Finally! A Common Man Who Can Sum Up Our World And Current Situation So Beautifully!

Hello again, ATS!

As crazy are things have been getting lately with the entire world situation... I did something I often do when I am stressed. I went in search of music that might give my emotions some sort of expressive outlet. Songs that move and motivate me. Songs that allow me to put words to abstract frustrations and indignations that I honestly lack the skill to express productively on my own.

Well I came across this guys work and I was blown away. It was almost like he'd been reading my mind as he wrote out his verse and his poetry. It is amazing stuff. And, as always, when I find something cutting edge, I always bring it straight to ATS so that I can share it with my community.

Here are quite a few samples of his work - mostly regarding the angst that people might associate with the Occupy movement, Anon, the Arab Spring, or the growing divide and anger in the US itself.

For your perusal.

I'm a-going down this old dusty road
I'm a-going down this old dusty road
O Lord God

And I ain't gonna be treated this way
I'm a-going where the dust storms never blow
I'm a-going where the dust storms never blow
O Lord God

And I ain't gonna be treated this way
My children need three square meals a day
My children need three square meals a day
O Lord God
And I ain't gonna be treated this way

I'm a-looking for a job and honest pay
I'm a-looking for a job and honest pay
O Lord God
And I ain't gonna be treated this way

I'm gonna tell you fascists
You may be surprised
The people in this world
Are getting organized
You're bound to lose
You fascists bound to lose

Race hatred cannot stop us
This one thing we know
Your poll tax and Jim Crow
And greed has got to go
You're bound to lose
You fascists bound to lose.

All of you fascists bound to lose:
I said, all of you fascists bound to lose:
Yes sir, all of you fascists bound to lose:
You're bound to lose! You fascists:
Bound to lose!

People of every color
Marching side to side
Marching ‘cross these fields
Where a million fascists dies
You're bound to lose
You fascists bound to lose!

I'm going into this battle
And take my union gun
We'll end this world of slavery
Before this battle's won
You're bound to lose
You fascists bound to lose!

Sometimes I think I´m gonna lose my mind
But it don´t look like I ever do
I loved so many people everywhere I went
Some too much, others not enough
I don´t know, I may go down or up or anywhere
But I feel like this scribbling might stay
Maybe if I hadn´t of seen so much hard feelings
I might not could have felt other people´s
So when you think of me, if and when you do,
Just say, well, another man´s done gone
Well, another man´s done gone.

Make me a bed right down on your floor
Make me a bed right down on your floor
I'll lay my head in a bed on your floor

I'm a poor lonesome boy
I'm a long way from home
I'm a poor lonesome boy
I'm a long way from home

The sheriff's on my trail with a big forty-four
The sheriff's on my trail with a big forty-four
I'll lay my head in a bed on your floor

Clock strikin' midnight and daylight to go
Clock strikin' midnight and daylight to go
I'll lay my head in a bed on your floor

Bed on the floor love bed on the floor
Make me a bed right down on your floor
I'll lay my head in a bed on your floor

I built mines and mills and factories to run for Uncle Sam;
I turned th' ploughs and wheels to feed my soldiers in your lands;
This Nazi job's a tough 'un, it'll take us everyone,
'Cause this is about the biggest thing that man has ever done.

There's warehouse guys and teamsters and guys that skin the cats
Guys that run my steel mill, my furnace and my blast
We'll stop the Axis rattlesnakes and thieves of old Nippon
And that will be the biggest thing that man has ever done.

I'd better quit my talking, 'cause I told you all I know,
But please remember, pardner, wherever you may go,
The people are building a peaceful world, and when the job is done
That'll be the biggest thing that man has ever done.

I better quit my talking now; I told you all I know,
But please remember, pardner, wherever you may go,
I'm older than your old folks, and I'm younger than the young,
And I'm about the biggest thing that man has ever done.

I've got to know, yes, I've got to know, friend;
Hungry lips ask me wherever I go!
Comrades and friends all falling around me
I've got to know, yes, I've got to know.

Why do your war boats ride on my waters?
Why do your death bombs fall from my skies?
Why do you burn my farm and my town down?
I've got to know, friend, I've got to know!

