Songs About Change ....or of Being Stuck
- Thread starter axolotl
- Start date
Unsomnambulist
Staff member
Unsomnambulist
Staff member
axolotl
Nunquam non paratus
Here's a song about being stuck, as a child, in the midst of societal change:
I heard Odessa's mind was sick
That she was crazier than hell
The police caught her turning tricks
Down at the Blue and Gray motel
Odessa was the neighbor's maid
She had ten mouths at home to feed
They bussed her kids to Birmingham
And put her in the county jail
Nobody seemed to give a damn
They say a white man posted bail
My dad said not to breathe a word
I told my brother all I heard
And the train of change
Was coming fast to my hometown
We had the choice to climb on board
Or get run down
It was crazy, grown men fights
Over segregation and civil rights
Martin Luther King, KKK
George C. Wallace and LBJ
When the National Guard came in
I thought the world was gonna end
It was crazy in Alabama
Down at the corner Dairy Dip
They sold soft ice cream for a dime
White people ordered from the front
The side was for the colored line
And we all were told they had their place
Because they were a different race
We spent hot summer afternoons
At the public swimming pool
Where the privileged and the few
Played on their island of cool blue
And brown children watched outside the fence
It never made one lick of sense
But the train of change
Was coming fast to my hometown
We had the choice to climb on board
Or get run down
It was crazy, there were grown men fights
Over segregation and civil rights
Martin Luther King and the KKK
George C. Wallace and LBJ
When the National Guard came in
I thought the world was gonna end
It was crazy in Alabama
My momma yelled child get inside
Drew the drapes and locked the doors
We watched the marchers passing by
Felt the rumble heard the roar
And they all held hands they sang and wept
And freedom rang in every step
'Cause the train of change
Was marching through my hometown
We had the choice to climb on board
Or get run down
It was crazy, there were grown men fights
Over segregation and civil rights
Martin Luther King and the KKK
George C. Wallace and LBJ
When the National Guard came in
I thought the world was gonna end
It was crazy in Alabama
And I heard Odessa's mind was sick
That she was crazier than hell
I heard Odessa's mind was sick
That she was crazier than hell
The police caught her turning tricks
Down at the Blue and Gray motel
Odessa was the neighbor's maid
She had ten mouths at home to feed
They bussed her kids to Birmingham
And put her in the county jail
Nobody seemed to give a damn
They say a white man posted bail
My dad said not to breathe a word
I told my brother all I heard
And the train of change
Was coming fast to my hometown
We had the choice to climb on board
Or get run down
It was crazy, grown men fights
Over segregation and civil rights
Martin Luther King, KKK
George C. Wallace and LBJ
When the National Guard came in
I thought the world was gonna end
It was crazy in Alabama
Down at the corner Dairy Dip
They sold soft ice cream for a dime
White people ordered from the front
The side was for the colored line
And we all were told they had their place
Because they were a different race
We spent hot summer afternoons
At the public swimming pool
Where the privileged and the few
Played on their island of cool blue
And brown children watched outside the fence
It never made one lick of sense
But the train of change
Was coming fast to my hometown
We had the choice to climb on board
Or get run down
It was crazy, there were grown men fights
Over segregation and civil rights
Martin Luther King and the KKK
George C. Wallace and LBJ
When the National Guard came in
I thought the world was gonna end
It was crazy in Alabama
My momma yelled child get inside
Drew the drapes and locked the doors
We watched the marchers passing by
Felt the rumble heard the roar
And they all held hands they sang and wept
And freedom rang in every step
'Cause the train of change
Was marching through my hometown
We had the choice to climb on board
Or get run down
It was crazy, there were grown men fights
Over segregation and civil rights
Martin Luther King and the KKK
George C. Wallace and LBJ
When the National Guard came in
I thought the world was gonna end
It was crazy in Alabama
And I heard Odessa's mind was sick
That she was crazier than hell
axolotl
Nunquam non paratus
Once the religious, the hunted and weary
Chasing the promise of freedom and hope
Came to this country to build a new vision
Far from the reaches of Kingdom and pope
Like good Christians some would burn the witches
Later some got slaves to gather riches
But still from near and far to seek America
They came by thousands, to court the wild
But she just patiently smiled and bore a child
To be their spirit and guiding light
And once the ties with the crown had been broken
Westward in saddle and wagon it went
And till the railroad linked ocean to ocean
Many the lives which had come to an end
While we bullied, stole and bought a homeland
We began the slaughter of the red man
But still from near and far to seek America
They came by thousands to court the wild
But she just patiently smiled and bore a child
To be their spirit and guiding light
The Blue and Grey they stomped it
They kicked it just like a dog
And when the war was over
They stuffed it just like a hog
And though the past has its share of injustice
Kind was the spirit in many a way
But its protectors and friends have been sleeping
Now it's a monster and will not obey
The spirit was freedom and justice
And its keepers seemed generous and kind
Its leaders were supposed to serve the country
But now they won't pay it no mind
Cause the people grew fat and got lazy
Now their vote is a meaningless joke
They babble about law and order
But it's all just an echo of what they've been told
Yeah, there's a monster on the loose
It's got our heads into the noose
And it just sits there watchin'
The cities have turned into jungles
And corruption is stranglin' the land
The police force is watching the people
And the people just can't understand
We don't know how to mind our own business
'Cause the whole world's got to be just like us
Now we are fighting a war over there
No matter who's the winner we can't pay the cost
'Cause there's a monster on the loose
It's got our heads into the noose
And it just sits there watchin'
America, where are you now
Don't you care about your sons and daughters
Don't you know we need you now
We can't fight alone against the monster
America, where are you now
Don't you care about your sons and daughters
Don't you know we need you now
Chasing the promise of freedom and hope
Came to this country to build a new vision
Far from the reaches of Kingdom and pope
Like good Christians some would burn the witches
Later some got slaves to gather riches
But still from near and far to seek America
They came by thousands, to court the wild
But she just patiently smiled and bore a child
To be their spirit and guiding light
And once the ties with the crown had been broken
Westward in saddle and wagon it went
And till the railroad linked ocean to ocean
Many the lives which had come to an end
While we bullied, stole and bought a homeland
We began the slaughter of the red man
But still from near and far to seek America
They came by thousands to court the wild
But she just patiently smiled and bore a child
To be their spirit and guiding light
The Blue and Grey they stomped it
They kicked it just like a dog
And when the war was over
They stuffed it just like a hog
And though the past has its share of injustice
Kind was the spirit in many a way
But its protectors and friends have been sleeping
Now it's a monster and will not obey
The spirit was freedom and justice
And its keepers seemed generous and kind
Its leaders were supposed to serve the country
But now they won't pay it no mind
Cause the people grew fat and got lazy
Now their vote is a meaningless joke
They babble about law and order
But it's all just an echo of what they've been told
Yeah, there's a monster on the loose
It's got our heads into the noose
And it just sits there watchin'
The cities have turned into jungles
And corruption is stranglin' the land
The police force is watching the people
And the people just can't understand
We don't know how to mind our own business
'Cause the whole world's got to be just like us
Now we are fighting a war over there
No matter who's the winner we can't pay the cost
'Cause there's a monster on the loose
It's got our heads into the noose
And it just sits there watchin'
America, where are you now
Don't you care about your sons and daughters
Don't you know we need you now
We can't fight alone against the monster
America, where are you now
Don't you care about your sons and daughters
Don't you know we need you now
