[Peace-discuss] Fwd: [SRRTAC-L:8996] John McCutcheon's new songs

[Alfred Kagan]

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>Date: Mon, 30 Sep 2002 13:48:56 -0700
>To: SRRT Action Council <srrtac-l at ala.org>
>From: "Rhonda L. Neugebauer" <rhondan at citrus.ucr.edu>
>Subject: [SRRTAC-L:8996] John McCutcheon's new songs
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>Dear SRRT and PLG:  I send these words to new songs, written by 
>progressive singer and songwriter, John McCutcheon.  Every year he 
>plays at the Bluegrass Festival, held in Winfield Kansas, to 
>enthusiastic and appreciative crowds.  And, for years, he also has 
>been the a fundraiser for Central America solidarity groups in 
>Kansas (still very active all over the state). 
>
>I understand that in some cities in Kansas, they are holding daily 
>rallies against the war in Iraq, standing on street corners, holding 
>vigils and organizing "Pledge to Resist" actions against any move on 
>Iraq (or any other country for that matter).
>
>Not everyone can be in DC, but we are united in our struggle for 
>peace and against the priorities of the OIL-i-garchy.  Rhonda
>
>
>
>
>Hi, All--My son sent these lyrics from some songs John
>McCutcheon performed at the Winfield festival. You might enjoy them. Diane
>
>http://www.folkmusic.com/t_mp3-Lyrics.htm#Ashcroft's Army
>
>Lyrics
>Ashcroft's Army
>Version 2
>Words & music by John McCutcheon
>(work version 8/12/02)
>
>Last night on TV there he stood
>In a suit of somber blue
>He said it was time for all Americans
>To do what we must do
>Take out your x-ray glasses
>And your decoder rings
>We need ordinary people
>To keep an eye on things
>
>So.
>
>I wanna be in Ashcroft's Army
>I wanna be a spy
>I wanna watch my neighbor's doings
>Kiss your rights goodbye
>In this legal devolution
>Here's your chance for retribution
>Let's just can the Constitution
>I'm gonna be a spy
>
>I wanna be in Ashcroft's Army
>I wanna be a fed
>I might look like the meter man
>But I'm a spy instead
>Delivering pizza or the mail
>Buddy, you can never tell
>I'll haul your sorry ass to jail
>I'm gonna be a spy
>
>I wanna be in Ashcroft's Army
>I wanna be a sleuth
>I wanna catch some terrorists
>Don't worry 'bout the truth
>If I see you hanging 'round
>Wearin' a turban and your skin is brown
>You're gonna take a ride downtown
>I'm gonna be a spy
>
>I wanna be in Ashcroft's Army
>I'm gonna be a mole
>It's time to show the rest of the world
>Just who's in control
>John Ashcroft he said, "Now shame on you!"
>Then the Vice President said it too
>Don't you question what we do
>I'm gonna be a spy
>
>I wanna be in Ashcroft's Army
>I wanna a G-Man
>He used to be a Senator
>But now he is a free man
>He's a Attorney General instead
>'Cause the people of Missouri said
>We'd rather vote for a guy who's dead
>I'm gonna be a spy
>
>I wanna be in Ashcroft's Army
>But still I've gotta wonder
>Where was all this spying
>When Adelphia went under
>When Enron ran off with the loot
>And Worldcom went right down the chute
>Some terrorists wear pin-striped suits
>I wanna be a spy
>
>©2002 John McCutcheon/Appalsongs (ASCAP)
>
>Our Flag Was Still There
>Words & music by John McCutcheon & Barbara Kingsolver
>work version 8/2/2002
>
>I can see it so clear
>That very first time
>At a game with my Dad
>I was eight, maybe nine
>We all rose to our feet
>Before the ballgame could start
>We took off our caps
>And put our hands to our hearts
>
>First (false) Chorus
>It was more than a banner
>It was more than a song
>I sang 'cause I believed
>I sang 'cause I belonged
>I sang for all those who dreamed
>For all those who dared
>Who looked to the heights
>And our flag was still there
>
>I see it passing on cars
>I see it passing for war
>I see it passing for patriotism
>I have seen it before
>I've seen it used as a weapon
>To brand some as wrong
>No one has the right, I will stand up and fight
>To say I belong
>
>Chorus
>And our flag is still there
>For the saints and the sinners
>Yes, our flag is still there
>For all the losers and winners
>For those who still dream
>For those who still there
>For the scorned and forgotten
>Our flag is still there
>
>Lawrence & Lexington
>Concord & Kent
>Seattle & Selma
>We are born of dissent
>And on this native ground
>Blessed by immigrant blood
>In that river of freedom
>We're all washed in the flood Chorus
>
>Bridge
>It's still there
>Though we might disagree
>If you are brave
>In the land of the free
>We have weathered so much
>We have traveled so far
>We are woven together
>We are spangled with stars
>
>So as we take off our caps
>And as we all rise
>Put our hands to our hearts
>As we lift up our eyes
>We begin with one question
>We ask, "Oh, say, can you see?"
>Stand and be strong, believe and belong
>Be brave and be free Chorus
>
>Laz'rus
>Words & music by John McCutcheon
>(work version 7/28/2002)
>
>Poor Ol' Laz'rus shake your bones
>You come from the world of water and stone
>Nine men in there all alone
>Poor Ol' Laz'rus shake your bones
>
>Poor Ol' Laz'rus ain't it a sight
>In that world of endless night
>Your dreams are filled this air and light
>
>. you know it's true
>The earth is gonna claim her due
>This world was made by men like you
>
>.that third day
>When they raised you from the clay
>Turned the hand of death away
>
>.the ages will roll
>Squeeze your body into coal
>Break your back but not your soul
>
>©2002 John McCutcheon/Appalsongs (ASCAP)
>
>John Rocker
>Works & music by John McCutcheon
>