What makes your boats haul death to my people?
Nitro blockbusters, big cannons and guns?
Why doesn't your ship bring food and some clothing?
I've sure got to know, folks, I've sure got to know!

Why can't my two hands get a good pay job?
I can still plow, plant, I can still sow!
Why did your lawbook chase me off my good land?
I'd sure like to know, friend, I've just got to know!

What good work did you do, sir, I'd like to ask you,
To give you my money right out of my hands?
I built your big house here to hide from my people,
Why you crave to hide so, I'd love to know!

You keep me in jail and you lock me in prison,
Your hospital's jammed and your crazyhouse full,
What made your cop kill my trade union worker?
You'll hafta talk plain 'cause I sure have to know!

Why can't I get work and cash my big paycheck?
Why can't I buy things in your place and your store?
Why do you close my plant down and starve all my buddies?
I'm asking you, sir, 'cause I've sure got to know!

The guy is pretty prolific and this is just a small sampling of his work Man this guy has his finger right on the pulse of it all, doesn't he? And such a mastery of simple, universal symbolism and metaphor. Freaking genius. And we need a genius to express these things.

Would you like to meet him? I've got some biographical stuff that I dug upon on the guy:

Woodrow Wilson "Woody" Guthrie (July 14, 1912 – October 3, 1967) was an American singer-songwriter and folk musician whose musical legacy includes hundreds of political, traditional and children's songs, ballads and improvised works. He frequently performed with the slogan This Machine Kills Fascists displayed on his guitar. His best-known song is "This Land Is Your Land." Many of his recorded songs are archived in the Library of Congress. Such songwriters as Bob Dylan, Phil Ochs, Bruce Springsteen, John Mellencamp, Pete Seeger, Joe Strummer, Billy Bragg, Jeff Tweedy and Tom Paxton have acknowledged Guthrie as a major influence.

Many of his songs are about his experiences in the Dust Bowl era during the Great Depression when Guthrie traveled with migrant workers from Oklahoma to California and learned their traditional folk and blues songs, earning him the nickname the "Dust Bowl Troubadour." Throughout his life Guthrie was associated with United States Communist groups, though he was seemingly not a member of any.
Guthrie was married three times and fathered eight children, including American folk musician Arlo Guthrie. Guthrie died from complications of Huntington's disease, a progressive genetic neurological disorder. During his later years, in spite of his illness, Guthrie served as a figurehead in the folk movement, providing inspiration to a generation of new folk musicians, including mentor relationships with Ramblin' Jack Elliott and Bob Dylan.

Source

~Continued...

Yeah, so he's not quite got his finger on the pulse of what's happening right this moment. But that's the point. He had his pulse on what was happening a long time ago - and amazingly, nothing seems to have changed. They rely upon that, you know... the powerful. They know that it only takes one generation of good to erase the previous generation of bad. And, man, did most of our parents have it good. Disco's, big hair, Mcmansions. So... guess who's in line for the bad now?

But, bear in mind some stark facts, especially is the above words felt real to you and touched you in a way that is relevant in the current day and age. This man wrote songs during and about a depression, a period of horrible human rights policies in this country, and of the horrors of war. So when you hear terms like "the recession is recoving", "necessary for national security" and "skirmish" or "drone strike" - don't buy into the double speak. Take it from a man ( Guthrie ) who lived in a world before spin and political correctness. He called it like he saw it. And he spoke it plain.

We all know that history repeats itself. But I say, history repeats itself only as long as we allow it to. We can work together and change the course of the river. We can stem the tide. For those of you who are younger and unfamilair... follow some of the links on that Wiki page - and then follow the links you find there. You'll see some very familiar themes, only in black and white - and with trappings you will think antiquated. Let this seep into you and help you to see that the game is nothing new. What is changing is that we are finally learning to play it as well as our powerful opponents.

As always, thanks for giving me a bit of your time.

~Heff

Source for all above verse and lyric

ETA: There are MANY more song lyrics by this man at the above link. They're worth checking out!

reply to post by Hefficide

By the time I got down to "perousal" (should be "perusal" dude) I figured you were talking about Woody.

