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Misfits Migrants and Murders

by Jack Warshaw

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1.
Constant Sorrow 04:19
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Break in I am a man of constant sorrow, I've seen trouble all my days I bid farewell to old Kentucky, Place where I was born and raised For six long years I've been in trouble, No pleasures here on earth I found For round this world I'm bound to ramble, I have no friends to help me now break It's fare thee well my own true lover I never expect to see you again For I'm bound to ride that northern railroad, Perhaps I'll die upon this train You can bury me in some deep valley, For many years where I may lay Then you may learn to love another, While I’m sleeping in my grave break O fare thee well my native country Place where I have loved so well For I have all kinds of trouble In this cruel world no tongue can tell Maybe your friends think I'm just a stranger My face, you never will see no more But there is one promise that is given I'll meet you on that golden shore Break out
2.
City of Light 04:00
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CITY OF LIGHT © Jack Warshaw 2015 Come go with me to the City of Light People at play on a Friday night, Cafes alive with laughter and fun Music and dancing’s already begun Just then out of nowhere there comes a loud scream Your blood runs as cold as a deep icy stream Bullets resound in streets and in squares Drowning out music and wakening fear They scorn all music, they scorn all fun They scorn all love, they worship guns They try to break us, they shoot to kill I don’t get it at all, the blood they spill They’re programmed in death and unholy war Led to believe that it’s worth dying for But though we feel danger we always can see We shall overcome and keep on being free If they would break the country they must break you and me For we are born to love liberty Being free can’t be wrong, they can’t murder our songs The path to peace is love but we must be strong People are dying, we must not give in Don’t lock yourself down, we can’t let them win We are the future of our country We are the future of a world that’s free Come go with me to the City of Light Paris at play on a Friday night, Cafes alive with laughter and fun Music and dancing’s already begun
3.
Little Britain 03:38
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Little Britain 4 © Jack Warshaw 2016 Tune: Little Stream of Whiskey (Doc Watson) Oh, give me back the good old days when Britannia ruled the waves And built a mighty empire on colonies and slaves We were stuck in Europe, but now we can be free Back in Little Britain the way it used to be I believed in Little Britain the way it used to be Fish and chips, wooden ships and folk all drinking tea We all cried cheers and drank warm beer and acted so polite Life was so delightful, and people looked alike We all hate the Euro, foie gras and ratatouille We all hate cappuccino, frogs legs and chablis They all smell like garlic their grub’s a bleeding farce They can stuff their bleeding horse meat, right up their bleeding arse I believed in Little Britain the way it used to be Cricket bats, bowler hats and folk all drinking tea We all cried cheers and drank warm beer and acted so polite Life was so delightful, and people looked alike In days of old when knights were bold and peasants knew their place Smeared in Woad, but underneath were awfully pure of race Those Romans, Vikings, Saxons, who plundered, raped and stayed They were all so pleasant, not like immigrants today I believed in Little Britain the way it used to be Mother Goose, the hangman’s noose and folk all drinking tea Up with ruling classes, down with Brussels bourgeoisie I believed in Little Britain so I voted O-U-T. I believed in jolly Boris, good old Nigel was true Brit But they fucked off like cowards and left us in the shit Now Boris is in government, the shit has hit the fan. The joker in the pack, has screwed us once again. I believed in Little Britain I thought I was true blue Till I found out the Brexiteers are bonkers through and through Now just like little lemmings they soon will have their wish When sorry Little Britain is falling off a cliff.
4.
Pearl of the Coastal Bend 03:37
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THE PEARL OF THE COASTAL BEND © Jack Warshaw 2015 An allegory on “The Birth of Venus” As I walked out in Aransas one day Watching the sunset out over the bay She appeared like an angel on a wave rushin’ in At the place they called the Pearl of the Coastal Bend The Pearl of the Coastal Bend So boldly I called out “I must know your name” She answered me softly “I’m called Liza Jane” I looked in her eyes, said “Where have you been What fortune has smiled on the Pearl of the Coastal Bend” The Pearl of the Coastal Bend The sound of her voice told me that she did come From the North country to the warm winter sun Thirsting for someone, more than a friend Where the waters run free ‘round the Pearl of the Coastal Bend The Pearl of the Coastal Bend That summer of love filled the air with perfume The birds sang on high, the flowers in bloom Too soon I reflected this romance must end Like a cloud driftin’ over the Pearl of the Coastal Bend The Pearl of the Coastal Bend So one cloudy day, I didn’t ask why She was lookin’ at me with a tear in her eye Her red ruby lips kissed mine once again And were gone with the wind from the Pearl of the Coastal Bend The Pearl of the Coastal Bend
5.
