1. |
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I will follow you
I will follow you
like birds flying away
great blue heron in the sky
tell me why
won’t you tell me why
tell me why we live this way
lazy river floating by
taking time
taking time
stay for a while
I will follow you
I will follow you
like birds flying away
grains of sand through my hands
I am falling
I am falling
I am falling for you babe
in the stillness of the night
on the mountainside
on the mountainside
we can hear the great divide
I will follow you
I will follow you
like birds flying away
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2. |
Medicine Mama
05:02
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long white coat
don’t you make no joke
got the medicine in hand
but she can hardly stand
it ain’t her fix
no none of your tricks
she’s been used and abused
raped and confused
stepped on like garbage
on the concrete streets
left by the guests
in her holy guest house
left by the guests
in her holy guest house
we are barely listening
we are barely listening
in the shadow of the building
can’t see the sun
tide between the walls
there’s nowhere to run
hear the clock in the hall
losing the beat
beggars bare their wounds
like meat on the streets
and the flags of freedom
they whip in the wind
built on the towers
of original sin
built on the towers
of original sin
we are barely listening
we are barely listening
the wheels keep spinning
in the patterns of the past
gotta let the skin die
before the new one can last
there are cracks in the frame
of this temple of freedom
got God on our money
a future to believe in
as leaders of the world
line up like enemies
mother’s crying, mother’s crying
they’re nowhere to be seen
mother’s crying, mother’s crying
they’re nowhere to be seen
a thousand red flags burning in the face
a thousand red flags what will it take
feel the fire now
feel the fire now
don’t you wait
don’t you wait
we ain’t got time
we ain’t got time
we are barely listening
we are barely listening
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3. |
December 31st
04:45
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December thirty first
and you feel like you could burst
take a deep breath mama
you’re here today
now you have served your time
and there’s no chance to rewind
may your burned little heart
find peace in time
Anita is your name
and your children sling cocaine
the streets took your man
who’s to blame
there’s chaos in the air
it’s about damn time we care
we’re all on this ship
and it’s sinking fast
she said…
take the back roads to Birmingham
and maybe you’ll understand
this ginger lil’ place
ain’t Dixieland
my granddaddy Jim
he and all his kin
worked them fields
through thick and thin
Anita is my name
and my children sling cocaine
the streets took my man
who’s to blame
there’s chaos in the air
it’s about damn time we care
we’re all on this ship
and it’s sinking fast
Burrell’s laying in that cold cell
on a rusted out bed
six feet underground
with no rock at his head
stars and stripes above me
they’re whipping in the wind
in the name of liberty
a nation filled with sin
la la la la la la la la
let the bird fly out
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4. |
Fourth of July
03:29
|
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riding on a ferris wheel
living in the ideal
bliss on the holiday
amused by the revolution
round and round you’re turning
staring out at the bay
Uncle Sam always gets his way
on the fourth of July
cotton candy
brown bag brandy
lazy river ride
kids and coca cola
just like they sold ya
with your beautiful bride
just for a moment you can hide
on the fourth of July
holding all the glory as you run
on the boardwalk you can’t avoid the bums
glowing like the faces round the fire
sing the star spangled banner with the choir
Coney Island
living in the big fun
castles all along the beach
poisoned seagulls
dirty needles
right before your eyes you see
freedom at the cost of being free
on the fourth of July
windows breaking
mothers shaking
walls are caving in
the world keeps turning
backward learning
the streets they smell of sin
grandson are you listening
it’s the fourth of July
sitting in a carriage in the sun
you take another shot and then you’re done
praying for a home up in the sky
take a look at your footprints before you die
take a look at your footprints before you die
take a look at your footprints before you die
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5. |
Till Your Well Runs Dry
05:32
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you said you loved me
and then you left
you broke every promise
you win every bet
you never miss your water
till your well runs dry
tell me, tell me…
whatcha gonna do, when your well runs dry
whatcha gonna do, when your well runs dry
whatcha gonna do, when your well runs dry
I’d like to know…
whatcha gonna do, when your well runs dry
listen to me darling
you cheat and you lie
now you come runnin
wanting second try