Well, he was a real troubadour all right, and a bit of a businessman as well.

He helped a lot of people through the last great depression and I wouldn't mind having him back to help us through this one.

John Lennon's Working Class Hero.

As soon as you're born they make you feel small
By giving you no time instead of it all
Till the pain is so big you feel nothing at all
A working class hero is something to be

They hurt you at home and they hit you at school
They hate you if you're clever and they despise a fool
Till you're so ****ing crazy you can't follow their rules
A working class hero is something to be

When they've tortured and scared you for twenty-odd years
Then they expect you to pick a career
When you can't really function you're so full of fear
A working class hero is something to be

Keep you doped with religion and sex and TV
And you think you're so clever and classless and free
But you're still ****ing peasants as far as I can see
A working class hero is something to be

There's room at the top they're telling you still
But first you must learn how to smile as you kill
If you want to be like the folks on the hill

A working class hero is something to be
If you want to be a hero well just follow me




War Pigs - Black Sabbath.

Generals gathered in their masses
Just like witches at black masses
Evil minds that plot destruction
Sorcerers of death's construction
In the fields the bodies burning
As the war machine keeps turning
Death and hatred to mankind
Poisoning their brainwashed minds
Oh lord yeah!

Politicians hide themselves away
They only started the war
Why should they go out to fight?
They leave that role to the poor
[ Lyrics from: www.lyricsfreak.com... ]
Time will tell on their power minds
Making war just for fun
Treating people just like pawns in chess
Wait 'til their judgement day comes
Yeah!

Now in darkness world stops turning
Ashes where the bodies burning
No more war pigs have the power
Hand of God has struck the hour
Day of judgement, God is calling
On their knees the war pig's crawling
Begging mercy for their sins
Satan laughing spreads his wings
Oh lord yeah







"Masters Of War"


Come you masters of war
You that build all the guns
You that build the death planes
You that build all the bombs
You that hide behind walls
You that hide behind desks
I just want you to know
I can see through your masks.

You that never done nothin'
But build to destroy
You play with my world
Like it's your little toy
You put a gun in my hand
And you hide from my eyes
And you turn and run farther
When the fast bullets fly.

Like Judas of old
You lie and deceive
A world war can be won
You want me to believe
But I see through your eyes
And I see through your brain
Like I see through the water
That runs down my drain.

You fasten all the triggers
For the others to fire
Then you set back and watch
When the death count gets higher
You hide in your mansion'
As young people's blood
Flows out of their bodies
And is buried in the mud.

You've thrown the worst fear
That can ever be hurled
Fear to bring children
Into the world
For threatening my baby
Unborn and unnamed
You ain't worth the blood
That runs in your veins.

How much do I know
To talk out of turn
You might say that I'm young
You might say I'm unlearned
But there's one thing I know
Though I'm younger than you
That even Jesus would never
Forgive what you do.

Let me ask you one question
Is your money that good
Will it buy you forgiveness
Do you think that it could
I think you will find
When your death takes its toll
All the money you made
Will never buy back your soul.

And I hope that you die
And your death'll come soon
I will follow your casket
In the pale afternoon
And I'll watch while you're lowered
Down to your deathbed
And I'll stand over your grave
'Til I'm sure that you're dead.




We will not be able to say we weren't warned.

Tom Joad....

Today he would probably be attending rallies, though I can't see him in a Fawkes mask. I think he'd have a better vocabulary today - a bit more hip. But still plain spoken.

He might even be the type to ATS.

Are you out there Tom Joad?

~Heff

Originally posted by Screwed
John Lennon's Working Class Hero.

Now this is the one that first came to mind for me. In my opinion,John Lennon nailed it on the head with that song... And I think it still rings very true today...

If I may offer a few songs by the same man... It's may not be quite what the OP has in mind...But I have always found it encouraging... A hint at what we could have... An encouraging song that is perhaps, idealistic..But still offers encouragement and ideas of making the bad times....Good

Some may disagree...Or even call me a "dreamer"... But I find lots of hope for the future in this song.I wont post the lyrics, I will just let those who want, have a listen to what I consider a true masterpiece...

