~Post your favorite Conciousness Raising song lyrics here~

by FlyingHighNow 91 Replies latest social entertainment

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  FlyingHighNow

  Don't we all love our freedom of speech?

  I miss the days when I was growing up when rock groups, singer/songwriters and other types of entertainers spoke out against racism, the Vietnam War, etc. It felt to me like people were more passionate about making the world a better and more fair place.

  I'm starting this thread so that you can post lyrics to your favorite protest/activist/consciousness raising songs.

  I'll start with a favorite of mine written and performed by Iris DeMent. She released it in 1996. The song sounds very good, too.

  WASTELAND OF THE FREE

  (Iris DeMent)
  (c) 1996 Songs of Iris ASCAP
  Living in the wasteland of the free...
  
  We got preachers dealing in politics and diamond mines
  and their speech is growing increasingly unkind
  They say they are Christ's disciples
  but they don't look like Jesus to me
  and it feels like I am living in the wasteland of the free
  
  We got politicians running races on corporate cash
  Now don't tell me they don't turn around and kiss them peoples' ass
  You may call me old-fashioned
  but that don't fit my picture of a true democracy
  and it feels like I am living in the wasteland of the free
  
  We got CEO's making two hundred times the workers' pay
  but they'll fight like hell against raising the minimum wage
  and If you don't like it, mister, they'll ship your job
  to some third-world country 'cross the sea
  and it feels like I am living in the wasteland of the free
  
  Living in the wasteland of the free
  where the poor have now become the enemy
  Let's blame our troubles on the weak ones
  Sounds like some kind of Hitler remedy
  Living in the wasteland of the free
  
  We got little kids with guns fighting inner city wars
  So what do we do, we put these little kids behind prison doors
  and we call ourselves the advanced civilization
  that sounds like crap to me
  and it feels like I am living in the wasteland of the free
  
  We got high-school kids running 'round in Calvin Klein and Guess
  who cannot pass a sixth-grade reading test
  but if you ask them, they can tell you
  the name of every crotch on mTV
  and it feels like I am living in the wasteland of the free
  
  We kill for oil, then we throw a party when we winSome guy refuses to fight, and we call that the sin
  but he's standing up for what he believes in
  and that seems pretty damned American to meand it feels like I am living in the wasteland of the free
  
  Living in the wasteland of the free
  where the poor have now become the enemy
  Let's blame our troubles on the weak ones
  Sounds like some kind of Hitler remedy
  Living in the wasteland of the free
  
  While we sit gloating in our greatness
  justice is sinking to the bottom of the sea
  Living in the wasteland of the free
  Living in the wasteland of the free
  Living in the wasteland of the free

  Hope you can all find it and listen to it. I checked this CD out at my local library to take on a trip down to Georgia because I really like Iris DeMent. I had never heard the song before. It became an instant favorite of mine.

  Flyin'
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  seeitallclearlynow

  BLOWIN' IN THE WIND

   Words and Music by Bob Dylan 1962 Warner Bros. Inc Renewed 1990 Special Rider Music 

  [Japanese]

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  Home -Eternal Circle-

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  How many roads must a man walk down Before you call him a man? Yes, 'n' how many seas must a white dove sail Before she sleeps in the sand? Yes, 'n' how many times must the cannon balls fly Before they're forever banned? The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind, The answer is blowin' in the wind. How many times must a man look up Before he can see the sky? Yes, 'n' how many ears must one man have Before he can hear people cry? Yes, 'n' how many deaths will it take till he knows That too many people have died? The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind, The answer is blowin' in the wind. How many years can a mountain exist Before it's washed to the sea? Yes, 'n' how many years can some people exist Before they're allowed to be free? Yes, 'n' how many times can a man turn his head, Pretending he just doesn't see? The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind, The answer is blowin' in the wind. 

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  FlyingHighNow

  Here's one that Pete Seger recorded. We found this song on a Folk 60s tape. My kids really loved it. I am old enough to remember the folk music movement. It really touched my toddler heart.

