1. |
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Freedom is a blessing, too much is a curse
The ones who drink the most are the ones who die of thirst
So take what you need, leave the rest on the shelf
Maybe think about somebody else
There's a new wave of anger coming down the line
It's a sideways sort of justice, and it's stealing all our time
Before you go off fighting, try to collect yourself
Maybe think about somebody else
My cynicism tells me that people never change
That the new world is the old world slightly rearranged
I could take the love I've got and spend it on myself
Or I could think about somebody else
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2. |
Get Together
04:50
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If I was a question, what kind of question would I be?
The kind, perhaps, impossible to answer honestly?
Maybe I'd be hypothetical, or do you think I would be
A question for the listener, one full of irony?
Would I be a setup for some candidate's demise
A question that's quite tricky, but straightforward in disguise?
I ask 'cause when we're talking, it's like the world is going to end
Well, when it does, will there be anybody left to start again?
I don't think such questions are healthy for our brains
I think they exponentiate our drama and our pain
Yes, the apocalypse is never far away
But you'll fare better if you aren't always afraid
So I think we should
Get together
And listen to some records like they did
Way back when people sold records
Honey, I don't pretend that I've got all the answers
Ooh, why don't we
Get together
And have a conversation like they did
Way back when people had conversations
And I won't pretend that I've got all the answers
If I was an animal, oh, what would I be?
I think I'd like to be a monkey, honey
Swinging through the trees
I could run for public office
I could swing from town to town
Make far too many promises while hanging upside down
I could have an honest slogan
Like "He'll Slap You In The Face"
Go corporate with my platform as I move into first place
But don't worry, honey, I don't really want to rule
I'd never run, I'm a monkey, not a fool
And I would rather
Get together
And listen to some records like they did
Way back when people sold records
Honey, I won't pretend that I've got all the answers
Ooh, why don't we
Get together
And have a conversation like they did
Way back when people had conversations
And I won't pretend that I've got all the answers
Because I don't
If I was a third verse when the first one was too long
And the second had a metaphor absurd and overdrawn
Would I dare to be different?
If so, how would I begin
If it seemed my author long ago deemed brevity a sin?
Perhaps, if the third verse gets the coveted last word
I'd be obliged to unite the incoherence that you've heard
I think the discourse has been tragically misled
But why beat a horse when it's already dead
Oh, when we could
Get together
Oh, we need to get together
Oh, come on, let's get together
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3. |
Slow Down
03:49
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I'd like to take a moment
I won't tell you my name
But I have eyes and I have seen
And felt Gehenna's flame
Yes, I am a sinner
A lost fish and a fool
It's hard to navigate the waters
In this muddy pool
To me it is so obvious
But it might be news to you
It don't matter what color the man
If he's red or if he's blue
If you believe in what he says
Then don't trust your own ears
You're the master of your purse
And he's just selling fear
So slow down
Slow down
You're the master of your purse
And he's just selling fear
We are all just pilgrims
Wandering this earth
So it is and always will be
Until our rebirth
We're all bent and broken
Birds that ain't got wings
To those at the top, well
Those below don't mean a thing
Yes, up the chain of this command
The blind lead the blind
You can change the voice that's leading 'em on
But you cannot change their minds
Oh, and when the blind start swingin'
And they cut you and you bleed
Don't give in to your hatred
Or you ain't never gonna be free
Just slow down
Slow down
Don't give in to your hatred
Or you ain't never gonna be free
Way back in the garden
God was on our side
We ate the fruit and ever since
We've been trying to hide
We didn't want the burden
Of the blame upon our back
So we put it on our rib instead
But the weight caused it to crack
And if there's one thing that I've learned
One thing that I know
Just like all their lowly peasants
Kings, they come and go
So if you see them two roads split
Take the one less trodden on
Forgiveness is a heavy thing
But you'll need it when you're gone
I said, slow down
Slow down
Forgiveness is a heavy thing
But you'll need it when you're gone
I said, forgiveness is a heavy thing
But you'll need it when you're gone
I said, forgiveness is a heavy thing
But you'll need it when you're gone
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4. |
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Back when the pulse of our people was young
We took the land by the light of the gun
We broke their bread, then burned their villages down
But we never let the flag touch the ground
We whitewashed their cultures and made them convert
Knelt on their necks while they were down in the dirt
On to Reservations we sent them all down
But not once did we let the flag touch the ground
We beat 'em until they were all bloody red
Worked 'em until they all wished they were dead
Sold their wives and their kids to a field out of town
But we never let the flag touch the ground
We called 'em to service when we needed 'em to fight
Put 'em in trenches to freeze through the night
Told 'em "We need your sacrifice now"
Told 'em not to let the flag touch the ground
We gave 'em more rights while we screamed "Segregate!"