John Lennon's imagine



And another...A song that reminds me... how much easier things were for all of us When we were younger...And now that we are older... We don't have to focus on the bad... We can make the best of things and really we should... because we are on borrowed time.... That's what it means to me anyway...

The future does not have to be dark or sad or bad...




Again, the songs above may or may not be what the OP has in mind... But... To me they represent that while things are pretty bad around the world... They don't have to be....

Or in simpler terms... All I am saying....Is Give Peace A Chance

Dumb All Over- F. Zappa

Whoever we are, wherever we're from, we shoulda noticed by now our behaviour is dumb
And if our chances expect to improve it's gonna take a lot more than tryin' to remove the other race or the other whatever from the face of the planet altogether
They call it "The Earth" which is a dumb kinda name but they named it right 'cause we behave the same
We are dumb all over
Dumb all over, yes we are, dumb all over, near and far, dumb all over, black 'n white, people, we is not wrapped tight
And nerds on the left, nerds on the right
Religious fanatics on the air every night, sayin' the bible tells the story and makes the details sound real gory about what to do if the geeks over there don't believe in the book we got over here
You can't run a race without no feet
And pretty soon there won't be no street for dummies to jog on or doggies to dog on
Religious fanatics can make it be all gone
I mean it won't blow up and disappear, it'll just look ugly for a thousand years
You can't run a country by a book of religion
Not by a heap or a lump or a smidgeon of foolish rules of ancient date, designed to make you all feel great while you fold, spindle and mutilate those unbelievers from a neighbouring state
To arms, to arms
Hooray! That's great, two legs ain't bad
Unless there's a crate they ship the parts to mama in
For souvenirs: two ears (Get down)
Not his, not hers but what the hey
The good book says, "It's gotta be that way"
But their book says, "Revenge the crusades"
With whips 'n chains and hand grenades
Two arms, two arms
Have another and another
Our Cod says, "There ain't no other"
Our Cod says, "It's all ok"
Our god says "This is the way"
It says in the book, "Burn and destroy"
And repent and redeem and revenge and deploy and rumble thee forth to the land of the unbelieving scum on the other side
'Cause they don't go for what's in the book and that makes 'em bad
So verily we must choppeth them up and stompeth them down
Or rent a nice French bomb to poof them out of existence while leaving their real estate just where we need it to use again for temples in which to praise our god, 'cause he can really take care of business
And when his humble TV servant with humble white hair and humble glasses and a nice brown suit and maybe a blonde wife who takes phone calls, tells us our god says it's ok to do this stuff, then we gotta do it
'Cause if we don't do it we ain't "Gwine up to hebbin"
Depending on which book you're using at the time
Can't use theirs, it don't work, it's all lies, gotta use mine
Ain't that right?
That's what they say
Every night, everyday
Hey, we can't really be dumb if we're just following god's orders
Well let's get serious, god knows what he's doin'
He wrote this book here and the book says, "He made us all to be just like him"
So, if we're dumb, then god is dumb and maybe even a little ugly on the side
Dumb all over, a little ugly on the side
Dumb all over, a little ugly on the side
Dumb all over, a little ugly on the side
Dumb all over, a little ugly on the side

Heff, this thread brings back memories. I grew up singing Woody's songs. In school we sang, This Land Is Your Land. Sing it now in school, your teacher would be accused of being a Marxist Commie, unAmerican.

Saw Arlo and Frank Zappa in concert at the Hollywood Bowl. Brings back memories.

The quote about the six gun and the fountain pen came from Woody, Pretty Boy Floyd

"Yes, as through this world I've wandered
I've seen lots of funny men;
Some will rob you with a six-gun,
And some with a fountain pen.

And as through your life you travel,
Yes, as through your life you roam,
You won't never see an outlaw
Drive a family from their home."

Many a common man were robbed of their home by the banksters in recent times.

Check out Pete Seeger. I still have a 45 of his, WHERE HAVE ALL THE FLOWERS GONE.