  Little Boxes

  by Malvina Reynolds

  Little boxes on the hillside, Little boxes made of tickytacky
  Little boxes on the hillside, little boxes all the same
  There's a green one and a pink one and a blue one and a yellow one
  And they're all made out of ticky tacky and they all look just the same.

  And the people in the houses all went to the university
  Where they were put in boxes and they came out all the same,
  And there's doctors and there's lawyers, and business executives
  And they're all made out of ticky tacky and they all look just the same.

  And they all play on the golf course and drink their martinis dry,
  And they all have pretty children and the children go to school
  And the children go to summer camp and then to the university
  Where they are put in boxes and they come out all the same.

  And the boys go into business and marry and raise a family
  In boxes made of ticky tacky and they all look just the same.

  Flyin'
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  FlyingHighNow

  Yes, 'n' how many ears must one man have
  Before he can hear people cry?
  Yes, 'n' how many deaths will it take till he knows
  That too many people have died?
  The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind,
  The answer is blowin' in the wind.

  See, one of the most important songs to come from the 1960s. The above exerpt really fits today with the Iraq war and all.

  Flyin'
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  wednesday

  "Simple Man" CHARLIE DANIELS I like his values I ain't nothin' but a simple man They call me a redneck I reckon that I am But there's things going on That make me mad down to the core. I have to work like a dog to make ends meet There's crooked politicians and crime in the street And I'm madder'n hell and I ain't gonna take it no more. We tell our kids to just say no Then some panty waist judge lets a drug dealer go Slaps him on the wrist and then he turns him back out on the town. Now if I had my way with people sellin' dope I'd take a big tall tree and a short piece of rope I'd hang 'em up high and let 'em swing 'til the sun goes down Well, you know what's wrong with the world today People done gone and put their Bible's away They're living by the law of the jungle not the law of the land The good book says it so I know it's the truth An eye for and eye and a tooth for a tooth You better watch where you go and remember where you been That's the way I see it I'm a Simple Man. Now I'm the kinda man that'd not harm a mouse But if I catch somebody breakin in my house I've got twelve guage shotgun waiting on the other side So don't go pushing me against my will I don't want to have to fight you but I dern sure will So if you don't want trouble then you'd better just pass me on by As far as I'm concerned there ain't no excuse For the raping and the killing and the child abuse And I've got a way to put an end to all that mess Just take them rascals out in the swamp Put 'em on their knees and tie 'em to a stump Let the rattlers and the bugs and the alligators do the rest You know what's wrong with the world today People done gone and put their Bible's away They're living by the law of the jungle not the law of the land The Good Book says it so I know it's the truth An eye for and eye and a tooth for a tooth You better watch where you go and remember where you been That's the way I see it I'm a Simple Man
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  FlyingHighNow

  I didn't like Bill Clinton at all. When they drug him and his dirty laundry into the public view though, I ended up liking him. It was the same with Richard M. Nixon. Once he went through the Watergate scandal and had to resign I liked him better. Like a wise old MARTA bus driver told me once: We all have skeletons in our closets.

  I dedicate this song to Bill Clinton and Richard M. Nixon:

  	Artist: The Who Lyrics
  	Song: Behind Blue Eyes Lyrics
  	No one knows what it's like To be the bad man To be the sad man Behind blue eyes No one knows what it's like To be hated To be fated To telling only lies But my dreams They aren't as empty As my conscience seems to be I have hours, only lonely My love is vengeance That's never free No one knows what it's like To feel these feelings Like I do And I blame you No one bites back as hard On their anger None of my pain and woe Can show through But my dreams They aren't as empty As my conscience seems to be I have hours, only lonely My love is vengeance That's never free When my fist clenches, crack it open Before I use it and lose my cool When I smile, tell me some bad news Before I laugh and act like a fool If I swallow anything evil Put your finger down my throat If I shiver, please give me a blanket Keep me warm, let me wear your coat No one knows what it's like To be the bad man To be the sad man Behind blue eyes

  Flyin'
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  FlyingHighNow

  I have to work like a dog to make ends meet
  There's crooked politicians and crime in the street
  And I'm madder'n hell and I ain't gonna take it no more.

