“I Wished Woody Guthrie Were Here”
by Gary Kanter ©2007
This world’s a strange and changing place
With cellphones, Ipods, and now My Space
It was just another day in the human race
That I wished Woody Guthrie were here
It was just another inning
Of the same old game
Atrocities were committed in our name
The more things changed
The more they seemed to stay the same
And I wished Woody Guthrie were here
Chorus
I wished Woody Guthrie were here today
In the fight, in the fray
I wanted to hear what he’d have to say
If Woody Guthrie were here.
Woody traveled from here to there
Woody traveled damn near everywhere
His message was, you gotta fight to make it fair
And I wished Woody Guthrie were here (Ch)
I went to hear Arlo and his kids
They were sharing songs, just like Woody did
Half-way through I damn near flipped my lid
Because, Woody Guthrie was there!
(Alt. Chorus)
Woody Guthrie was there that day
Burning bright, in his own way
“You’re all my kids!” I heard Woody Guthrie say
Woody Guthrie was there.
(Alt. Chorus 2)
And, Woody Guthrie is here today
In the fight, in the fray
He’s alive in the words we’re all here to say
Woody Guthrie is here.
#####
“Grow on, Monsanto!”
By Gary Kanter ©2014
Our food chain was government-protected
We kept bad stuff from the grocery store
That was before we found the profit
In the corporate revolving door
One day you’re working for Monsanto
Engineering genes every which way
Then comes the call from the White House
Next thing you know…you head the FDA
Chorus
So grow, grow on, Monsanto
Grow those crops modified
For who could resist a salad
Dressed in its own herbicide
You tell us there’s no reason to worry
No reason for the protests and the fuss
But oh, Monsanto, it’s getting hard to swallow
What you’re feeding us!
They kicked you out of Europe and Asia
And banned you from other countries too
‘Cause they don’t like the dish that you’re serving
Unlike the red, white, and blue
So I guess it is just patriotic
To fill our plates anew
And show the world we are not afraid
To eat our Round Up-Ready stew (Ch)
For lunch I had a modified potato
With one eye staring up from the plate
Then as I watched it started changing
Soon there were four…then six…then eight
My tomato began reciting Shakespeare
Just like Olivier had done so long before
And my soybeans began excreting dark and inky liquid
Jumped off the plate and rolled right out the door (Ch)
#####
“The War Comes Home”
Gary Kanter © 2014
We sailed off to Europe
To fight in the Great War
It was our first allied incursion
Upon a foreign shore
We bravely fought to make the world
Safe for democracy
We laughed and cried and held parades
And cheered our victory
Chorus
Then the war came home
Yes the war came home
The war came home in caskets
On crutches and on canes
The war came home both deaf and blind
The war came home insane
But the war came home
And war comes home
We sailed back to Europe
And on to Asia to
We went to fight the good fight
We called it World War II
We liberated nations
We set their people free
We laughed and cried and held parades
And cheered our victory (Ch)
We sailed onto Korea
And onto Vietnam
The rest of Indochina
To Iraq Afghanistan
That war’s become eternal
Has become reality
We just cry…without parades
And ask…what is victory?
Chorus
Then the war came home
Yes, the war came home
The war came home in caskets
On crutches and on canes
The war came home both deaf and blind
The war came home insane
But the war came home
And war comes home
Yes war comes home.
#####
“Ballad Of The Koch Brothers”
By Gary Kanter © 2014
Their father made a fortune during World War II
Trading with the Allies…and the Nazis too
And when the war was over…to keep our country free
He organized a little club…called the John Birch Society
He left his sons his fortune…they got when he was dead
He never left a generous…or a kind word for their head
They grew up to be like him…so it never could be said
They strayed a single inch,from the path…down which he led
Chorus
They are Dave and Charlie
Charlie and Dave
They don’t care to share
They’d sooner see you in your grave
Dave and Charlie…Charlie and Dave
Can never have enough
Or too much stuff!
