Name: So Grows the Flame (Ballad of Tortuguita)
Duration: P00H03M05S
Description: Written by Matt Rivers, Spring of 2023. I wanted to write a song for all the folks doing the work to Stop Cop City, in Atlanta. When Tortuguita was murdered by State Police in January, I wanted to make sure their sacrifice would always be remembered. Every folk hero deserves a ballad.

So Grows the Flame (Ballad of Tortuguita)

from The First Shall Be The Last by Matt Rivers

supported by

	/

Streaming + Download

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Purchasable with gift card

$1 USD or more
Buy the Full Digital Album

about

Written by Matt Rivers, Spring of 2023. I wanted to write a song for all the folks doing the work to Stop Cop City, in Atlanta. When Tortuguita was murdered by State Police in January, I wanted to make sure their sacrifice would always be remembered. Every folk hero deserves a ballad.

lyrics

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?

credits

from The First Shall Be The Last, released May 1, 2023

license

about

Matt Rivers

Matt Rivers is a modern relic & torchbearer for the old ways of song craft & performance; following in the footsteps of such artists as: Woody Guthrie, Blind Willie McTell, Harry McClintock, & countless nameless & forgotten forebears of the folk tradition. ... more

contact / help

Contact Matt Rivers

Streaming and
Download help

Redeem code

Report this track or account

If you like Matt Rivers, you may also like:

Sweet Old Religion
by Pharis & Jason Romero

Sweet harmonies & strummed melodies; the duo delve into decades-old folk, jazz, and country to find a timeless kind of love and connection. Bandcamp New & Notable May 23, 2018
go to album
In the Key of Grey
by Matt Dorrien

Nilsson and Newman meet in Matt Dorrien’s deeply-felt piano-driven barroom ballads. Bandcamp New & Notable Mar 3, 2018
go to album
The Studio Recordings Part One
by Fly My Pretties

The New Zealand's collaborative group's first studio album is chock-full of delightful folk and country music. Bandcamp New & Notable Oct 25, 2019
go to album
Islands
by Erin Durant

On this LP of gentle folk-pop, Durant looks to the water for the answer to life’s questions. Bandcamp Album of the Day Jul 3, 2019
go to album
String Theory
by Fly My Pretties

featured on Bandcamp Radio Nov 8, 2016
go to album
Spider Tales
by Jake Blount

This album speaks to the continuum of African diasporic culture that is central to the vibrant canon of Americana folk music. Bandcamp Album of the Day May 29, 2020
go to album
New Life
by Goodtime John & Bonnie Prince Billy

Two collaborations between Irish singer-songwriter J. Cowhie aka Goodtime John and Will Oldham are mildly psychedelic in atmosphere. Bandcamp New & Notable May 12, 2022
go to album