1. |
||||
|
well i tried to take a moral stand
but i guess i didn't understand
the way the world works
in the fifteenth century
an Athenian could declare himself free
but what about them ottoman turks?
so am i saying then just give in
scrape by to make a living
and just dream about them heavenly perks? No--
fight on, fight on
through the night
until the dawn
well it won't be long, no, it won't be long
till all their might is proven wrong
But oppressed become not the oppressor
Holy man play not the hellraiser
On the level with the devil that you pray against
Rich man, ye’ll be stripped poor
Tower high you’ll be brought low
As they rail against the decadence
Babylon lay down your guns
Jerusalem free your slums—
Tell me, why must a good neighbor make a good fence?
To fight on, to fight on
Till the night
Becomes the dawn
Will it be long, will it be long--
till all their might is proven wrong?
(now play the song, yeah, here we go)
well i tried to take a moral stand
but i guess i didn't understand enough
to just give thanks
in the 21rst century
an American can declare himself free
but what about—-well you fill in the blanks
so am i saying then just give in
scrape by, try and grin
and just praise heaven that you ain’t in front of the tanks?
That fight on, that fight on
Through the night
until the dawn
Is it gonna be long, is it gonna be long
till all we might become comes along?
(now come on along, here we go)
|
||||
2. |
Thick As Thieves
04:22
|
|||
|
Thick as thieves—they are thick as thieves—
You see their deeds blow away on the breeze
Thick as thieves—they are thick as thieves—
All their creeds crumble away like leaves
Who?
Who shall grieve—who of us shall grieve—
To see our freedom stole away by thieves?
Who can believe—who of us can believe
Anymore any word they say?
Who?
Thick as thieves—ye are thick as thieves—
Just like locusts ya consume our fields
Who shall grieve--none of us shall grieve—
To see the chaff thrashed from the wheat
Who?
Because there is no name for the shame
That overcomes the one who indulges the thief in his game
Thick as thieves—we are thick as thieves—
Who up there can grant us reprieve?
Who shall grieve, ‘cause none of us can believe
Any story our fathers taught us to believe?
Who?
|
||||
3. |
El Diablo
06:13
|
|||
|
El Diablo-- wherever you go--that's where we go...
Well our loyalty must be absolute
Even when we rebel its obvious we're in cahoots
He's often sipping on a double deuce
And he's never been known to offer a truce
El Diablo-- wherever you go--that's where we go...
Operates on robot logic
Ain't no youngblood, but an old codger
He's reputed to possess a forked tail
Some say its hairy—others say its got scales
El Diablo-- wherever you go--that's where we go...
‘Cause the government is his main donor
(it's said that he personally knows the owner)
But he keeps us around to do his bidding
And allows no talk of anyone quitting
When he says-- Whee! (You work for me)
Yeah he says-- Whee! (You work for me)
And its true that he's the leader of the gang
He initiated us each with his alabaster fang
And he taught us all the words to the song we sang!
Once upon a time he put the moves on my lady
She confided how she felt so degraded
It got us kicked out of our place
Now we follow him through this desert space
El Diablo-- wherever you go--that's where we go...
And about the time we made it outta Dallas
I was really on the grass
But before we even pulled in Tucson
Well, ya know I was really far gone
Sometime's he'll really surprise you
Yeah, he's got a heart, it's true
Once sent me a card said, season's greetings
Day after he gave me a black and blue beating
El Diablo-- wherever you go--that's where we go...
They say beneath his mange he got brilliant skin
Even though its been tattooed again and again
No, my friend, he will not be denied
He's also gotten to you, i can see it in your eyes
When he says-- Wheeeeee! (You work for me!)
Yeah he says-- Wheeeeee! (You work for me!)
But its true that he's the leader of our gang/
he initiated us each w/his alabaster fang
and he taught us all the words to the song we sang!
Last night at the bar was quite a brawl
It's said that a couple men got mauled
Someone spilled a drink on Diablo's shoe
Man, i'm just glad that it wasn't me or you
El Diablo-- wherever you go--that's where we go...
One time he tried to heal a crippled leper
By blowing in his nose a pinch of pepper
Leper sneezed and his nose fell off
Diablo walked away with a little cough
El Diablo-- wherever you go--that's where we go...
And about the time the contract ran out
We were living on old sauerkraut
But before we'd even packed up the van
Diablo got us to sign again!
Just last week I tried to make a break
But he caught me and turned me back into an ape
Now I travel around in this circus cage
Just waiting to evolve from this stage
Where he says-- Wheeeeee! You work for me!
Yeah, he says-- Whee! (That's French for yessirree!)
But its true that i'm the leader of the gang/
I initiated ya each with my melodic fang
And taught ya all the words to the songs we sang!
