I am pleased to announce that my new CD, “We Marched Down This Road Before” is complete and ready to make its way to the top of the old folky charts!
(Until the distribution channels come together, you can order “WMDTRB” (and my other CDs) directly by email. I’ll reply with how you can do it. gary@garykanter.com)
“If the path is beautiful, ask where it leads to. But if destination is beautiful, never mind about the path, keep walking!” Patrick Idowu
Cover Art: Depicting the progression in the fight for social and economic justice standing beside Ramon Torres, president of Familias Unidas Por La Justicia (FUJ), who led the successful fight for farmworkers in Washington State to unionize and sign an historic collective bargaining agreement.
This CD is a response to the cancerous tide of evil that has enveloped our nation and metastasized to the rest of the world. My generation has brought this upon us and now we must fight alongside the next generations to make the world better than what we are leaving them. Any parent or grandparent satisfied with our disgraceful legacy has not read their job description.
The good news is that we marched down this road before…from the early days of the labor movement, women’s suffrage, civil rights, farmworker rights, Vietnam…each was a struggle for social and economic justice. We have marched against corrupt governments, corporate greed, racism, eternal war…ad infinitum…and we have invariably won…and we can still win!
Creating this album was a team effort.
I might have written the songs but it was my friend and music maven, Greg Deer, who turned
them into music. Greg and I have been performing together for a few years now and he has
somehow managed to accommodate my various guitar and singing idiosyncrasies without reflecting to negatively on his fine reputation…which is not easy to do. He’s also a great straight man…an almost completely lost art. When not propping me up, Greg is one of the most in-demand arrangers and back up musicians in the region.
Two of our other fellow travelers also contributed to my previous CD, “Forever Vigilant.” Devin Rice is our go-to sound engineer while adding guitar, bass, piano, mandolin, vocals, and a never ending supply of jelly beans. Devin’s wife, Tammy Kennedy Rice, added beautiful harmonies, as she did on “Forever Vigilant.” Most of the added tracks were produced while I was away, recovering from surgery…probably a good thing.
Our special guest artist, Siri Bardason, is one of the most accomplished cellists in the region who brought an authenticity to the song “Lincoln” that could make even Ken Burns weep.
Thanks to my daughter, Sarah, whose contribution to the storyline of “Where’s My Best Friend Jamie?” brought it to a level I could not reach on my own. My daughter Carrie and her son Jayden are two of the main motivators in my continuing activism…just watching the love they share with each other as well as with his grandparents and Aunt Sarah.
Finally, I dedicate this album to Mary, my wife of over 40 years, the keystone of our family…wife, mother, grandmother, activist, nurturer…etc. She has seen me at my worst and patiently awaits seeing the best. I’ll keep trying….
Those who would like to sponsor a CD release event for your group, local, or integrate it into an existing event, feel free to contact me.
All songs by Gary Kanter © 2018
“Grab Life By The Pussy!”
When life gives you nothing but lemons
And you can’t abide the taste of lemonade
And no matter how many guns you own
You still walk around afraid
And it seems like with every paycheck
The money’s already been spent
Tell you what to do
It’s tried and true
Heed the words of the president
Chorus
Grab life by the pussy
Grab life by the crotch
Time to turn up the temperature
Raise it up a notch
Get up off of the sofa
Get up off your rump
Play it smart…Grab a private part
And you can be like Donald Trump!
When some of your friends finish high school
But you’re still repeating 7th grade
And you went and got all those new tattoos
But you still cannot get laid
And every time you turn around
There’s something new to resent
Tell you what to do…It’s tried and true
Heed the words of the president (Ch)
When they tell you that your job has been off-shored
Don’t mourn for heaven’s sake
Just blame it on the immigrants
Stealing jobs you wouldn’t take
Then get down upon your knees
Thank The Lord for the leader he sent
I told you you what to do, It’s up to you
Heed the words of the president (Ch)
Grab a little tush and some Billy Bush
And you can be like Donald Trump!