Also EVE OF DESTRUCTION by Barry Mcguire.

I had tears in my eyes at this summer's Olympics at the closing ceremony tribute to John Lennon.

Glad you found Woody and pass him along.

reply to post by desert


If this thread grows any wings at all and makes it a page or two I actually plan to throw some Seeger into the mix - particularly the trouble he got into over "Waist Deep In The Big Muddy" as it directly speaks to our current times!

Thanks for posting! You and everyone else who has!

~Heff

reply to post by desert

Heff, this thread brings back memories. I grew up singing Woody's songs. In school we sang, This Land Is Your Land. Sing it now in school, your teacher would be accused of being a Marxist Commie, unAmerican.

funny desert - This Land Is Your Land always used to choke me up when I was a kid - before I was really old enough to appreciate why it should

here's a cover from one of my favorite Commies of all time

reply to post by Hefficide


How many wings do you want Hefficide?

There are quite a few uncommon common men who've contributed some amazing (and controversial) musical social commentary

and I been feeling all kumbayaish lately too

:-)

One as promised and a couple of newer artists:





And, as previously referenced.... One of the reasons the Smothers Brothers were in so much trouble and a man who was attacked by the MSM for his entire career, simply for speaking the truth...



~Heff

a little rougher around the edges -

Originally posted by Hefficide

Tom Joad....

Today he would probably be attending rallies, though I can't see him in a Fawkes mask. I think he'd have a better vocabulary today - a bit more hip. But still plain spoken.

He might even be the type to ATS.

Are you out there Tom Joad?

~Heff

Tom Joad would never wear any mask, at least, this is my take on the whole point of the Grapes of Wrath.
Invoking that very special tome with Guthrie, Arlo, is both heartrenching memory and fuel for the future to help you get up tomorrow morning, just when you're finding it harder and harder to swing your legs over and put your feet on the floor, much less open your eyes from the sanctity of slumber and unknowingness.

We all know that history repeats itself. But I say, history repeats itself only as long as we allow it to. We can work together and change the course of the river. We can stem the tide. For those of you who are younger and unfamilair... follow some of the links on that Wiki page - and then follow the links you find there. You'll see some very familiar themes, only in black and white - and with trappings you will think antiquated. Let this seep into you and help you to see that the game is nothing new. What is changing is that we are finally learning to play it as well as our powerful opponents.

History repeating itself: the circle of life. Symbols of it are everywhere; one only needs to look for them and then understand. Excellent advice to those young in experience. I would add that it is important in understanding one of the major events that shaped other events, the depression, the birth of unions, California, in general, and the dust bowl and the Midwest, and the pictures of the starvation, literally, of farmers there and the following diaspora to California in search of hope and food and a future, to read The Grapes of Wrath and search out the photographic essays of that time.
Of course, the music of the masters, those with the staying power to become "classic," is a reflection of times, events, and peoples' hardships, sacrifices, bravery and triumphs over adversity, which shaped the prosperity many have experienced today. Not being educated to all that is sad, and nullifies all the ones who went before sacrificed, fought and suffered for, which in some way provided lives we have today, good in some respects, prosperous for some and in some ways.....and culminating with The Wall from Pink Floyd, which speaks to what the eventual goal of those who are the architects of that repetitive cycle and circle of life, and the erasure and retelling of history, so that it becomes impossible to tell whose story it really was, and what really happened, which THX, or something with Robert Duvall, where everyone is mated, euthanized when they are useless, encouraged to breed, work hard, take their tranquilizers and be happy. Inbetween the lines: don't think too much. Too much knowledge is bad, unsettling, creating dissatisfaction,etc. "We don't need no education."

I truly hope you are correct, and somehow we are now, as a whole, becoming aware of that cycle, so that we can outplay the architects of it. Truly, I do. Thanks for reminding me of some great music, and fomenting good memories, regardless.

Oh yeah, and Tom Waits--doesn't get better than that, a poet on the order of Dylan, and tangles me up in blue every time I hear that husky poetry, just like Dylan, but unique at the same time.