El Diablo-- wherever you go--that's where we go...
Oooh--that's where we go...
|
||||
4. |
Rockabye
04:04
|
|||
5. |
Gold
03:57
|
|||
|
Sit right down son, pull up a chair
Listen real good now, don’t sit and stare
You finished up your schoolin now you’re in debt
I'll give you some credit but you’ll have to pay it back yet
Cause you got it in your head that you’re gonna get ahead
But you don’t know how far you've got to go
So you put on your headphones just to try and be alone
And you pipe the whole world into your head
But worse than a sunbeam that you can’t catch
Is that last spot that you can’t scratch
Cause for gold, for gold, you’ll grow old
Yeah for gold, for gold, you’ll grow old—-
Sit right there son, let me give it to you square
No matter how you slice the pie, life ain’t fair
All the wisdom in the world, can it be said—-
Does it add up to more than the wars have bled?
Cause you’re trying to build a home but you wanna go and roam
Cause you feel that question in your breast
Can you afford that golden ring
The eternal promise of your wedding?
But worse than the yearning that’s on your mind
Is the faithless answer that you’ll find
Cause for gold, for gold, she’ll be sold
Yeah for gold, for gold, she’ll be sold—
Hold it there son, now don’t just walk away
Show some respect for what your old man says
Remember your kin down under ground
Listen to their voice in every sound
And so you seek out a dragon to slay for treasure
And bank the gold of your measure
But will you forsake your sacred youth
To gather up interest till you’re long in the tooth?
Cause more bitter than the earth that’ll claim your bones
Is that desire take the world for your own
All for gold, for gold, we’re told
All for gold, for gold, we’re told—-
Yet some will swear it’s incorruptible
Stand right up son, now don’t just sit there
You heard my words, now climb up them stairs
Kick down the door, begin your fight
Lift your eyes up to the higher light
Cause when you finally break through to your Fort Knox
You just might find it filled with a bag of rocks
And worse than drink when you can’t have one
Is that drunken feeling of damnation
And worse than the debt that you can’t pay back
Is that last riddle that you can’t crack
Cause for gold, for gold, come the soul
Yeah for gold, for gold, come the soul—-
Are you trying to find the sun you come from?
|
||||
6. |
High Holy Hills
03:45
|
|||
|
Wherever you go in them high holy hills
Take with you truth and the courage that thrills
And a dream compass packed like a lump in your breast—
And don’t let no doctor take it out till you’re ready to rest!
No, no—
Wherever you go in that pine-windey night
Take with you faith in a flinty light
And a lodestone calibrated to the ghost of the North Star—
And don’t let no lawyer charge you a leg nor an arm
No, no—
Wherever you go in that diesel dawn
Taking freight trains through the tunnel of a yawn
With a green amphetamine atop your head like a marigolden crown
And don’t let no police take it off when you’re waltzing through town!
No, no—
Whenever you go off that dinosaur cliff
Don’t you never forget what’s in your guts is a gift
And a light year scroll unraveling without rest
And tell that to the teacher when he puts you to the test!
(you bet)
Yeah tell that to the teacher when he puts you to the test!
|
||||
7. |
Desert Prince
04:39
|
|||
|
They set their store in what they sell
And they kneel to a lord who marks you well
And they call the moon and they call the sun
That gilded image they hung above everyone
But I don’t have to sell my stuff
To the whole world, no I don’t—-
I just have to sing this song
To this one girl, to this one girl
What moves you as truth must you tell?
And what speaks to your soul must you sell?
And what tears the heart and what troubles the mind
Is that the jewel you left far behind?
But I don’t have to sell my stuff
To the whole world, no I don’t—-
I just have to sing this song
To this one girl, to this one girl
'Cause I’m your desert prince on this desert isle
And here in the wind I’ll rule a while
Bear me a child--bear with my song--
We’ll raise him free, we’ll raise him true and strong
'Cause we don’t have to sell ourselves
To the whole world, no we don’t--
We just have to sing the song
To this one girl, to this one girl
|
||||
8. |
||||
|
Upon the Blue Ridge Mountains here I will make my stand
On the dividing line between being no one and being a man
With the courage of a drunk and the music in my veins
We’ll fight off every strip miner till come the final rains!
Upon the Blue Ridge Mountains here I will live and die
With the pluck of the high country and never to wonder why
Well go back home with your speculators in the direction of my thirty-aught-six
I may not own no monkey wrench but this is just one problem I’ll fix!