Migrant Song - Help Refugees 03:59
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Migrant song 3 © Jack Warshaw 2015 A We fled our lands in time of war Time of famine, time of woe Wearied souls and ragged kids On the road, no place to go B We came uplifted to your shores Over land, across the seas Doors and hearts were opened wide Back then you called us refugees A We built your cities, roads and railways Worked your factories day and night Healed your sick and worked your fields Taught your kids to read and write B Our tongues were different, names also Left behind the world we knew Settled down and raised our kids Who looked and sounded just like you A Now once again in time of terror We walk and crawl, set sail and drown Doors are closed and faces turned And you call us migrants now B And still we try and still we’re crying Still we die before our time While your leaders blow and bluster Ain’t it all an awful crime A See us now in all the papers In the news and on your screens Parents weeping, children drowning Dressed in T shirts, shoes and jeans B You are blessed and we are broken Ease our troubles, ease our pain For the sake of human kindness Open up your doors again
6.
Tomorrow Lies in the Cradle 03:07
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All of my days were grains of sand I never cared where they fell Oh but the days that wait for me now Have something different to tell Tomorrow lies in the cradle Tomorrow has eyes that shine Tomorrow lies in the cradle With a smile a little like mine One little boy with a voice so loud Like a rooster greeting the dawn One little song for tomorrow To leave behind when I’m gone Tomorrow lies in the cradle Tomorrow has eyes that shine Tomorrow lies in the cradle With a smile a little like mine This is my son my newborn son And he’s bound for a brand new day Perhaps I can walk along with him A little part of the way Tomorrow lies in the cradle Tomorrow has eyes that shine Tomorrow lies in the cradle With a smile a little like mine
7.
Freight Train Blues 04:11
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Chorus Freight train, freight train run so fast Freight train, freight train run so fast Please don't tell them what train I'm on So they won't know which route I've gone It's when I die just bury me deep Way down on old Chestnut Street So's I can hear old Number 9 As she goes rolling by Chorus When i'm dead and in my greve No more good times will I crave Place a stone at my head and feed Tell my friends that I've gone to sleep Chorus Break repeat chorus
8.
Grenfell Fire 03:25
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A warm Wednesday night, ‘round midnight is the hour I can hear the sirens wailing there’s a fire at Grenfell Tower But no alarm bells ring as smoke and flames rise high In minutes it’s all burnt up, and death has touched the sky Chorus Do you mourn for those who died, or rage and think on why The innocent bear the pain and the guilty close their eyes. A quarter to three, on the 23rd floor Mrs Ibrahim's on the phone “The flames are getting closer, we’re trapped inside our home. My children are here with me, there’s nowhere we can go Now pray for us my brothers and sisters down below Chorus The Prime Minister hides away and reads a statement from afar But soon the truth is plain, it would have cost a little more To keep the people safe, who died in fear and pain While politicians promise “It won’t happen here again.” Chorus Distressed, they tell their stories, the worst they’ve ever known The tower stands in silence, a smoking black tomb stone Who will blow the whistle, who will take the blame? Who will sleep at night while so many die in flames? Chorus
9.
You Ain't My President 03:39
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I can see and I suppose that goddamn Trump he knows Just how much hate he sows in the hearts of humankind When he took that oath of office, right there I knew for sure That this land is not my land anymore Chorus Oh mister Trump, you ain't my President My country's on the rocks and my soul is badly bent You don't fool me at all, your pride will see you fall No, no mister Trump, you ain't my President You cheated lied and stole to fix them voting polls The promises you made are paid by human souls Now you have the power, you take instead of give You're using up the country, how can the country live? Chorus You deny the Earth's in danger, you sponsor greed and waste You wanna ban all immigrants of any different faith You think women are just playthings, you crush poor people's health. You think a person's dignity is only based on wealth Chorus Fake news is the tool you use to hide the deeds you do But you can't hide the truth that the biggest fake is you Now everybody knows it and you will soon be gone Damn you Mr Trump and the horse you rode in on. Chorus
10.
The Deportees 05:08
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The crops are all in and the peaches are rotting, The oranges are piled in their creosote dumps; They're flying 'em back to the Mexican border It takes all their money to wade back again Chorus Goodbye to my Juan, goodbye, Rosalita, Adios mis amigos, Jesus y Maria; You won't have a name when you ride the big airplane, All all they will call you will be "deportees" My father's own father, he waded that river, They took all the money he made in his life; My brothers and sisters they worked in the fruit fields, And rode on the trucks till they took down and died. Chorus Some of us are illegal, and some are not wanted, Our work contract's out and we have to move on; Six hundred miles to the Mexican border, They chase us like outlaws, like rustlers, like thieves. We died in your hills, we died in your deserts, We died in your valleys, we died on your plains. Chorus We died 'neath your trees, we died in your bushes, Both sides of the river, we died just the same. The sky plane caught fire over Los Gatos Canyon, A fireball of lightning, it shook all our hills, Who are all these friends, all scattered like dry leaves? The radio says, "They’re just deportees" Chorus Is this the best way we can grow our big orchards? Is this the best way we can grow our good fruit? To fall like dry leaves to rot on my topsoil And never know no name except "deportees"? Chorus
11.