“There’s Nothing All Right About Alt. Right”
Please don’t call us Nazis
We don’t like that name
World War II was so long ago
We are not to blame
We could be your neighbors
If your neighbors are lily white
Please don’t call us Nazis
We are the Alt. Right
Chorus
And there’s nothing all right about Alt. Right
Nothing good or great
There’s nothing all right about Alt. Right
There’s nothing all right about hate
Please don’t call us KKK
We don’t think you should
We now wear sweats and hoodies
Over our sheets and hoods
We’re could be your neighbors
If your neighbors burn crosses at night
Please don’t call us Nazis
We are the Alt. Right
Please don’t call us skin heads
It’s not the name we choose
We’ve grown hair so you can’t see
The swastika tattoos
We could be your neighbors
If your neighbors are pus-filled blight
Please don’t call us skinheads
We are the Alt. Right (Ch)
Please don’t call us fascists
That’s not what we’re about
We just believe democracy
Is something you can live without
We could be your neighbors
If your neighbors wielded corporate might
Please don’t call us fascists
We are the Alt. Right (Ch)
“We Marched Down This Road Before”
The dark clouds of oppression
Have filtered out the sun
The fog of fear is swirling everywhere
The sounds of our uncertainty
Are ringing in our ears
Knowing something needs be done
The emperor he stands naked
The emperor stands bare
The emperor stands hollow to the core
He thought that he could buy us
He knows not our history
We marched down this road before
Chorus
We marched down this road before
We marched to claim our rights
And end a corporate war
When we had decided
Not to take it any more
We marched down this road before
When the factories were burning
With children trapped inside
And the mines blew up
From unchecked methane gas
We buried our dead
Locked arms and we said
We shall not let this thing pass
When women had no privilege
Women had no voice
Women served as husband property
They stood up strong…invited us along
To make this land a better democracy (Ch)
When slavery was broken
And slavery restored
And life became the horror of Jim Crow
They rode the Freedom Buses
We joined hands on a bridge
And in multi-colored voices we said “no!”
When those who pick our produce
Those who pick our crops
Were mired in their lives of poverty
They organized the boycotts
We joined the picket lines
And made our way toward worker dignity (Ch)
When Vietnam was invaded
Cambodia and Laos
Napalm rained down on this foreign land
We ringed around the pentagon
And made our voices heard
In language they could understand (Ch)
Now the fascists are in power
The fascists took control
And they thought that we’d be cowed
From shore to shore
They’re starting to see the power of solidarity
As we march down this road once more
Final Chorus
As we march down this road once more
We march to keep our rights
And prevail in the class war
Now that we’ve decided not to take it anymore
We’re marching down this road once more
“If The Answer Is None Of The Above”
Have you ever had to sleep out on the street?
The pavement was so cold
You couldn’t feel your feet?
Have you ever been so lonely You could cry?
Have you ever been so hopeless
You hoped you would die?
Chorus
If your answer was none of the above
It’s time to learn…to care…to love.
From near and far
And finally be the people
We tell ourselves we are.
Have you ever been shaken to the core?
Like when they came and told you
Your job was shipped off-shore
And you tell your family everything is fine
Calling on your cell
From the unemployment line (Ch)
Have you ever had to face your children’s tears?
Telling them there won’t be any
Christmas gifts this year
And the guilt runs from your head
Down to your toes
Seeing them look up at you
In those Salvation Army clothes (Ch)
Have you ever been evicted from your home?
You’ve run out of money and can’t repay the loan
And you called up everybody that you knew
Only to discover they are bleeding bad as you (Ch)
“The Ballad Of Mark Janus”
Hey, Mark Janus
I hear that you did choose
Not to pay your union fees
No less those union dues
You say you stand on principle
But we’ll know that it’s true
When you return the benefits
The union earned for you
Chorus
Hey Mark Janus
It’s time that you came clean
You’re a fungus…You’re a parasite
You’re Reagan’s welfare queen
We know the name Mark Janus
Will live on in infamy
As the Benedict Arnold
Of each working family
Hey, Mark Janus
I hear you did retire
And went to work for the folks
With whom you did conspire
I bet you were excited
For your new life to begin
Living on a union pension
And the wages of your sin (Ch)
Hey, Mark Janus
Did you think it was okay
To sell out your fellow works
Before scurrying away?
