The bum on the rods is hunted down As the enemy of mankind, The other is driven around to his club Is feted, wined and dined And they who curse the bum on the rods As the essence of all that is bad, Will greet the other with a winning smile, And extend a hand so glad The bum on the rods is a social flea Who gets an occasional bite, The bum on the plush is a social leech Blood-sucking day and night The bum on the rods is a load so light That his weight we scarcely feel, But it takes the labor of dozens of men To furnish the other a meal As long as you sanction the bum on the plush The other will always be there, But rid yourself of the bum on the plush And the other will disappear Then make an intelligent, organized kick, Get rid of the weights that crush. Don’t worry about the bum on the rods, Get rid of the bum on the plush!

’Twas the year of ’23 On my way to Tennessee Riding on the Norfolk Southern Line I got pinched in Alabam’ And they crammed me in the can I thank God I never made east Palestine I got out in time to see What kind of grease spot I would be If I’d hugged that train all the way to Ohio Vinyl Chloride in the drain Thick black smoke and acid rain And four thousand folks with nowhere else to go Just about two months before The railroaders sought for more They set out to strike but Joe laid down the law When you’re sick you’ll go to work If you can’t whistle wheeze you jerk Go out and make a dime for Alan Shaw Shame on Joe and Mayor Pete You know it happened on their beat And they just sat there twiddling their thumbs Shame the system, boy, and how Politicians all kowtow To greedy, sheister, grifter corporate bums If ever on the street I saw That parasite named Alan Show I’d tell him before I spit in his eye The only stocks that you should see Are the stocks and pillory Between the rails; set on a railroad tie So the same old story goes You fine the rich, you jail the ‘bos It’s blood and sludge from sea to shining sea NS and CSX UP; BNSF It’s all the same old O-L-I-garchy

I’ve come to tell ya people I’ve traveled this great land I’ve crossed two mountain ranges And combed the desert sands From Maine to California By rail and by thumb By now you all should know me I’m the Great Historical Bum I had hoped to write a song to sing Of all the great things we have done But the more that I looked back on things It was hard to find a one From genocide to slavery To endless wars in far off lands You’d have to be an amputee To get the blood from off your hands There was a feller come a-sailing And I guess his name was Chris To think about him, to this day, Makes me double up my fist He got a friendly welcome Dragged the people off in chains We’d be a whole lot better off if He sank off the coast of Spain On the Ivory Coast of Africa The English and the Dutch Doffed their caps and said my friends We ain’t asking much Just your mothers and your fathers Your daughters and your sons Smiling with their fingers On the triggers of their guns In the year of seventeen Sixty-four and twelve Said the colonies to England We’ll do it all ourselves All the big white wealthy landlords Said now you’ll pay tax to me They called it Revolution But they set nobody free It wasn’t so long after that They turned their gazes west And the big white wealthy landlords Did what landlords do the best They went and grabbed the land up Threw the natives on their rears They whipped and pushed and Drove em down that long Trail of Tears ‘long come John Brown and Nat Turner Of these folks we could boast Or those who formed the Uprising Of the German Coast All the thousands of forgotten Heroes with no names Who gave their lives up fighting To get Black folks out of chains But the country wouldn’t give up On that drug called slavery So we had a war between the Union and Confederacy It was brother against brother And father against son six hundred twenty thousand Dead before the war was done With slavery abolished We still had a ways to go And we were making strides until Along came Old Jim Crow The Reconstruction Era Was demolished by white fear Separate; not quite equal For another hundred years Then came the Knights of Labor And I double double you To the boss said “if we don’t catch a break We’ll beat the brakes off you Brave men and women lined up To get themselves a Union card To face off with police, Pinkertons The army, and the guard They struck for higher wages And they struck for shorter days They struck to keep the workplace safe For the women and the babes They struck just to have met Their basic human needs And they were struck for daring To come up from off their knees The class war was a germ inside Civilization’s seed They love to see us fighting Over color, faith, and creed The less that we’re together The more they stand to gain Our power lies in the simple fact We’re all workers the same I’d better quit my talking Cause the hour’s running late But before I go please tell me when America was great That red cap’s got you lookin Like a patriotic dunce How’s about we try instead To make her great for once

Will someone please tell Tennessee
 The year is twenty twenty-three Don’t joke about the hanging tree While gutting our democracy Well Tennessee’s a lovely land Also the birthplace of the Klan They’ll wash the blood from off their hands But first there’s books and drag to ban Ta ra ra boom de ay White hate on full display Expel Pearson and Jones But leave Johnson alone They came to the defense Of their constituents Two gone, but one can stay Ta ra ra boom de ay When word came down to Nashville town They voted to turn Jones around And serve as his own substitute Then Memphis went and followed suit Before they drained their glasses dry Republicans, they cried, oh my! Hey Cameron Sexton, this just in You’ll have to let them both back in Ta ra ra boom de ay The people said no way Oh, Speaker, by the way, Where do you live, you say? I heard just down the street Is where you sleep and eat Crossville’s so far away Ta ra ra boom de ay To say, I’d have to be a fool, It’s the exception; not the rule Just take a look at any state It’s how the system operates From city, state, up to the Fed They don’t care just how many dead With campaign checks signed NRA It’s always gonna be this way Ta ra ra boom de ay We keep kids safe they say Until the day they’re born And then they’re on their own You’ll have our prayers and thoughts Legislation must be bought God Bless the USA Ta ra ra boom de ay