"Everybody Knows"

Everybody knows that the dice are loaded
Everybody rolls with their fingers crossed
Everybody knows that the war is over
Everybody knows the good guys lost
Everybody knows the fight was fixed
The poor stay poor, the rich get rich
That's how it goes
Everybody knows
Everybody knows that the boat is leaking
Everybody knows that the captain lied
Everybody got this broken feeling
Like their father or their dog just died

Everybody talking to their pockets
Everybody wants a box of chocolates
And a long stem rose
Everybody knows

Everybody knows that you love me baby
Everybody knows that you really do
Everybody knows that you've been faithful
Ah give or take a night or two
Everybody knows you've been discreet
But there were so many people you just had to meet
Without your clothes
And everybody knows

Everybody knows, everybody knows
That's how it goes
Everybody knows

Everybody knows, everybody knows
That's how it goes
Everybody knows

And everybody knows that it's now or never
Everybody knows that it's me or you
And everybody knows that you live forever
Ah when you've done a line or two
Everybody knows the deal is rotten
Old Black Joe's still pickin' cotton
For your ribbons and bows
And everybody knows

And everybody knows that the Plague is coming
Everybody knows that it's moving fast
Everybody knows that the naked man and woman
Are just a shining artifact of the past
Everybody knows the scene is dead
But there's gonna be a meter on your bed
That will disclose
What everybody knows

And everybody knows that you're in trouble
Everybody knows what you've been through
From the bloody cross on top of Calvary
To the beach of Malibu
Everybody knows it's coming apart
Take one last look at this Sacred Heart
Before it blows
And everybody knows

Everybody knows, everybody knows
That's how it goes
Everybody knows

Oh everybody knows, everybody knows
That's how it goes
Everybody knows

Everybody knows

and have to add this prophetic one, as well:
credit on both to Leonard Cohen:


The Future

Give me back my broken night
my mirrored room, my secret life
it's lonely here,
there's no one left to torture
Give me absolute control
over every living soul
And lie beside me, baby,
that's an order!
Give me crack and anal sex
Take the only tree that's left
and stuff it up the hole
in your culture
Give me back the Berlin wall
give me Stalin and St Paul
I've seen the future, brother:
it is murder.

Things are going to slide, slide in all directions
Won't be nothing
Nothing you can measure anymore
The blizzard, the blizzard of the world
has crossed the threshold
and it has overturned
the order of the soul
When they said REPENT REPENT
I wonder what they meant
When they said REPENT REPENT
I wonder what they meant

You don't know me from the wind
you never will, you never did
I'm the little jew
who wrote the Bible
I've seen the nations rise and fall
I've heard their stories, heard them all
but love's the only engine of survival
Your servant here, he has been told
to say it clear, to say it cold:
It's over, it ain't going
any further
And now the wheels of heaven stop
you feel the devil's riding crop
Get ready for the future:
it is murder

Things are going to slide ...

There'll be the breaking of the ancient
western code
Your private life will suddenly explode
There'll be phantoms
There'll be fires on the road
and the white man dancing
You'll see a woman
hanging upside down
her features covered by her fallen gown
and all the lousy little poets
coming round
tryin' to sound like Charlie Manson
and the white man dancin'


Give me back the Berlin wall
Give me Stalin and St Paul
Give me Christ
or give me Hiroshima
Destroy another fetus now
We don't like children anyhow
I've seen the future, baby:
it is murder

Things are going to slide ...

When they said REPENT REPENT ...


And this, also, ironically titled The Future, is evidence and documentation of "the circle" in which we live.
Let us hope you are correct, and we can finally end that cycle of events.

reply to post by tetra50


reply to post by Spiramirabilis


Thank you both! Tom Waits totally slipped my mind! An unheralded genius of a man IMO.

~Heff

Love Woody, Zimmerman and Lennon, too.






Watch before youtube pulls 'em!

EDIT: Have to add this one by Lennon!

my boy Eugene :-)

was listening to a little Gogol Bordello this morning - thought this might fit here

Tribal Connection

reply to post by Hefficide


His message is real and comes from the heart. He also wrote "This land is your land, this land is my land".