They truly love America
They think that it’s divine
That’s why they want to buy it up
One state at a time
They own must of the Congress
And the highest court
Soon they’ll own the best democracy
That money has ever bought (Ch)
They’ll always have a doctor
They’ll always have a nurse
All they’ll leave for you
Is just the graveyard and the hearse
They say our healthcare system
Is the best one you can pick
Accessible to anyone
As long as you don’t get sick (Ch)
They’re buying universities
So their folks can teach
Regulation is a curse
That’s what they always preach
Pollution’s good for business
So you really shouldn’t fear
Unless you drink the water
Unless you breathe the air (Ch)
If you’re thinking of retiring
Better think it one more time
Then start hoarding every penny
Nickel, every dime
They’re coming for your pension
Your social security
And when you think your IRA is safe
They will tank the economy (Ch)
#####
“He Use To Look A Lot Like Me”
By Gary Kanter © 2013
There was a child I used to play with
So long ago when we were very young
The future wasn’t ready to claim us
Our songs weren’t ready to be sung
Chorus
I hope you get a chance to meet him
If he’s still out there being free
You will know him when you see him
He used to look a lot like me
We rambled ‘round through our changes
As if we had invented being free
We saw the world on the highway
The universe we saw on LSD (Ch)
We marched for peace we marched for freedom
We marched for justice, we marched for civil rights
We made love where we could find it
We made music through the night (Ch)
We parted somewhere on the highway
He got into a car to anywhere
I always knew that he would make it
I hope he’s happy being there
But if his life has led him back to gthe highway
I know he isn’t out there all alone
‘Cause my life led to a conclusion
We’re all a piece of everyone we’ve known (Ch)
He used to look a lot like me
He used to look a lot like me
I hope he still looks a lot like me
#####
“Here Comes The Oil Train”
By Gary Kanter ©2014
Chorus
Here Comes the Oil Train
Rumbling round the bend
The oil train’s coming round the bend
Picking up steam as it nears the end
The oil train’s coming round the bend
They load it in the East
And they aim it at the West
And certify it safe to go
The say that we can trust them
Oil companies know best
Just like they did
In the Gulf of Mexico (Ch)
It’s rumbling by our pastures
It’s rumbling by our farms
It’s rumbling over river, lakes, and streams
It’s rumbling past our homes
And by our children’s schools
It’s rumbling through our hopes
It’s rumbling through our dreams (Ch)
It’s rumbling over mountains
It’s rumbling over plains
It’s rumbling over many-a-rugged parch
They say the seals are strong
The cargo is secure
But pray the wheels don’t spark
And no one lights a match (Ch)
It’s rumbling through our memories
It’s rumbling through our minds
As we recall that dark day in Quebec
Forty-seven killed…women, kids, and men
Who died a fiery death
In a fiery oil train wreck (Ch)
#####
Solidarity Now!
By Gary Kanter © 2011
War has been declared on the working class
They say that it’s a concept whose time has passed
There’s still time to act…but we’ve got to act fast!
Solidarity Now!…we need…
Solidarity Now!…we need…
Solidarity Now!
Nobody handed us the 8-hour day
Nobody gifted us with decent pay
It cost blood and sweat and tears…all along the way!
Solidarity Now!…we need…
Solidarity Now!…we need…
Solidarity Now!
Lots of folks are hurting, some are doing fine
Living it up in the corporate shrine
Where the only God they worship…is the bottom line!
Solidarity Now!…we need…
Solidarity Now!…we need…
Solidarity Now!
The Ryans, the Boehners, the McConnells and the Kochs
Are sticking it to the working folks
But when we stand together…we’ll see who chokes!
Solidarity Now!…we need…
Solidarity Now!…we need…
Solidarity Now!
#####
“Right To Work Is Wrong!”
© 2013 Gary Kanter
We built a world, We built a life
We labored long for decent pay
Here they come, to tear it down
And to take it all away
Chorus
We’ve worked too hard
We’ve come too far
We brought America along
It doesn’t matter, What they call it
Right to work is wrong!
Right to work for.minimum wage
No healthcare; no vacation pay
No protection. or safety standards
Lives on the line each day (Ch)
Lose your job, on a boss’s whim
Asking if you could take
After working Long hard hours
A 15 minute coffee break (Ch)
Look around
Look it up
Are we looking at our fate
The lowest pay
Throughout the land (Ch)
Is in each right to work state! (Ch)
#####
“Northwest Union Call”
© MS Dumovich and Gary Kanter © 2013
Brothers and sisters, come gather ‘round me
It’s time we stand together like we need to be
And raise up our voices so people will see
Working folk all over need to live in dignity
Brothers and sisters, know what we’re fighting for
It wasn’t us, who started waging class war
Let’s stand in solidarity, and show ‘em what’s in store
As we sing these old time lyrics…from shore to distant shore
Chorus
Oh, you can’t scare me, I’m sticking to the union,
I’m sticking to the union, I’m sticking to the union.
