Protest Songs | radical journal | Edited by Saswat Pattanayak

Phil Ochs :: Here's to the State of Mississippi

Tue, 25 Jan 2011 18:33:54 -0500

Here's to the state of Mississippi,

For Underheath her borders, the devil draws no lines,

If you drag her muddy river, nameless bodies you will find.

whoa the fat trees of the forest have hid a thousand crimes,

the calender is lyin' when it reads the present time.

Whoa here's to the land you've torn out the heart of,

Mississippi find yourself another country to be part of!

And here's to the people of Mississippi

…

Phil Ochs :: I'm Going to Say It Now

Tue, 25 Jan 2011 18:31:38 -0500

Oh I am just a student, sir, and only want to learn

But it's hard to read through the risin' smoke of the books that

you like to burn

So I'd like to make a promise and I'd like to make a vow

That when I've got something to say, sir, I'm gonna say it now

Oh you've given me a number and you've taken off my name

To get around this campus why you almost need a plane

And you're supporting Chang Kai-Shek, while I'm supporting Mao

…

Phil Ochs :: When I'm Gone

Tue, 25 Jan 2011 18:24:27 -0500

There's no place in this world where I'll belong when I'm gone

And I won't know the right from the wrong when I'm gone

And you won't find me singin' on this song when I'm gone

So I guess I'll have to do it while I'm here

And I won't feel the flowing of the time when I'm gone

All the pleasures of love will not be mine when I'm gone

My pen won't pour out a lyric line when I'm gone

So I guess I'll have to do it while I'm here

Pat Cooksey :: The Sick Note

Wed, 19 Jan 2011 19:49:53 -0500

Dear Sir, I write this note to you, to tell you of my plight

For, at the time of writing, I am not a pretty sight;

My body is all black and blue, my face a deathly gray

And I write this note to say, why Paddy's not at work today.

While working on the 14th floor, some bricks I had to clear;

To throw them down from such a height, was not a good idea.

The foreman wasn't very pleased, the bloody awkward sod

…

Joe Glazer :: Too Old to Work

Wed, 19 Jan 2011 19:48:58 -0500

You work in the factory all of your life

Try to provide for your kids & your wife

When you get too old to produce anymore

They hand you your hat & they show you the door

Too old to work, too old to work

When you’re too old to work & you’re too young to die

Who will take care of you, how’ll you get by

When you’re too old to work & you’re too young to die?

You don’t ask for favors when your life is thru

…

Evan Greer :: Love Me, I'm a Liberal

Sat, 08 Jan 2011 22:57:08 -0500

I trade Internet jokes about Dubya

They sure are funny to me.

But don't even think about asking

Me to give up my new SUV

I don't know what you mean about oil,

I just wish that gas could be free,

So love me, love me, love me, I'm a liberal!

Well I've signed about a thousand petitions,

And my golf score is six under par.

I keep myself up on the issues

By listening to N.P.R.,

And you know that I'm changing the world

…

Evan Greer :: Picketline Song

Sat, 08 Jan 2011 22:55:35 -0500

well my mother never told me what was right or what was wrong
she never taught me to play guitar never taught me to write songs
but one thing that she taught me i'll remember for all time
and that's that you should never walk across a picket line

(Chorus)
oh i would never walk across a picket line
solidarity forever don't mean just sometimes
long live the union! cross my heart and hope to die

Tom Paxton :: The Willing Conscript

Sat, 08 Jan 2011 22:41:50 -0500

Oh Sergeant I'm a draftee and I've just arrived in camp.

I've come to wear the uniform and join the martial tramp.

And I want to do my duty, but one thing I do implore

You must give me lessons, sergeant, for I've never killed before.

To do my job obediently is my only desire.

To learn my weapon thoroughly and how to aim and fire.

To learn to kill the enemy and then to slaughter more,

I'll need instruction, sergeant, for I've never killed before.

Phil Ochs :: I Ain't Marching Anymore

Sat, 08 Jan 2011 22:34:28 -0500

Oh I marched to the battle of New Orleans

At the end of the early British war

The young land started growing

The young blood started flowing

But I ain't marchin' anymore

For I've killed my share of Indians

In a thousand different fights

I was there at the Little Big Horn

I heard many men lying I saw many more dying

But I ain't marchin' anymore

(chorus)

It's always the old to lead us to the war

Phil Ochs :: Love Me, I'm a Liberal

Sat, 08 Jan 2011 22:31:01 -0500

I cried when they shot Medgar Evers

Tears ran down my spine

I cried when they shot Mr. Kennedy

As though I'd lost a father of mine

But Malcolm X got what was coming

He got what he asked for this time

So love me, love me, love me, I'm a liberal

I go to civil rights rallies

And I put down the old D.A.R.

I love Harry and Sidney and Sammy

I hope every colored boy becomes a star

But don't talk about revolution

…

Woody Guthrie :: Greenback Dollar

Fri, 04 Dec 2009 20:09:54 -0500

I don't want your millions, mister.

 I don't want your diamond ring.

 All I want is the right to live mister. 

Give me back my job again.

I don't want your Rolls Royce, mister,

 I don't want your pleasure yacht, 

All I want is food for my babies,

 Now give to me my old job back.

I don't want your millions, mister.

 I don't want your diamond ring. 

All I want is the right to live mister. 

Give me back my job again.

Pete Seeger :: Where Have All The Flowers Gone?

Mon, 26 May 2008 10:26:30 -0400

Where have all the flowers gone?

Long time passing.

Where have all the flowers gone?

