Jo Walton ([info]papersky) wrote,
@ 2006-11-24 15:37:00
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American Dream, A Political Anthem
Further to this post and subsequent thread on Making Light. Posted there and here for reference. This is a sort-of song, it has a verse and a chorus.

You crossed the seas to build yourselves a city on new-minted hills,
You had a bad king once: you threw him out.
You were the licensed good guys and gave chocolate to the kids,
And liberty was what it's all about.

And Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, are foreign words to you,
The children beg for water and the torture bill goes through.
A few bad apples spread and turn the whole damn crop to rot,
And this is us, is now, is what we've got.

So count the votes, America, and throw the bastards out.
Remember being what you want to seem.
Recall the things that matter and give substance to the words,
Bring back the hopes that went to build the dream.

Make Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, the ancient words of shame.
Set straight the laws and end the wars, accept your share of blame.
Give water to the thirsty kids, give hope and freedom too,
And this is us, is now, is ours to do.


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[info]hobbitbabe
2006-11-24 08:42 pm UTC (link)
I have tears in my eyes and a quiver in my throat. Seriously.

I want some famous singer to sing this and then a thousand amateurs to learn it and pass it on. And not always to people who already believed it.

And then eventually for it to go in a book of folk songs for people to recall the outrages and injustices of a bygone era.

(Reply to this)


[info]sovay
2006-11-24 08:42 pm UTC (link)
You and Phil Ochs would have made a great songwriting team.

(Reply to this)


[info]szandara
2006-11-24 08:58 pm UTC (link)
This should be set to music and sung in the streets.

(Reply to this)


[info]wcg
2006-11-25 12:13 am UTC (link)
I like it! Do you have any idea of what you want it to sound like? If not I'll just set it to music and start playing it.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

So I didn't want to wait
[info]wcg
2006-11-25 12:36 am UTC (link)
American Dream
by Jo Walton, 24 Nov 2006

(capo 3)

You [C]crossed the seas to build yourselves a [G]city on new-minted hills,
You [D]had a bad king once: you threw him [G]out.
You [C]were the licensed good guys and gave [G]chocolate to the kids,
And [D]liberty was what it's all [G]about.

And [C]Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, are [G]foreign words to you,
The [D]children beg for water and the [G]torture bill goes through.
A [C]few bad apples spread and turn the [G]whole damn crop to rot,
And [D]this is us, is now, is what we've [G]got.

So [C]count the votes, America, and [G]throw the bastards out.
Re[D]member being what you want to [G]seem.
Re[C]call the things that matter and give [G]substance to the words,
Bring [D]back the hopes that went to build the [G]dream.

Make [C]Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, the [G]ancient words of shame.
Set [D]straight the laws and end the wars, ac[G]cept your share of blame.
Give [C]water to the thirsty kids, give [G]hope and freedom too,
And [D]this is us, is now, is ours to [G]do.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

Re: So I didn't want to wait
[info]papersky
2006-11-25 12:48 pm UTC (link)
Thank you.

Sing it in good cheer.

I hope it sounds great.

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Re: So I didn't want to wait
[info]wcg
2006-11-25 02:31 pm UTC (link)
I sang it last night at the Darkover con midnight filk. It seemed to be well received.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

Re: So I didn't want to wait
[info]papersky
2006-11-25 12:49 pm UTC (link)
And I meant to say wow, set to music by a Marine!

(Reply to this) (Parent)

Re: So I didn't want to wait
[info]carandol
2006-11-26 03:11 am UTC (link)
Yeah, I didn't want to wait either. I think mine mine has a more melancholy feel, being in a minor key...

You [Am]crossed the seas to build yourselves a [G]city on new-minted hills,
You [F]had a bad king [G]once: you threw him [Am]out.
You [Am]were the licensed good guys and gave [G]chocolate to the kids,
And [F]liberty was [G]what it's all a[Am]bout.

And [Em]Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, are [D]foreign words to you,
The [C]children beg for water and the [G]torture bill goes [D]through.
A [Em]few bad apples spread and turn the [D]whole damn crop to rot,
And [C]this is us, is [D]now, is what we've [Em]got.