Oh, you can’t scare me, I’m sticking to the union,
I’m sticking to the union ’til the day I die.
Brothers and sisters, we all will be strong
When we are united…when we all come along
It is a battle in which we all belong
So come and join us in this great ol’song! (Ch)
So, brothers and sisters, come gather around
We’ll show the bosses and the banksters, we never will back down
Let’s sing in solidarity, our message resound
Our voices will ring through each nation and each town! (Ch)
#####
“Not Just In Florida”
by Gary Kanter ©2013
There’s a bitter breeze blowing across Florida these days
And the southern sun is burning cold
The sky hangs heavy over Florida these days
There’s a dead 17-year-old
Chorus
Call it stand your ground
No duty to retreat
Call it any damn thing that you will
When vigilante justice…becomes the law
It’s nothing but a license to kill
Not just in Florida
Not just in Florida
Not just in Florida…these days
There’s a red tide flowing across Florida these days
Spilling over all who live down there
Don’t matter which side of the gun you’re on…in Florida these days
You’re swimming in a sea of fear (Ch)
There are lots of frightened families in Florida these days
You can see it written in their eyes
Your kid might be too loud
Frighten someone in a crowd
These days that’s grounds enough to die (Ch)
(Repeat)
Not just in Florida
Not just in Florida
Not just in Florida…these days
#####
“Don’t Mourn, Organize!”
By Gary Kanter © 2013
When the boss comes by to reduce your pay
And all your benefits go away
And you feel like you just swallowed a bitter pill
There’s no time to moan or boo-hoo-hoo
Here’s what you should go and do
Listen to the words of ol’Joe Hill
Chorus
Don’t mourn, organize!
Keep your eyes on the prize
There’s strength in numbers…and in size
So don’t mourn, organize!
When the governor says “we no longer can,
Fund your union’s pension plan”
And he sends the legislature his little bill
Stand up straight, stand up tall…can you say the word “recall?”
And then recall the words of ol’ Joe Hill (Ch)
When you hear the views spewed on FOX-News
No need to go sing the blues
Cause they don’t get it and they never will
Drown them out in union song…
Sing it proud…and loud…and strong
Take a little music lesson from ol’ Joe Hill (ch)
It seems like every generation
Has to find out on its own
That war comes home
Yes, war comes home
#####
“It’s a Helluva Party!”
By Gary Kanter ©2012
I died in my sleep and went up to the pearly gates
St.Peter met me there and said “Sorry, son, you’re gonna have to wait.”
He conferred with Jerry Falwell and some other clergy-types I didn’t know
He said “Sorry, son, to tell you this…you’re going down below.”
The Devil met me there and handed me a drink
He said “You’re gonna like it here regardless what they upstairs neighbors think.
There’s lots of happy souls inside, waiting for you to arrive
To join our little bash…the likes of which… you never saw…when you were alive.”
Chorus
It’s a helluva party and it’s still going on
Mama don’t you weep for me now that I’m dead and gone
It’s a helluva party…to celebrate my fall
And the best part of the party is we’re never gonna hear the words “last call.”
Jerry Garcia played guitar, Paganini bowed the violin
Molly Ivins read my eulogy and George Carlin waved me in
Caruso sang from Figaro and Lady sang the blues
Ella sang some scat…and Phil Ochs sang the news
The great WC Fields was right at home behind the bar
Orson Welles filmed it all right at home behind a big Cuban cigar
Ginger said to Fred “Now you know just how it feels,
Doing everything you had to do…backwards…and in high heels (Ch)
I walked out in the garden, I never ever-ever felt so glad
Waiting for me there was every single dog I ever had
They ran around for hours, each as frisky as a pup
And miracle of miracles…there was nothing to clean up
Jesus came post-Christmas he was exhausted from the praise
He joined Moses on the golf course, he’d been here since the high holy days
Jesus couldn’t sink a simple putt to save his soul
He ditched his clubs and walked across the water…right to the 19th hole
Mark Twain and Kurt Vonnegut were busy making each other laugh
Joe Hill and Mother Jones were busy organizing the staff
There’s a million tales to tell but right now I gotta go
It’s getting late…I’ve got a date…with Marilyn Monroe (Ch)
Gary Kanter 
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