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The Spirit of Justice
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Political satire about John Ashcroft covering up the bare breast on the Spirit of Justice Statue in the Hall of Justice.
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 #53
Peak in subgenre #7
Author
Tom Neilson
Rights
2003
Uploaded
October 16, 2004
Track Files
MP3
MP3 3.2 MB 128 kbps 0:00
Story behind the song
In Jan 2002, John Ashcroft spent $8,650 to cover up the Spirit of Justice statue in the Hall of Justice because he didn't want to do press conferences in front of her exposed breast. The official line from the attorney generals office was that she was covered up for "aesthetic purposes." Still the metaphor is not lost. His censorship and abuse of power has been compared to Hitler's closing of the Bauhaus School of Design in 1933 at around the same time that he was creating his Security of the Fatherland, aka SS.
Lyrics
The Spirit of Justice's bust is exposed and Johnny was in distress. That bodacious bosom is not how he'd choose'em, & here she was standing half dressed. The lady's a tramp, an aluminum vamp, a lewd & lascivious slut. To cover her shape he spent 8 Ks to drape and disappear all fo her smut. While he's out buying yardage, the nuclear garbage, the warfare is piling up. Free speech he reduces, surveillance abuses, to fill up this oversized cup. We've a right to bear arms, but we can't bare a breast, especially over his shoulder. The biggest bra in the world for this spirited girl, this 18 foot centerfolder. This Hall of Justice hooter, you can't dispute her symbol of nurture & strength. Of women's survival, their freedom's revival, perhaps, it's a matter of length. In his secret prayer meetings, Johnny is treating justice with mockery. he's in a snit cause she bared her tit, her metal mammary. Fear is his ministry, not civil liberty, illegal detentions are in. For him to feel masculine, he'll teach our heroine feminine discipline. His searching & seizure invading our leisure, spying with wire taps; Pathologically lying and racial profiling, keeping justice under wraps. When puppets are outlawed, only outlaws have puppets, here in the U.S. of A. If there's a boob in the White House, then why not in Justice, it's the American way.
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