If They Come in the Morning 07:59
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They call it the law - apartheid, internment, repression, injustice and silence The law that they made to keep you and me where they think we belong They who hide behind steel and bullet-proof glass, machine guns and spies And tell us who suffer their tear gas and torture that we're in the wrong Chorus No time for love if they come in the morning No time to show fear or for tears in the morning No time for goodbyes no time to ask why And the wail of the siren is the cry of the morning The trade union leaders, the rebels, the writers, the fighters and all The strikers who fought with the cops at their factory gates The sons and the daughters of unnumbered heroes who paid with their lives The poor folk whose color or class or belief was their only mistake Chorus They suffered the torture they rotted in cells, wrote letters, went crazy and died The limits of pain they endured but the lonliness got them instead The courts gave ‘em justice as justice is given by well mannered thugs Sometimes they fought for the will to survive and sometimes they wished they were dead Chorus They took away Sacco, Vanzetti, Connolly and Pearse in their time They came for Mandela, Bobby Sands, the Panthers and many more friends Now they come after those who expose their crimes like Snowdon has done In places that never made headlines, the list never ends Chorus The boys in blue are only a few of the everyday cops on their beat The CID, NSA, Google and Apple and spies and eyes in the skies do their job well And behind them the brains that build systems that collect every word that we breathe And the ones who decide when it’s time to drag you to a cell Chorus Now you tell us that here we are free to say and to think what we please To march and to speak, to write and to sing as long as we do it alone But say it out loud with millions of comrades and it won’t be too long. Till they give you a long rest with walls and barbed wire for a home Chorus You call us illegal, unwanted, mass rapists, drug dealers and more We who pick all your crops; clean your homes, wash your kids, fight and die in your wars You order your police and border enforcers to shove us back where we once fled in fear Away from the land you call “free” that you took from the poor folk you murdered before Chorus So come all you people to give to your brothers and sisters the will to fight on They say you get used to a war but that doesn't mean the war isn't on The fish need the sea to survive just as your comrades do And the death squads can only get to them if first they can get through to you Chorus
12.
She's the One 03:43
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I was born long ago, in the US of A I travelled far across the sea There I fell in love with a pretty green eyed girl And soon I asked her if she’d marry me Chorus She’s my darling and my daisy Sometimes she drives me crazy I love her and I see her in my dreams When I wake up in the morning And another day is dawning I know she’ll always be the one for me Chorus She feeds me shepherd’s pie It always makes me sigh I could eat it till it’s coming out my ears Just when I think I’m done “Why you’ve only just begun” And the crumble pudding magically appears Chorus + harp break When we go out to the pub To get a bit of grub All the girls are wearing flowers in their hair She thinks the guys are weird With their sandals and their beards Which makes those around to stop and stare Chorus + fiddle break She keeps me occupied, it cannot be denied The way she smiles and always treats me right I know when to “lend a hand” She knows why she’s got her man And my tools are always ready day and night Chorus + all play out
13.
Spirit of 45 04:17
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Come over here beside me son I’m thinkin’ ‘bout when I was young The fascist fear we fought and won We thought at last our time had come But hard faced men controlled the mines Banks, railways, power lines Factories across the land A living wage they would not stand Chorus No country No country No country for poor people now In ’45 we made a plan For better life throughout the land Free health care if we were ill No more fear of doctor’s bills The war created jobs for all Let’s make it so in peace as well A patch of land to dig and sow A decent home for kids to grow Chorus. So one by one we took control A fair day’s wage, and homes for all Work together, claim the prize The name we gave it: nationalise But what came to pass it was a shame The bosses all remained the same Discontentment ruled again And gnawed away at that great dream Chorus. Now the bastards saw their chance To try and crush our great advance “Public service doesn’t work,” they lied They name they gave it: privatise The hard faced men are back again They’re stealing all that we have gained It’s time to rise and come alive Reclaim the spirit of ‘45 Final chorus (repeat last line)
14.
Fatal Flower Garden 03:11
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It rained, it poured, it rained so hard, It rained so hard all day, That all the boys in our school Came out to toss and play. They tossed a ball again so high, Then again, so low; They tossed it into a flower garden Where no-one was allowed to go. Up stepped a gypsy lady, All dressed in yellow and green; "Come in, come in, my pretty little boy, And get your ball again." "I can't come in, I shan't come in Without my playmates all; I'll go to my father and tell him about it, That'll cause tears to fall." She first showed him an apple green, Then a gay gold ring, Then she showed him a diamond, And that enticed him in. She took him by his lily-white hand, She led him through the hall; She put him in an upper room, Where no-one could hear him call. "Oh, take these finger rings off my finger, Smoke them with your breath; If any of my friends should call for me, Tell them that I'm at rest." "Bury the bible at my head, Testament at my feet; If my dear mother should call for me, Tell her that I'm asleep." "Bury the bible at my feet, Testament at my head; If my dear father should call for me, Tell him that I am dead."
