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Between The Rivers
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Social Commentary, Tom met Dr. David Nickell at the Forest Council in Southern IL. He told Tom the story of his family and other BTR residents.
acoustic folk social commentary political satire western massachusetts oil coal climate change fracking incineration music for social change nuclear energy
Folk singer, social commentary, satire, people's stories, children's music
Hi Folks, The Bard Insurgent here. My comrade D.O. (the Poet Roofer) and I got that handle (The Bard Insurgents) from traveling town to town performing songs and poetry about people's lives. I've been performing since I was 3 years old, cutting my vocal chords on liturgical and classical music. I was a concert soloist as a child, when I wasn't herding cows, throwing hay and shoveling manure. During the Civil Rights movement and the Vietnam war, I began writing songs about social change. I left the country in 1970 and my dozen years in other countries, mostly in Africa & South America, have provided a global perspective to my music. My travels helped me realize that people all around the world are essentially the same in their basic life needs and their desires to live peacefully in their communities. These experiences have informed my commitment to working for international understanding as I organize at home. A powerful way to educate and inspire is with music. I tell people's stories, do social commentary with a touch of satire that I hope you enjoy and share with your friends, as well as sing together in the streets and in your living rooms. I also have children's music written for the children in my life with Jacob and Kayla as primary muses. Looking forward to seeing you on the road, Tom
Song Info
Charts
Peak #6
Peak in subgenre #1
Author
tom neilson
Rights
2011 tom neilson
Uploaded
June 20, 2011
Track Files
MP3
MP3 5.0 MB 128 kbps 5:29
Story behind the song
It is estimated that up to 30,000 people were forcibly removed from their homes for the Between the Lakes project, a federal land and water management scheme.
Lyrics
In the shadow of the Chickasaw & the Cherokee, Jeremiah Nickell laid his seed. McWaters, Futrell, Henry Lady, tween the Cumberland & the Tennessee. We were stewards of the land. Shared the coalins hand in hand. Hunt and grazed; our ancestry cared for the deer & the wild turkey Between the Rivers people we – 6 generations my family Now we fight so we can be, tween the Cumberland & the Tennessee. First they came for the iron ore. Then railroad ties for the Commodore, They cleared the land of most everything, but we still drank from the Futrell spring. Then comes the TVA, bringing progress what they say Build dams & flood our communities, our churches, schools, & cemeteries. Between the Rivers people we – 6 generations my family Now we fight so we can be tween the Cumberland & the Tennessee. In some foreign courthouse, legalise for forced removal strategies Come Army Corps of Engineers to make our heritage disappear. The Corps condemned Babe Williams’ home. She lived on her farm alone. Tried to remove her- it was their luck. Her shotgun blew the window from their truck. So they tricked her into town. Bulldozed her house when she was not around. Then set fire to her home, burned everything Babe Williams owned. Between the Rivers people we – 6 generations my family Now we fight so we can be tween the Cumberland & the Tennessee. Condemn our homes to build a park; nothing but slums was their remark. Tourist money flowin everyday. McWaters spring was washed away. Barkley dam was a big heartache. They took all that they could take. Lady farm’s under that lake. How can the Feds, this land forsake. Between the Rivers people we – 6 generations here my family Now we fight so we can be tween the Cumberland & the Tennessee. Between the Rivers people we – 6 generations here my family When I die, please bury me tween the Cumberland & the Tennessee.
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