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First Thing I Learned About A Gun
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A response to senseless gun violence
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 #84
Peak in subgenre #17
Author
Tom Neilson
Rights
Tom Neilson
Uploaded
December 12, 2010
Track Files
MP3
MP3 4.2 MB 128 kbps 4:37
Story behind the song
A reflection on childhood on the farm
Lyrics
Playin' army in the barn, never did anybody harm. Eyes out for a sneak attack, but those hay bales never did shoot back. Never lost a kid, not one, cause we were all just havin fun. It’s a long way to VietNam from milking cows on a dairy farm. 1st thing I learned about a gun Was never point it at anyone. Use it to get some venison Or protect our own when the varmints come. We kept our guns in the dining room, 12 guage, 30-30, and the .22, O’er in the corner with the flower pot like pieces of furniture that we got. Pigeons up in the cupolo, Droppins in the haymow down below. Cows don’t like it on their plate, pretty bad taste to ruminate So a 10 yo with a bb gun sent those birds to kingdom come. When you’re messing with a food supply, you know somebody’s gonna die I stalked those woodchucks through the grass with a .22 on patrol Cause if you don’t know those mounds are there, they can make your tractor roll Raccoons going after our corn ain’t going to see another morn. And a coyote looking for a chicken souffle… Well it ain’t the same as blowing away Someone maybe a lot like me just cause they’re from another country. The first thing I learned about a gun was never point it at anyone. Then LBJ told me to point it and put a bullet through A farm boy who’s protection his own from varmints coming to take his home Not so far to Viet Nam from playing army on the farm. When we turned 18 in army green, those hay bales suddenly got real mean. & when they started shooting back, everywhere was a sneak attack I’d give anything if I could feel that cow manure squish neath my heel. Feel it in between my toes, smell it up into my nose Just a step away to Viet Nam from milking cows on a dairy farm The first thing I learned about a gun was never point it at anyone.
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