>You give a kid a pile of money
>And you put him on TV
>For being better at a game
>Than you and I will ever be
>And you want him in your bullpen
>And you want him in the zone
>But you want him far away
>From the microphone
>
>John Rocker did an interview
>He told us what he thought
>It's what a lot of people think
>But he got caught
>Now everybody's wondering
>Just what we're gonna do
>About the ugly little secret
>That we always knew
>
>When I read the story
>First thing that came to mind
>Was how Henry Aaron
>Fought his whole lifetime
>To battle all the demons
>That raised their heads
>In the kind of ideas
>That interview spread
>
>How many years?
>How many times?
>How many jokes?
>How many crimes?
>How many mistakes?
>How many abuses?
>How many apologies?
>How many excuses?
>
>'Cause I am the queer with AIDS, John Rocker
>I'm the single mother with the kids, John Rocker
>I am the foreigner and I got here
>The same way your people did, John Rocker
>So take your seat on the subway
>Get on the bus
>Underneath your fears
>You're just one of us
>
>John Rocker did an interview
>He told us what he thought
>It's what a lot of people think
>But he got caught
>
>©2000 John McCutcheon/Appalsongs (ASCAP)
>Monkeys
>Words & music by John McCutcheon
>
>I went to school this morning
>It was the first day of the year
>Took out my paper and my pencil
>And I opened up my mind and my ears
>The teacher said, "Now students take your places
>"Everybody settle in your desk
>"The first class in going to be science
>"Gonna use the Bible as our text."
>Chorus:
>There ain't no monkeys in you
>There're none in me, I know
>And there ain't no monkeys in Kansas
>'Cause the school board told me so
>So let's get rid of Pythagoras
>Relativity and all the rest
>Cause if you can't find it in Genesis
>It ain't gonna be in our test
>Chorus
>
>Now, the land is flat in Kansas
>As anyone can see
>And if the school board says that the world is flat
>Well, that's good enough for me
>Chorus
>
>Every culture has a way to see creation
>Each religion has a version of its own
>So if you aren't Christian or Jewish
>You better hope Kansas ain't your home
>Chorus
>
>I've learned that faith is one thing
>And knowledge is something else
>One doesn't rule the other one out
>As Einstein said himself
>Chorus
>
>Now, God gave us intelligence
>And God he gave us brains
>But I guess he ran just a little bit short
>On that school board on the plains
>Chorus
>
>©1999 John McCutcheon/Appalsongs (ASCAP)
>Stonington, ME & Winfield, KS
>Hail to the Chief
>Music by John McCutcheon
>Words (entirely) by George W. Bush
>
>Spoken:
>I was raised in West Texas, pretty near California
>Far away from Dad's home in DC
>When I'm talkin' 'bout myself and
>They're talking 'bout myself
>All of us are talkin' about me
>Now some may retort to personal attacks
>Take the high horse then claim the low road
>But I'm not revengeful person
>I'll simply respond with this ode
>When I delivered the State of the Budget Address
>I offered a question or two
>How can a man still put food on his family
>Will the tollbooth to the middleclass become more few?
>It's time to make the pie higher
>This idea's sure to resignate
>This is no time to be subliminable
>It's a time to unificate
>If there's more trade, there's more commerce
>And we'll bring this solution to an end
>Even if your business is Hispanically owned
>If you speak French or Mexican
>We're working for a hopefuller country
>No longer vulcanized
>Where humans and fish can coexist
>And each act civilized
>I think we agree, the past is over
>Still we're held hostile everywhere
>Today we're not so sure who "they" are
>But still, we know that they're there
>No longer inoculated from what is coming
>With a foreign-handed foreign policy
>Keep good relations w/ Kosovoans and Grecians
>And resist emotionality
>We know reading is the basics of learning
>And learning.well.I forget the rest
>But teach a child to read and he or her
>Will sure pass a literacy test
>So I ask you, "Is our children learning?"
>Will we tolerate failed subsidation
>Or will this be where wings finally take dream
>Not a cufflink of federalization
>So if you're tired of the politics of polls and of principles
>It's time that you join this campaign
>We're looking for women who while serving our country
>Never the house will they stain
>Where our priorities is our faith
>Where a troop can house his family
>We'll find power to power the power of the power plants
>No, you'd best not misunderestimates me
>Sung:
>With every word and every breath
>Our language dies a slow, sad death
>Hail to the Chief, let's give him hail
>Part Yogi Berra
>Part Dan Quayle
>©2001 John McCutcheon/Appalsongs (ASCAP)
>
>
>
>***************************************************************
>Rhonda L. Neugebauer
>Bibliographer, Latin American Studies/
>Social Sciences and Humanities
>University of California, Riverside
>
>Publisher: E-Resources for Latin American Studies
>http://home.earthlink.net/~rhondaneu/eresources/eresources1.html
>
>Collection Development Dept.
>Tomas Rivera Library
>PO Box 5900
>Riverside, CA 92517-5900
>(909) 787-3703
>(909) 787 3285 (FAX)
>rhonda.neugebauer at ucr.edu or
>rhondaneu at earthlink.net


-- 


Al Kagan
African Studies Bibliographer and Professor of Library Administration
Africana Unit, Room 328
University of Illinois Library
1408 W. Gregory Drive
Urbana, IL 61801, USA

tel. 217-333-6519
fax. 217-333-2214
e-mail. akagan at uiuc.edu
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