15.
That was Then 05:28
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Once upon a time you had a dream you could believe Once you cried out liberty for all Once you laughed at rules and regulations Once you said you’d change the world somehow But that was then, and this is now You marched to stop a war and paid the price of just resistance Yelling slogans, waving banners in the air Give peace a chance, Make love not war Keep the faith became your solemn vow Oh that was then, and this is now You joined the union, stood on picket lines in deepest winter Upholding workers’ rights and dignity Arm in arm you faced the kicks and tear gas Confident of victory anyhow But that was then, and this is now Time passed, the wars were never ending so it did seem Revolution wasn’t raging in the air You woke one day and wondered what went wrong A different life was calling you somehow Oh, that was then, and this is now Solidarity often echoes through your memory of those years Each time you hear of misery and pain Your ship is safely harboured and protected You’re grateful for the ground you’ve dug and ploughed From that was then, to this is now. Once upon a time you were a rebel with a cause Now it seems the dream is far away Is it you or Time must take the blame, When all things change, yet stay the same? From that was then, to this is now.
16.
The Fiddling Soldier 03:16
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As I was a-walking one morning in May I spied a fair couple come walking my way One was a soldier and a brave volunteer And the other was a lady with a raven black hair “Oh where are you going in the morning so soon? There’s a place by the river a place to sit down” And he took out his fiddle and he tuned up one string And he played the water gliding while the nightingales sing Oh ho said the soldier, it’s time to give o’er Oh no said the lady, please play one tune more For I’d rather hear your fiddle and the touch of one string Than to see the water gliding hear the nightingales sing Oh ho said the lady will you marry me Oh no said the soldier, that never can be I’ve a wife in old Ireland and children I’ve three One wife is a-plenty too many for me There’s loved ones in Ireland that’s waiting for me There’s loved ones in Ireland I’m longing to see I’ll go back to my own country that’s where I belong And I’ll play on my fiddle and sing your love song I’ll go back to old Ireland, I’ll stay there one year I’ll drink of the wine and I’ll drink of the beer If I ever come back here it’ll be in the spring And I’ll play the water gliding while the nightingales sing
17.
The Exile 05:47
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Farewell to my friends, farewell to my family Across the deep ocean, a stranger I’m bound Don’t know what I’ll find there, how long I’ll be gone Or if some day I’ll see you when I’m back again My parents are gone, my friends are all scattered No place in this country to call my home A new country calls me, adventure awaits me Maybe a new love to call me her own But war knows no border, they come to conscript me Resolved to resist them, I follow my code I join with the angry, I join with the gentle Who march to the ending of this long troubled road There’s many in struggle, there’s many hearts broken There’s many lives taken, but still we march on There’s many alike me, far over the water Working for good times when troubles are gone The bombing is ended, the guns fallen silent My country’s divided, but peace is restored And to my delight I find my true lover And welcome a new life with one I adore But still there’s great dangers- our children must answer Terror and hunger, and life upon Earth Yet each day that dawns brings new hope and wonder Dreaming of freedom, and a time of rebirth So now my song’s ended, I bid you good fortune Sometimes a road ends in the place it begun And if I may offer this compass to guide you To see where you’re goin’- look back where you’re from So take up your place, march on with the many The times they may change but the prize is the same Freedom, good friendship and love never ending No power in creation can put out the flame
18.
The Cuckoo Bird 03:22
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Gonna build me, long cabin On the mountain so high So's I can see Willie As he goes on by Break Oh the cuckoo, she's a pretty bird She wobbles, she fly She never hollers cuckoo Till the 5th day July Break Jack a-diamonds, jack-a-diamonds I know you of old You rob my poor pockets Of silver and gold Break I played cards in England I played cards in Spain I bet you ten dollar I'll beat you next game Break I oft times have wondered What makes women love men Then I turn around and wonder What makes men love them Mmmm, mmmm Mmmm, mmmm Mmmm, mmmm Mumm, mmmm Break Oh the cuckoo, she's a pretty bird She wobbles, she fly She never hollers cuckoo Till the 5th day July Break

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released August 7, 2018

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Jack Warshaw UK

Veteran of the 1960s folk revival, he passionately believes, writes and sings with authenticity and respect for traditional American styles and song carriers. He has met, learned from or worked with such legends as Pete, Mike and Peggy Seeger, Tom Paley, Ewan MacColl, Bob Dylan, Mississippi John Hurt, Clarence Ashley, Dave Van Ronk, Stuart Burns and many others. Watch Youtube. Bio on Wikipedia ... more

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