  Wednesday, I saw him in concert twice. This excerpt conveys similar sentiment to the Iris Dement song I posted. My fave song by Charlie is Uneasy Rider.

  Flyin'
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  seeitallclearlynow

  ANOTHER DAY IN PARADISE LYRICS

  ? (59 Votes)

  EDIT LYRICS / RATE LYRICS BUY POSTERS! She calls out to the man on the street ?sir, can you help me? It?s cold and I?ve nowhere to sleep, Is there somewhere you can tell me? ? He walks on, doesn?t look back He pretends he can?t hear her Starts to whistle as he crosses the street Seems embarrassed to be there Oh think twice, it?s another day for You and me in paradise Oh think twice, it?s just another day for you, You and me in paradise She calls out to the man on the street He can see she?s been crying She?s got blisters on the soles of her feet Can?t walk but she?s trying Oh think twice... Oh lord, is there nothing more anybody can do Oh lord, there must be something you can say You can tell from the lines on her face You can see that she?s been there Probably been moved on from every place ?cos she didn?t fit in there Oh think twice...
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  FlyingHighNow

  ANOTHER DAY IN PARADISE LYRICS

  Good one, SeeItAll. That song always made me think of my very lonely, depressed mother. I always feared she'd end up homeless like this little old bag lady that used to ride my bus.

  Another Day In Paradise makes me think of this song by Bruce Hornsby:

  The Way It Is ( Bruce Hornsby)
  

  Standing in line marking time--
  Waiting for the welfare dime
  'Cause they can't buy a job
  The man in the silk suit hurries by
  As he catches the poor old ladies' eyes
  Just for fun he says "Get a job"
  
  That's just the way it is
  Some things will never change
  That's just the way it is
  But don't you believe them
  
  They say hey little boy you can't go
  Where the others go
  'Cause you don't look like they do
  Said hey old man how can you stand
  To think that way
  Did you really think about it
  Before you made the rules
  He said, Son
  
  That's just the way it is
  Some things will never change
  That's just the way it is
  But don't you believe them
  
  Well they passed a law in '64
  To give those who ain't got a little more
  But it only goes so far
  Because the law don't change another's mind
  When all it sees at the hiring time
  Is the line on the color bar
  
  That's just the way it is
  Some things will never change
  That's just the way it is,
  That's just the way it is.

  Flyin'
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  micheal

  U2 - SUNDAY BLOODY SUNDAY

  
  
  

  Yes... I can't believe the news today Oh, I can't close my eyes And make it go away How long... How long must we sing this song How long, how long... 'cause tonight...we can be as one Tonight... Broken bottles under children's feet Bodies strewn across the dead end street But I won't heed the battle call It puts my back up Puts my back up against the wall Sunday, Bloody Sunday Sunday, Bloody Sunday Sunday, Bloody Sunday And the battle's just begun There's many lost, but tell me who has won The trench is dug within our hearts And mothers, children, brothers, sisters Torn apart Sunday, Bloody Sunday Sunday, Bloody Sunday How long... How long must we sing this song How long, how long... 'cause tonight...we can be as one Tonight...tonight... Sunday, Bloody Sunday Sunday, Bloody Sunday Wipe the tears from your eyes Wipe your tears away Oh, wipe your tears away Oh, wipe your tears away (Sunday, Bloody Sunday) Oh, wipe your blood shot eyes (Sunday, Bloody Sunday) Sunday, Bloody Sunday (Sunday, Bloody Sunday) Sunday, Bloody Sunday (Sunday, Bloody Sunday) And it's true we are immune When fact is fiction and TV reality And today the millions cry We eat and drink while tomorrow they die (Sunday, Bloody Sunday) The real battle just begun To claim the victory Jesus won On... Sunday Bloody Sunday Sunday Bloody Sunday...