Upon the Blue Ridge Mountains, make your way 'cause tonight we fight
Russle up a musket and make your way by the inner light
The higher ground is ours and their machines will never know the truth
And even if Sherman returns with his tanks we’ll hide our souls up in the blue!
|
||||
9. |
Death Row Fantasy
03:22
|
|||
|
Just what do you think you’re doing?
I got my eyes on who you’re screwing
Did you think you’d get away scot free?
I guess you weren’t counting on me
Well come on over here and sit in this electric chair--
I won’t pull the switch--I swear
I just want you to know what it’s like out on the streets—-
For once to feel the hot seat
Well I guess I lied--I guess you’re fried and it’s all over now--
I’d do it again if I only knew how
‘Cause there’s so many of you and just one of me
Maybe we’ll trade places just you wait and see
|
||||
10. |
Cheap Beer
03:13
|
|||
|
I live in a pig sty
I’m drinking cheap beer
right here
I live in the city
I’m thinking cheap thoughts
what I’m taught
Maybe someday
I’ll find a way
That I can get away
I live in heaven
down the street from 7-11
I live in a vision
subject to your derision
Maybe someday
I’ll find a way
That I can get away
Maybe today
Is the only way
That I can get away
|
||||
11. |
Lonesome Town
03:36
|
|||
12. |
||||
|
The cop cracked my skull against the ground
(No police in paradise)
D.O.A. is what the coroner found
(No police in paradise)
At the pearly gate I saw Saint Peter
(No police in paradise)
Hungover, unshaven and he wore a wife beater
(No police in paradise)
Puh-lease, puh-lease—no police in paradise!
No police or I’m outta here—no police in paradise!
Well I robbed a bank, I started a war
(No police in paradise)
I plundered the place for all it was for
(No police in paradise)
I saw a hundred virgins, did what I could
(No police in paradise)
It was hard work but for the heavenly good
(No police in paradise)
Puh-lease, puh-lease—no police in paradise!
No police or I’m going to hell—no police in paradise!
Well, the cop who killed me asked to bum a dime
(No police in paradise)
I said, “Don’t you know the rules, there’s no money and no time!”
(No police in paradise)
Holy prophets were getting ripped on Scripture
(No police in paradise)
Isaiah burped, said, “We’re secure for sure”
(No police in paradise)
Puh-lease, puh-lease—no police in paradise!
No police I’m going to hell—no police in paradise!
I saw an old man with a fiery beard
(No police in paradise)
Well my heart beat fast and I quaked with fear
(No police in paradise)
Then that old man with a fiery beard
(No police in paradise)
He sent out his son who said have no fear
(No police in paradise)
Then I saw my wife, I said they let you in!?
(No police in paradise)
She knocked me top the head and started swearing
(No police in paradise)
Puh-lease, puh-lease—no police in paradise!
No police or it’ll go to hell—no police in paradise!
Well the sky started fallin' and I lost my balance
(No police in paradise)
St. John said, “This is the heavenly dance”
(No police in paradise)
We hit the world with frightening speed!
(No police in paradise)
In the end someone said, This what the place needs
(No police in paradise)
Puh-lease, puh-lease—no police in paradise!
No police or it’ll go to hell—no police in paradise!
|
||||
Poor Player Detroit, Michigan
Motor City folk rock Americana born of beverages, Poor Player takes to the stage with a hopped up grab bag of American riddles and laments. Saluting the guy flying a sign beside the highway exit, zigzagging through the post-industrial prairie, Poor Player is all about finding the roots beneath the rubble, the green beneath the ruin, the folk in the f*d up, & the beauty in the city gone to seed. ... more
If you like Poor Player, you may also like:
The Edge of the Land
by Katie Spencer
Spencer's indie folk sophomore album was recorded live in the studio over the course of two days.
go to album
A Place Like Home
by Mr. Alec Bowman_Clarke
The new EP from Scottish songwriter Alec Bowman_Clarke goes deep, setting vulnerable lyrics to gentle melodies & stripped-back arrangements.
go to album
I Used To Be Sad & Then I Forgot
by Mr. Alec Bowman_Clarke
Alec Bowman perfectly captures the dark soil under the pastoral world of British folk with this collection of melancholy originals.
go to album
Michelle Stodart’s folk music captures hope in melancholy, addressing the transformational aspects of the most challenging times.
go to album
Father and daughter team up to make pretty folk music inspired by the day she was born and the day she'll leave home.
go to album
For She Who Hangs The Moon
by David Luximon
Expansive music that has the gentle hush of ambient and the insistent pulse of post-rock; enveloping and absorbing.
go to album
The Flowers That Bloom in Spring
by Kieran Kane & Rayna Gellert
Kieran Kane & Rayna Gellert offer up a stunning minimalist country record, conjuring huge emotions with little more than vocals & guitar.
go to album
