in the jailhouse now
They’re in the jailhouse now
If you’re coming up through Mexico
You’ll be in a cell, how long, who knows?
They’re in the jailhouse now
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13. |
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Well money has it’s own way
And money has to grow
It grows on human blood and bone
As any child would know
It’s iron stuff and paper stuff
With no life of it’s own
And so it takes it’s growing sap
From human blood and bone
(Blood and bone)
And many a child goes hungering
Because the wage is low
And folks die on the battle field
To make the money grow
And those who take the money crop
Are avid without end
They plant it in the tenements
To make it grow again
The little that they leave for us
It can not be a seed
We spend it on the shoddy clothes
And every daily need
We spend it in a minute
In an hour it is gone
To find its way to grow again
On human blood and bone
(Blood and bone)
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Matt Rivers
Matt Rivers is a modern relic & torchbearer for the old ways of song craft & performance; following in the footsteps of such artists as: Woody Guthrie, Blind Willie McTell, Harry McClintock, & countless nameless & forgotten forebears of the folk tradition. ... more
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