Long time ago.

Where have all the flowers gone?

The girls have picked them ev'ry one.

Oh, when will you ever learn?

Where have all the young girls gone?

Long time passing.

Where have all the young girls gone?

Long time ago.

Where have all the young girls gone?

They've taken husbands, every one.

…

Frank Crumit :: A Tale of the Ticker

Mon, 26 May 2008 10:26:30 -0400

This little pig went to market,

Where they buy and sell the stocks.

This little pig came home again,

With his system full of shocks.

I don't understand their language,

Don't know what its all about.

For a bull buys up and the bear sells down,

And a broker sells yo out.

And here is the song

They sing the whole day long.

CHORUS:

Oh the market's not so good today,

Your stocks look kind of sick.

In fact they all drop down a point,

…

Leo Reisman and His Orchestra :: Brother, Can You Spare A Dime?

Mon, 26 May 2008 10:26:30 -0400

They used to tell me I was building a dream and so I followed the mob

When there was earth to plow, or guns to bear, I was always right there on the job

They used to tell me I was building a dream with peace and glory ahead

Why should I be standing in line just waiting for bread?

Once I built a railroad, I made it run

Made it race against time

Once I built a railroad, now its done

Brother, can you spare a dime?

George Hall and the Hotel Taft Orchestra :: Remember My Forgotten Man

Mon, 26 May 2008 10:26:30 -0400

Remember my forgotten man, you put a rifle in his hand

You sent him far away, you shouted hip hooray

But look at him today

Remember my forgotten man, you had him cultivate the land

He walked behind a plow, the sweat fell from his brow

But look at him right now

And once he used to love me, I was happy then

He used to take care of me. Won't you bring him back again?

Cause' ever since this world began, a woman's got to have a man

…

Alex Bartha and His Hotel Traymore Orchestra :: It Must Be Swell

Mon, 26 May 2008 10:26:30 -0400

Everything is topsy-turvy with the world today

All the world is restless since depression came our way

So last night I went to sleep and dreamed that I had died

My weary body felt at ease and to myself I cried

Look at the flowers, they're certainly sweet

It sure is swell to be laying out dead

And look at the people all lining the street

It sure is swell to be laying out dead

There's a lot of consolation riding peacefully

…

Bud Billings & Carson Robison :: Poor Man's Heaven

Mon, 26 May 2008 10:26:30 -0400

Now friends gather near, I want you to hear

A dream that I had last night

There's a land o'er the sea for you and for me

Where we won't have to struggle and fight.

There's real feather beds where we lay our heads

And a nice private room for each one

There's shoes with soles and pants without holes

And no work up there to be done

In Poor Man's Heaven, the land of the free

There's nothing up there but good luck

…

Bob Miller :: The Rich Man and The Poor Man

Mon, 26 May 2008 10:26:30 -0400

There's just two kind of people, the sinner and the saint;

There's one that gets and always got while the other poor one ain't.

Oh, the rich man drives his Lincoln past the red light with a grin,

And the poor man follows right behind in his little hunk of tin.

There's a motorcycle copper following upon their trail;

Oh, the rich man tears his ticket, but the poor man goes to jail.

Joan Baez :: Forever Young

Mon, 26 May 2008 08:11:16 -0400

May God bless and keep you always,

May your wishes all come true,

May you always do for others

And let others do for you.

May you build a ladder to the stars

And climb on every rung,

May you stay forever young,

Forever young, forever young,

May you stay forever young.

May you grow up to be righteous,

May you grow up to be true,

May you always know the truth

And see the lights surrounding you.

May you always be courageous,

…

Bob Dylan :: With God On Our Side

Mon, 26 May 2008 07:58:29 -0400

Oh my name it is nothin'

My age it means less

The country I come from

Is called the Midwest

I's taught and brought up there

The laws to abide

And that land that I live in

Has God on its side.

Oh the history books tell it

They tell it so well

The cavalries charged

The Indians fell

The cavalries charged

The Indians died

Oh the country was young

With God on its side.

Oh the Spanish-American

War had its day

…

Paul Robeson :: Joe Hill

Mon, 26 May 2008 07:21:31 -0400

I dreamed I saw Joe Hill last night,

alive as you and me.

Says I "But Joe, you're ten years dead"

"I never died" says he,

"I never died" says he.

"In Salt Lake City, Joe," says I,

Him standing by my bed,

"They framed you on a murder charge,"

Says Joe, "But I ain't dead,"

Says Joe, "But I ain't dead."

"The Copper Bosses killed you Joe,

they shot you Joe" says I.

"Takes more than guns to kill a man"

…

Pete Seeger :: Talking Union

Mon, 26 May 2008 02:27:28 -0400

If you want higher wages, let me tell you what to do;

You got to talk to the workers in the shop with you;

You got to build you a union, got to make it strong,

But if you all stick together, now, ‘twont he long.

You'll get shorter hours,

Better working conditions.

Vacations with pay,

Take your kids to the seashore.

It ain’t quite this simple, so I better explain

Just why you got to ride on the union train;

…

Woody Guthrie :: Jesus Christ

Sun, 25 May 2008 22:45:36 -0400

Jesus Christ was a man who traveled through the land,

A hard working man and brave.

He said to the rich "Give your goods to the poor."

So they laid Jesus Christ in His grave.

Yes, Jesus was a man, a carpenter by hand,

His followers true and brave,

One dirty little coward called Judas Iscariot

Has laid Jesus Christ in His grave.

He went to the preacher, He went to the sheriff,

He told them all the same,

…