you never miss your water
till your well runs dry
tell me, tell me…
whatcha gonna do, when your well runs dry
whatcha gonna do, when your well runs dry
whatcha gonna do, when your well runs dry
I’d like to know…
whatcha gonna do, when your well runs dry
we prayed before you
on sacred land
you stood on the mountain
with guns in your hand
but I know that you wonder
and you’re feeling blue
tell me, tell me…
whatcha gonna do, when your well runs dry
whatcha gonna do, when your well runs dry
whatcha gonna do, when your well runs dry
I’d like to know…
whatcha gonna do, when your well runs dry
can’t drink the oil
leave it in the soil
mni wiconi
water is life
can’t drink the oil
water is life
whatcha gonna do, when your well runs dry
we’d like to know
we’d like to know
we’d like to know
we’d like to know
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6. |
Moonshine
04:35
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I was just a dream
turned to water down the stream
racing through the rocks
turned to clay and then to chalk
words I then became
written on the wall
a poem in their brain
like a rolling waterfall
I am the moonshine
I am a baby’s cry
and I am forgiveness
am I fictitious, woah oh
in the spring I am the green
come and see me we will sing
in the golden hour glow
be not afraid if you don’t know
for the sun will come again
you will grow my friend
imagine you’re the sand
and the water and the wind
I am the moonshine
I am a baby’s cry
and I am forgiveness
am I fictitious, woah oh
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7. |
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the lion’s breath
a young one’s heart
the vital signs
not far apart
falling stars
missing tears
another home
another year
woah, fire
woah, water
hollow home
refugee
your shadow
as real can be
desperate eyes
beneath the veil
we are broken
and we are frail
woah, fire
woah, water
Damascus gate
Aleppo road
guerrilla guns
where do we go
across the sea
to Sicily
Malaga
take mercy on me
woah, fire
woah, water
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8. |
Roar of the Wild
04:38
|
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went walking in the desert
with just my shoes
made me a headdress
I danced with my muse
the stars all above me
the sound of their silence
I was reminded
there in the night
solace and stillness
I leave a world of illness
take a desert’s sweet kiss
on my weary head
come a rolling thunder
and the rhythm of rain
I am free from these chains
that I did not choose
roar of the wild
may I be your companion
I will defend you
until I am dust
there will come a time
down rivers and highways
when you and me are
one in the same
it’s my good fortune
a haven from madness
if money makes sadness
then a poor man I’ll die
I’ve danced with holy
women and children
ghosts in the mountains
under one sky
roar of the wild
may I be your companion
I will defend you
until I am dust
there will come a time
down rivers and highways
when you and me are
one in the same
let me hear your voice
desert angel
let me hear your voice
mountain muse
let me hear your voice
lonesome cannon
it is you, I can’t refuse
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9. |
We Rise
00:44
|
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hear the pounding of drums, deep in the distance
at the foot of the mountain, we rise in resistance
to the black snake and her poisonous smile
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10. |
She the Earth
03:18
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there was a time when she was the earth
as fine as the sand, as true as the north
her soul inside the soul of the world, round
deep in the fold of her history
one with the land, one with the sea
mother to child, river to soul, whole
circles of glass reflecting the sky
she lights up the darkness with diamonds in her eyes
dancing with shadows, turning herself to the fire
she cried her song to the call of the wild
prayed for her kin, the spirit of the child
mama, mama what have they done
the waters are rising, there’s nowhere to run
dried in the lines of her sun kissed hands
a mirror for the earth, she understands
the magnetic connection,
bending her heart towards the water
the blackness of night, transformed by the stars
guided her home, from near and from far
now the light that she sees, shines from the streets
she can’t find her home, she can’t find her peace
she can’t find her home, she can’t find her peace
she cried her song to the call of the wild
prayed for her kin, the spirit of the child
mama, mama what have they done
the waters are rising, there’s nowhere to run
the waters are rising, there’s nowhere to run
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11. |
Nowhere to Run
04:50
|
Billy Wylder Hancock, Vermont
"Music band" led by Avi Salloway (Bombino/Hey Mama). Music makers, activists, adventures.
"a sense of mystery and majesty" –No Depression
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