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Not Alone

by Ranchers for Peace

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1.
DON’T ASK WHY (Chas. Duncan) There’s a lesson in the weather and a message in the wind Yeah, and you’ll get the tar and feathers you mention either one again You got to keep the wheels turning “laissez le bon temps rouler” Yeah, and the fossil fuels a-burning to light us on our way A fool and his money, they very soon will part You’re gonna fall on your ass man, if you follow your heart You’re catchin’ flies with honey: why would you even try? Just grab what you can, man -- don’t ask why Yeah, it’s too late to stop the water from rising up above the land and anyway, why would you bother until the profit’s in your hand? And if there’s nowhere else to go now, go on and keep your trap shut Yeah, and if we’re reaping what we sow now, so what? CHORUS And high up on old Golgotha about the break of day, there once hung a condemned man who began to pray And from his heavenly Father came only this reply: “Just stick with the plan, man -- don’t ask why.” CHORUS
2.
CORPORATION FARM (Chas. Duncan) Water’s so smart here that it runs uphill On the Corporation farm Ocean’s an ashtray there’s no way to fill On the Corporation farm Mountains had better learn to get out of the way ‘Cause us guys don’t care if the skies are cloudy all day And the buffalo don’t roam unless we say it’s OK, no harm -- OTCF Your Daddies all worked here since the last World War -- OTCF Turned out so good we started plannin’ more -- OTCF We stole the brightest brains from every former enemy And the stuff they’re comin’ up with is sure somethin’ to see And we’re bettin’ all we got that the third time will be the charm for the Coporation Farm We’re just small-town boys here, but we done real good -- OTCF Had one road-side stand and now even Hollywood is OTCF We can suck the bucks out of a rock before you can turn around We can make a man a king or we can put him in the ground Shot the astronauts through heaven and brought most of them back down unharmed -- OTCF We’ve got the largest coaxial cable concern In the sixteen western states And we can show you the latest Beirut baby to burn Or the President’s handsome face And the water’s so smart here that it runs uphill -- OTCF The sky is just an ashtray there’s no way to fill -- OTCF Not even we know how far our influence goes The smell of us will cling to every single wind that blows And we’ll keep pushing on no matter how much God grows alarmed At the Corporation Farm
3.
STREETS OF GOLD (Chas. Duncan) The cold wind blows The steps are hard The traffic flows Down the boulevard And who are these Without a place Out on our streets The night to face? The daylight dims and on the breeze Their faces young and old They’re drifting in like falling leaves To sleep on streets of gold “In God we trust” The dollar says But when it goes bust They’ll lay their heads In alleyways Where towers gleam And yesterdays Are just a dream The night rolls in and there they are, Their ragged beds unrolled Like shadows underneath the stars To sleep on streets of gold This land of ours Of thee we sing Your eagle soars On a broken wing When every night In every town, there in plain sight They lay them down The day returns and on they roam Their stories still untold Like strangers in their family home To sleep on streets of gold
4.
GUNFIGHT ON THE BEACH (Chas. Duncan) Mama, kiss your crucifix and cry The boys are gonna fight tonight And someone’s gonna die Maybe God will listen to your prayers And let the next one be not one of ours But one of theirs CHORUS: Some pretty little Mona Lisa Is gonna cry tonight Another warrior is freezing In the helicopter light She has a tattoo on her shoulder To prove her boyfriend’s claim He won’t be getting any older But she will always wear his name The drive-by came last Friday night, around two: Reuben died inside the place And Joe in I.C.U. Now the boys are past where love can reach They’ve loaded up their guns tonight And gone down to the beach CHORUS Our Worker tried to make us call it off But the kind of justice he talks Just is not enough We stood more than we should’ve all these months You know, they can pressure me forever But they can only kill me once CHORUS
5.
CANCEL THE SUN (Chas. Duncan) In a world like this With a heart as sincere as a carnival kiss At a time like now When the bitterest news is our regular chow Don’t it make you wonder If there’s anywhere a flag that’s worth living under Can’t you hear the breathin’ Of the only one who thrives in this kind of a season Nothing is going to stop the man Who’ll stop at nothing -- understand: He’d cancel the sun if he could If he thought it would do any good Ain’t no high enough rope Ain’t no big enough gun For a man who would cancel the sun In the last few years While the people ate dust he grew fat on their tears In the last few nights While we slept in our beds he may have settled our price Power lives to increase itself Even if it pleases Hell CHORUS You will know his face Who has the smile that no atrocity can erase You will know his voice Who’s the first to insist that there isn’t a choice Who conjures up the atomic knife To stab the world that gave him life CHORUS
6.
WE BUILT THIS CITY (Chas. Duncan) We built this city Out of sticks and mud And paid for it completely With our sweat and blood WBTC, on a high place in the swamp And now it shines so pretty From the penthouse to the dump WBTC amid a wilderness And were taught not to forget we’d be the ones to build her best WBTC on mounds of human bones and with your tears of pity we could wash her stepping stones WBTC for the High-and-Mighty’s use And raised it to civility With the hangman’s noose Where a child’s life counts for nothin’ And the Dollar rules And the House of Justice Is in a den of fools And the light of Freedom Shines from the whorehouse door And the Police, when you need ’em, are at the ten-cent store And the last train to Splitsville left the station long ago but the patrons at the Ritz will ride in limos when they go WBTC that the One Percent controls WBTC and we paved it with souls WBTC, all Creation’s crown WBTC -- and we can tear it down
7.
Not Alone 03:07
NOT ALONE (Chas. Duncan) We’re picking up pieces Of where we’ve been Like Buddha and Jesus We’re passing through No, and we won’t be back This way again Nor will the world we knew We go one way We live one life and then we’re gone We get one try But we’re not alone No, we’re not alone Go down to the station And look around: From every nation They hurry by -- the people each on Their own journey bound And bound to wonder why CHORUS So mothers, please love all your children well Fathers, please do just the same Let their laughter all the Future tell Our family name CHORUS

credits

released June 10, 2013

Chas. Duncan: guitars, harmonica, vocals
Ray Duncan: melodica, harmonica, vocals
Fred Murray: bass
Daryl Vandruff: drums

Recorded at Painted Sky Studios, Harmony CA & Red Zone Sound, Cambria CA

Produced by Chas. Duncan and R4P

All songs (c) 2013 Chas. Duncan, Wasteland Music BMI
(p) 2013 Vigitant Records

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Ranchers for Peace California

Doing what we can to make giving a damn cool again.

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