1. |
Truman
03:07
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Truman
(or That Great Atomic Power Scared Charlie Louvin More Than God)
There's a White House war machine,
the one Wilson switched on
waited long enough and joined the side that won
Roosevelt was dying, they had to find a man
who would keep things running
just like they planned
Henry Wallace said what he really thought
and there's no room for that
no chance for that to move up
in Washington
When Roosevelt died, they had Truman move in
left all the furniture exactly how it had been
Independence to Washington
Show me a man who would seem to take a stand
got the White House blues all across this land
MacArthur covers a whole nation's eyes
and he waits for William Laurence
to come claim his prize
Hiroshima to Washington
That great atomic power, scared Charlie Louvin,
scared him more than God.
Drop the little boy and the fat man
now you got the whole world with the Marshall Plan
The doctrine was in order, they just needed a name
almost any other man, it would have been the same
it's a shame in Washington
Now you have to close your eyes to deny the rumors
the working class, we're all consumers
Truman left the White House, his job was done
left all the furniture for the next one
Eisenhauer to Washington
The Rosenbergs were still in prison,
going to the chair
now there's a new man in the White House
it doesn't change a thing,
in Washington
because that great atomic power
scared Charlie Louvin
scared him more than God.
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2. |
St. Francis of Illinois
03:30
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Saint Francis Of Illinois - for Vachel Lindsay
Saint Francis of Illinois says
only poverty will bring our redemption
walk the muddy roads
like they were the paths of heaven
stay away from the main road
stay away from the big town
beg a meal at five o'clock
and find a place to settle down
for the night
and tell your stories to pass the time
when I was the king of birds
I slept in the stables of horses
tell your stories to pass the time
trade them for bread, it's better than toil
distance yourself from the machinery
of the cities bleeding oil
Saint Francis of Illinois says
only poverty will bring our redemption
walk the muddy roads like they were the paths of heaven
When I was the king of birds I slept in the stables of horses
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3. |
Center of the Storm
01:59
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Center Of The Storm - for Lucy Parsons
Up from Waco, where we're not welcome
up from Waco to Chicago
to the center of the storm, to the center of the storm
I said I still see slaves with longer chains
they said leave town or you will hang
you can vote for bread clothes and shelter
you can vote but they won't give you these things
leaders make the laws and live real comfortable
live off you workers like foreign kings
what you produce is no guarantee
toil and pray your time is gold
your time is gold and when you have no means
that's what gets sold
Up from Waco, where we're not welcome
up from Waco to Chicago
to the center of the storm, to the center of the storm
I said I still see slaves with longer chains
they said leave town or you will hang
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4. |
Tunnels*
04:29
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Tunnels (Under The Hotel Imperial) - with regards to William Vollmann, Joe Strummer and Wody Guthrie
In the shadow of the mountain of gold,
there are stories of tunnels of which no one speaks
In the days of the great fires raging,
when people came up, up from the ground
Under the street, like some late-night dream,
there's a tunnel under the Hotel Imperial
Building a railroad, a gold rush underground
Inventors of paper, inventors of gun powder
They came for work but they were not wanted,
condemned with the rats and the trash
They were not wanted here, so they go somewhere else
and now there are tunnels from here to there
Believe in something that you've never seen,
believe because it has to be there
That secret dragon haunts that desert,
in the heat with the whirlwinds and the quicksand
The ghost of that dragon haunts the desert
in the secret world along the borderlands
The hopeful and the hopeless all run together
and all night the people sing, please, send money home
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5. |
Thylacine*
04:29
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Thyalcine - from the poem by Stefene Russell
suitcase jaw, knife stripes, they eat the bones
no bloody feathers blowing against the salty grass
and the chimera shadow, the flip book
with jowly wolf head and hindquarters of a tiger
and a middle part that we don't know how to name
suitcase jaw, knife stripes, they eat the bones
the farmer's children slam the closet door
pull the hems of coats and dresses over their eyes
at the thought, at the thought of croupy barking
pull the hems of coats over their eyes
suitcase jaw, knife stripes, they eat the bones
but the gait, three animals put together
the book says awkward, though tireless
like the one who can't keep up, far down the path
three rhythms that trip off a little migraine of the heart
suitcase jaw, knife stripes, they eat the bones
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6. |
Bugs*
03:43
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Bugs - adapted from the true story told by Ross Lessor
the old man worked for the chemical company
when he retired moved out to the country
that old house on the river was infested
called on the phone and siad he had to move
all those years in a blue jump suit, working for the chemical company
mixing, fixing to kill, mixing pheromones with the poison
that's how you kill them, attract them to the posion
one last phone call from that old man
the bugs are killing me
old man worked for the chemical company
mixing, fixing to kill
all those years making DDT until he himself radiates it
built a new house every step by hand
new wood, new ground, up on a hill
but these things are futile if you've been mixing to kill
that's how you kill them, attract them to the posion
one last phone call from that new house
the bugs are killing me, he said
and the heart attack was from the shock of how well it worked
and how they'd come for him in the end
at the end of that dirt road
the bugs are killing me he said
and the neighbors found him dead
shine a light on this infestation
exterminator down
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7. |
Casino Janitor
02:24
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8. |
Bucket of Blood
02:52
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Bucket Of Blood - based on the life and tales of Henry Townsend as well as another song in the folk tradition
Henry he hopped that north-bound train
jumped off in the yard in East Saint Louis
Henry was a shoeshine boy
fronting for that bootlegging man downtown
Henry learned to play that mean guitar
Henry learned to play that sweet guitar
had some folks jealous with the way that he played
JD Short got him in the back
that coward with a knife got him in the back
Henry was a bleeding he nearly died
when that coward snake got him in the back
Henry wanted to take his revenge
went hunting JD Short through all the joints
cornered him at the Bucket of Blood
Henry stepped up and short pulled his knife
Henry drew his gun and he took a shot
Short jumped up yelled and fell down
Henry left the yard same way he'd come in
Short lay bleeding hurting on the ground
Henry he's an old man now
Stack-a-Lee's been long dead now
with many a song to sing and many a tale to tell
the city Henry knew it ain't there no more
the Booker Washington theatre been torn down
the city Henry knew it ain't here no more
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9. |
Necklace of Shoes
03:34
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10. |
Sentence*
02:14
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if they didn't surpress us, we wouldn't have to speak up
if they didn't attack us, we wouldn't have to fight back
if our rights weren't violated there'd be no reason to rebel
this land is not free, only for fools
I don't recognize your law
I don't find you honorable
I despise you, hang me for it
The system is brutal and so are its thugs
they only know force, they only know violence
this land is not free, only for fools
why waste words, like carrying water to the sea
learn to use explosives and set yourself free
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11. |
The Laughing Song
02:51
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The Union Electric St Louis, Missouri
The Union Electric is made up of veteran St. Louis musicians Tim Rakel, Glenn Burleigh, Melinda Cooper and Mic Boshans.
Depending on the date/time/weather, Beth Bombara, Jake DeLeonardis, Mary DeLeonardis and/or Brad Vaughn may also make intermittent appearances in the line-up.
UE has released five 7" records, an EP of cover songs, and the CD "Time Is Gold".
... more
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