And repeat...

Of course, it's hard to tell how the actual *tune* goes from the chords... :-) I kind of feel there ought to be a guitar or saxophone solo in the middle, but since I only strum guitar, and don't play sax at all, it remains in my head.

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[info]carandol
2006-11-25 12:22 am UTC (link)
Yep, that's good. I have come up with a tune, and I'm supposed to be recording a CD round at Mollie's in a week or two, so I'll try and get a recording of it and send you a copy. Which you are free to reject as rubbish, of course :-)

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[info]papersky
2006-11-25 11:28 am UTC (link)
The tune I imagine is somewhere in the space between between "Ghost Riders in the Sky" and "Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts".

It's really frustrating sometimes having tunes in one's head and being neither able to write music nor sing!

Good luck with that, I'll look forward to hearing it.

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[info]carandol
2006-11-25 12:08 pm UTC (link)
Well, I don't know Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts, but there's definitely a hint of Ghost Riders in the Sky.

Did you not learn to play the recorder at school? Or have you forgotten it again?

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[info]papersky
2006-11-25 12:45 pm UTC (link)
I learned to play the piano, FSVO "learned" which I've definitely forgotten. The recorder was Zorinth, who has lost more recorders than most people have hot dinners. (Yeah, I know, very few people lose hot dinners...)

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[info]carandol
2006-11-26 03:14 am UTC (link)
They obviously Do Things Differently in Wales. Most of the (English) people I know learned recorder at school and can stumble their way through a tune while hating the instrument they're playing on.

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[info]adrian_turtle
2006-11-25 02:06 am UTC (link)
This is wonderful. Thank you. It's so overwhelming, I run out of words, and then you gave me some. And already, two kinds of music!

In the direction of
>Set straight the laws and end the wars
I just saw a pointer to
http://believe.amnestyusa.org/

"The America I believe in does not torture people.
The America I believe in does not run secret prisons.
The America I believe in would shut down Guantanamo Bay."

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[info]dsgood
2006-11-25 03:02 am UTC (link)
Note: The main settlers of Massachusetts wanted freedom to practice their religion -- and to arrest and try any Quakers, Baptists, or other heretics -- and, of course, the evil Papists.

The results included: Unitarianism ("God is one and God is one"), Universalism (Everyone's going to Heaven), Christian Science, and various odd other sects. And Massachusetts came to be ruled by Catholics.

The only colonies set up by people who believed in freedom for even "the wrong people" were Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Rhode Island.

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[info]papersky
2006-11-25 11:25 am UTC (link)
I know that. The hills hadn't in fact just been built either. I'm talking about the dream, here, not the details of real history.

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[info]naomikritzer
2006-11-25 11:56 pm UTC (link)
The oldest synagogue in the U.S. is in Newport, R.I. One of the many interesting stories about it is that George Washington visited the synagogue while in Newport, and wrote a letter to them afterwards. You can find the full text on a couple of websites, but here's the best quote:

It is now no more that toleration is spoken of as if it were the indulgence of one class of people that another enjoyed the exercise of their inherent natural rights, for, happily, the government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance, requires only that they who live under its protection should demean themselves as good citizens in giving it on all occasions their effectual support.

Even if the earliest days of the American colonies were not exactly all about religious freedom, to some of the founders of the U.S., that is precisely what it was about.

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[info]redbird
2006-11-25 01:50 pm UTC (link)
Also New York, which was a mercantile settlement rather than a religious anything from the day the Dutch set foot on these islands. In 1660, the settlers pointed out to their governor that they had the right, as Dutch citizens, to invite anyone they felt like, including Quakers; that they had to remind Stuyvesant of this may be part of why they weren't much interested in fighting off the British navy a few years later. (If anyone is curious, the document in question is down in history as the Flushing Remonstrance.)

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[info]handworn
2006-11-25 02:27 pm UTC (link)
Quite good.

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