What’s that I see? I see the river rising I think we waited too long And now the currents too strong I’m crying… How can it be? It isn’t so surprising I see you breaking your back To fatten someone else’s stack And he’s lying Cut down the trees More plastic in the oceans Pipelines through the sacred lands From Standing Rock to Bethlehem They’re trying Gone straight to Hell They’re pushing through the bottom Chasing after cold hard cash Crawling straight up Lucifer’s ass While we’re dying

My poor buddy thinks he’s an outlaw He sits at the computer all day And he’s rambling on all about Q Anon This is what he has to say Donald Trump won the election Joe Biden is a Commun-eest Democrats can’t leave home Without adrenochrome And the vaccine’s the Mark of the Beast Well I can’t understand what he’s thinking Or whether he’s thinking at all Someone ought to cancel his WiFi Maybe I’ll give Verizon a call He can still watch FOX News at McDonalds But he couldn’t get that OAN And it’s better no news Than the hypocrite’s blues And these words I will say unto him I agree with you pal, they’re all liars Just believe what you see for yourself But if you don’t know shut the hell up Don’t ya take it from anyone else Then no one could say that you’re brainwashed And you never once will be again Unless you’re critically thinking It’s only KoolAid you’re drinking Buddy, what’s your opinion worth then?

Well, I’m gonna join the Antifa Pay my respects to great grandpa Who died way back in ’43 (didn’t invade til 44) In that land called Germany Well, I’m gonna join the Antifash ‘Cause swastikas are fun to smash For freedom’s sake, we can’t abide Time to say goodnight to old white pride Proud Boy, what are you proud of? This stolen land? This sea of blood? This probably isn’t news to you But Hitler was a proud boy too We don’t need no Ku Klux Klown When a bad dog bites we put it down So here’s to burning Rebel Flags For those who lose ought not to brag We all agreed, or I thought we had That fascism is always bad So how the Hell’d it come to this? If you’re afraid then you’re fascist I can’t just sit idly by While Nazi flags are waving high To curb the tide I’ll risk my neck Hey George Soros, where’s my check!?

If you’ll gather ‘round people I’ll sing you a song About brave Tortuguita In the Weelaunee dawn As they lay there dreaming About freedom and peace Through the pines there Came creeping the Georgia Police For every tree that’s fell There’s a cop that going to hell For every martyr slain So grows the flame The forest is freedom Tortuguita would say With a heart full of fire And a face full of play The songbirds all scattered 'Fore the rifles and boots Tortuguita sat firmly Among the leaves and the roots For every tree that’s fell… Just a year older than Thirteen and Twelve Caring more for the people Than they did for themselves As the rifles were lowered They raised up their hands A young life is the price A Police State demands For every tree that’s fell… Way out in Atlanta The candles are lit How ever many shots fired Fifty-seven shots hit To build a Cop City How low will they go? Thanks to brave Tortuguita Now the whole damn world knows For every tree that’s fell… I’ll ask you this people While I still have your ear Why give weapons of war To those so full of fear? To those itchy of finger And empty of spine? When do we put our foot down? Where do we draw the line?

If you dam up the river of progress At your peril and cost let it be That river must seawards despite you Twill break down your dams and be free And we heed not the pitiful barriers That you in its way have downcast For your efforts but add to the torrent Whose flood must overwhelm you at last For our banner is raised and unfurled at your head our defiance is hurled our cry is the cry of the ages our hope is the hope of the world We laugh in the face of the forces Who strengthen the tide they oppose For the harder oppression, the fiercer The current will be when it flows We shall win and the tyrants battalions Will be scattered like chaff in the fight From which the true Soldiers of Freedom Shall gather new courage and might For our banner is raised and unfurled at your head our defiance is hurled our cry is the cry of the ages our hope is the hope of the world Whether leading the van of the fighters In the bitterest stress of the strife Or patiently bearing the burden Of ceaselessly commonplace life One hope we have ever before us Our aim to attain and fulfill One watchword we cherish to mark us One kindred and brotherhood still For our banner is raised and unfurled at your head our defiance is hurled our cry is the cry of the ages our hope is the hope of the world What matter if failure on failure Crowd closely upon us and press When a hundred have bravely been beaten The hundred and first wins success Our watchword is Freedom; new soldiers Flock each day where her flag’s unfurled Our cry is the cry of the ages Our hope is the hope of the world For our banner is raised and unfurled at your head our defiance is hurled our cry is the cry of the ages our hope is the hope of the world