We beat 'em and hosed 'em to show 'em their place
Made the front for the white and the back for the brown
But we never let the flag touch the ground
Now the old Crow still flies, though he's much more discreet
And those who can see him are out in the street
Does every life really matter? Should the statues come down?
How long can we keep the flag off the ground?
'Cause when the children cross over that southern divide
We take their mothers and fathers and feel justified
We scar them for life just for coming around
But we never dare let the flag touch the ground
I once heard a song, sounded more like a poem
Or a prophecy warning the people of Rome
They ignored justice and so freedom fell
That's why there's a crack in the Liberty Bell
And now that I'm older, it weighs on my soul
All the unlived ideals, all the freedom we stole
Our history's song is soaked in the sound
Of our brothers' blood crying out from the ground
In all of this violence, is God on our side?
Or is He nailed to the wood of the beams in our eyes?
Is our cause always just and our strategy sound
As long as we don't let the flag touch the ground?
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5. |
Independence
04:32
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When I left Independence, I was just a kid
Mostly unaware of the world and all it hid
I left for California to pan the streams for gold
When I left Independence, I was 17 years old
When I left my family to go out on my own
I condemned my father to work the fields alone
I was bound for glory and my own claim to stake
But when I got to California, I'd gotten here too late
If you've ever known true hunger, you know what it can do
The things I did for money, they changed me through and through
Treasure is a tricky thing, if you seek it you might find
That you've left Missouri dirt for the California kind
The young men who rode with me on the village raids
There were so many orphans and widows that we made
The violence sanctioned by the State was calculated, it was cold
Here in California I got 30 pieces for my soul
It's hard to tell my story when I've so much left to live
When I think of my father, I hope he can forgive me
It's hard for me to reconcile who I was, who I became
A slave to my ambition, the devil's favorite game
Come sunrise tomorrow, by God's grace I'll depart
I'm leaving California with an aching in my heart
Please grant me absolution, Father, for all these things I've done
And I'll work out my penance on the trail to Oregon
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6. |
Make An Honest Stand
04:23
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How can I
Know what I think all of the time
When I haven't had time to think
And sort my scattered mind?
How can I
Do what is right all of the time
When what is right shifts and disrupts my paradigm?
'Cause in a world where fools and cynics
Love to cast their stones
While the burden of the proof
Remains willfully unknown
Where facts or formed from fiction
And the truth is bent with ease
How can I raise the flag and love my enemies?
I'm trying hard to be a better man
All I can do is make an honest stand
How can I
Love like I should, when my heart
Is dry as wood, petrified in 30 feet of ash?
How can I
Run the good race when what I need is
Someone to break both my legs and throw me on their back?
'Cause in a world where fools and cynics
Try to bar the golden door
To keep out the huddled masses
The tired and the poor
Where the homeless long for shelter
From the chaos of the squalls
How can I raise the flag and love beyond its walls?
I'm trying hard to be a better man
All I can do is make an honest stand
'Cause in a world where fools and cynics
Put men below the bottom line
As towns fall to addiction
And their spirits slowly die
While families fall to pieces
And their homes to disrepair
How can I raise the flag when even I don't seem to care enough
To make an honest stand?
I could try harder to be a better man
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Kevin Heider Dayton, Ohio
Creator + host of the popular Song & Story podcast, Kevin Heider is a singer-songwriter from Dayton, Ohio.
Whether he's writing hymns or drinking songs, his music is imbued with an earnest social consciousness.
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