the commons (live - the commons)
I wrote this after reading Mat Callahan's book, The Trouble With Music. Of course I've read lots of other great stuff on this subject (the commons) but I love what Mat wrote about music and culture as also part of the commons. I agree.
"If the great Phil Ochs were to rise from the dead today, he would probably be hailed as the new David Rovics."
Andy Kershaw, BBC
Story behind the song
I wrote this after reading Mat Callahan's book, The Trouble With Music. Of course I've read lots of other great stuff on this subject (the commons) but I love what Mat wrote about music and culture as also part of the commons. I agree.
Lyrics
First you told us only through you could we know God
And if we dared to question then He wouldn't spare the rod
For you we worked the soil, for you we dug the moors
For you we shed our blood and fought so many pointless wars
And now you build your fences and say there's nothing we can do
You say the world around us belongs fairly to the few
But about six billion people no doubt will agree
This world is our home, not your property
It's the commons, our right of birth
And to you who would enclose the land all around the Earth
Our future is your downfall, when we cut this ball and chain
You who'd sacrifice the public good for your private gain
With our sweat we built the railroads, built cities on these shores
But because you own the money you say that it's all yours
We laid the phone lines and the pipelines and then right before our eyes
You say these things our taxes paid for you now will privatize
Privatize the hospitals, privatize the schools
Privatize the prisons for all those who break your rules
And preparing for the day when all the wells run dry
You say you own the very rain that falls down from the sky
But it's the commons, our right of birth
And to you who'd own the water all around the Earth
Our future is your downfall, when we cut this ball and chain
You who'd sacrifice the public good for your private gain
You claim to own the harvest with your terminator seeds
You claim to own the genomes of every animal that breeds
You claim to own our culture and the music that we play
And with every song we download to your coffers we must pay
You would even own my name and you say it's for the best
Maybe you'll let us on your radio stations if our songs can pass your test
You own country, you own western, you say you've given us a choice
You may own the airwaves but you'll never own my voice
It's the commons, our right of birth
And to you who’d own the music all around the Earth
Our future is your downfall, when we cut this ball and chain
You who'd sacrifice the public good for your private gain
It's the commons, our right of birth
And to you who would own everything all around the Earth
Our future is your downfall, when we cut this ball and chain
You who'd sacrifice the public good for your private gain
Created November, 2005