When the Union’s inspiration through the worker’s blood shall run There can be no power greater anywhere beneath the sun Yet what force on earth is weaker than the feeble strength of one The Union makes us strong Solidarity Forever, Solidarity Forever, Solidarity Forever The Union makes us strong Is there aught we hold in common with the greedy parasite Who would lash us into serfdom and would crush us with it’s might Is there anything left for us but to Organize and Fight The Union makes us strong Solidarity Forever… It is we who plowed the prairies; built the cities where they trade Dug the mines and built the workshops; endless miles of railroad laid Now we stand outcast and starving ‘mid the wonders we have made The Union makes us strong Solidarity Forever… All the world that’s owned by idle drones is ours and ours alone We have laid the wide foundation; built it skyward stone by stone It is ours; not to slave in, but to master and to own The Union makes us strong Solidarity Forever… They have taken untold millions that they never toiled to earn But without our brain and muscle not a single wheel could turn We can break their haughty power; gain our freedom, when we learn The Union makes us strong Solidarity Forever… In our hands is placed a power greater than their hoarded gold Greater than the might of armies magnified a thousand fold We can bring to birth a new world from the ashes of the old The Union makes us strong Solidarity Forever…

Well you’re lookin’ at a self made man Ain’t nobody nowhere ever gave me a hand And now I send rocket ships up to the moon But I wasn’t born with a silver spoon! It was a shovel… full of emeralds I made my first billion by the sweat of my brow On the stock market where I hoed and I plowed With these lily white hands seeds of investment sewn Till my back started aching from the tilt of my throne It sure wasn’t easy… Ya know, a renaissance man needs diversity So I decided to start up my own company My folks work ten hour days for fifteen an hour So when they talk about Unions I get a little bit sour Seems a little ungrateful if you ask me… After all I gave em… a pot to piss in I love this land and wanna keep it safe from the takers So I went out and bought two million acres I promise to God this here land will be free Yes, free of free use cause it’s all owned by me Private property… no trespassing… I do my duty, my taxes, I don’t forsake I have to pay a whole dollar for every hundred I make I wanna stay in the good graces of the Federal bank Cause I might have to borrow when my company tanks Get my bail out… get my dollar back… and maybe a couple of yours I take out my yacht when I don’t wanna be home When I don’t, I gotta park it in the Saint’s Superdome If I gotta be somewhere and don’t wanna get wet I’ll be there in an hour in my own Gulfstream Jet Places to go… people to screw… Now don’t get it twisted I believe in Philanthropy Just ask FOX Business News or Time Magazine Time after time after time it has shown If you’d just tune into any news media I own Err... interviewed with… Sure, hunger and homelessness, these could be fixed I could fund Healthcare For All and still I’d be rich I could call up my buddies, Musk, Bezos, and Zuck And fix it up for y’all but we don’t give a damn Who wants to be Robin Hood… When you could just rob instead… So now as I’m leaving for my mansion on Mars I wanna remind y’all to reach for the stars It’s much easier to fleece you with your hands in the air When you don’t see the hole your in, or who put you there Or who’s keeping ya there…

There was a cop in Minnesota Who just had to make his quota Saw me, one day, singing on the street He pulled out his bully club And into my back he shoved But as I fell I didn’t miss a beat I’m in the jailhouse now I’m in the jailhouse now He said I disturbed the peace As he smashed my face in grease I’m in the jailhouse now Well the Wall Street Occupation Was a peaceful demonstration But the cops came out to show just who they served And as the people choked on smoke All the sheeple joked and spoke And said “those lazy commies got what they deserved” They’re in the jailhouse now They’re in the jailhouse now They told the rich they didn’t need ‘em So the cops came down and beat ‘em They’re in the jailhouse now Well the Senate passed a bill To bend the people to their will Called the National Defense Authorization Act And at the next protest they’ll insist That you’re a terrorist That way they won’t need a single fact And you’ll be jailhouse bound Yeah you’ll be jailhouse bound If you try to speak your mind You’ll be in Gitmo, doing time Yeah you’ll be jailhouse bound Lady Liberty she swore Give me your tired, and your poor Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free But when they got here, tu sabes They ripped mothers from their babes In the US we spell freedom I-C-E They’re in the jailhouse now They’re in the jailhouse now If you’re coming up through Mexico You’ll be in a cell, how long, who knows? They’re in the jailhouse now

Well money has it’s own way And money has to grow It grows on human blood and bone As any child would know It’s iron stuff and paper stuff With no life of it’s own And so it takes it’s growing sap From human blood and bone (Blood and bone) And many a child goes hungering Because the wage is low And folks die on the battle field To make the money grow And those who take the money crop Are avid without end They plant it in the tenements To make it grow again The little that they leave for us It can not be a seed We spend it on the shoddy clothes And every daily need We spend it in a minute In an hour it is gone To find its way to grow again On human blood and bone (Blood and bone)