When you stand before the throne
On your judgment day
And the lord shows you his union card
What are you gonna say? (Ch)
Eff The Freedom Foundation
I got a letter in the mail
It said open without delay!
The return address was the Freedom Foundation
So I knew what it would say
You need to leave your union!
Do it right away!
I tore it up threw it on the floor
And this is what I had to say….
Chorus
Eff The Freedom Foundation
All they say and do
Americans for Prosperity
And the other Koch Brother groups too
Eff The Freedom Foundation
Not a word they say is true
Eff The Freedom Foundation
They don’t give an Eff about you
I picked it up from off the floor
And tore it up again
Pulled some paper from out of the drawer
And I picked up my pen
I jotted a note…Dropped it in the mail
I loved the words I wrote
And if you’re wondering what it said
I will freely quote….(Ch)
So if you get a letter in the mail
That says open without delay!
The return address is the Freedom Foundation
You know what it will say
You need to leave your union!
Do it right away!
Tear it up throw it on the floor
And you have my permission to say (Ch)
“Lincoln”
In ’61, they gave me a gun
I joined the boys in blue
Never knew just why I went
‘Cept Mr. Lincoln asked us to
With every passing battle
As another comrade fell
If Lincoln came and asked us then
All he’d hear is “go to hell!”
Our generals were incompetent
Never get it right
Some were drunks…some were fools
Others wouldn’t fight
So the war dragged on year after year
Wave after battle wave
I cursed the name of Lincoln
As I dug grave after grave
Chorus
And death marched with us everywhere
It was with us night and day
The blood we shed…was just plain red
It wasn’t blue or gray
I was with Chamberlain at Gettysburg
I fixed my bayonet
We ran the rebels down the ridge
Some joke they’re running yet
I watched on high as Pickett charged
I saw his people die
It was enough to make the hardest heart
Like even Lincolns cry
went with Uncle Billy
I watched Atlanta burn
We seared a wide swath through the South
He said they had to learn
War belongs to everyone
He taught that lesson well
War’s just not for warriors
All must taste its hell (Ch)
Black folk come to greet us
And asked us if we be
“Sent by Father Abraham
To set his people free?”
They laughed and cried, marched by our side
I still can hear their shout
That’s when I learned half of a truth
What the war had been about
I was sitting by the campfire
Heating chic’ry in my cup
Riders roared around the ranks
Bobby Lee had give it up
Then Johnston came to Sherman
To surrender his command
I shed a tear…I said a prayer
Peace was now at hand
News come down from Washington
The President was dead
Some secesh actor no one knew
Put a bullet in his head
That’s when I learned the second half
Of the truth I’d learned before
Lincoln had been with us
Every moment of the war
Revised Chorus
And death marched with him everywhere
It was with him night and day
The blood he shed…was just plain red
It wasn’t blue or gray
“Tropic Of The Puget Sound”
It quit raining in Seattle
All of the reservoirs are dry
The snow pack melted in the mountains
Blue is the new normal of the sky
There’s self-serve frozen yogurt stations
Where all those tanning beds used to abound
I’m sitting all alone, in my old Seattle home
In the Tropic of the Puget Sound
Salmon keep floating to the surface
The ocean’s rising at a frantic rate
I just saw some folks water skiing
Over what we used to call the interstate
The trees are looking sad and lonesome
Evergreen has long since turned to brown
I’m sitting all alone, in my old Seattle home
In the Tropic of the Puget Sound
I still love to go and see the Seahawks
They’re still my greatest joy and greatest fun
But now when I take my umbrella to the game
I take it to protect me from the sun
And all our teams are boys and girls of summer
Now that summer’s lasting all year round
I’m sitting all alone, in my old Seattle home
In the Tropic of the Puget Sound
I’m gonna see the coast this weekend
It used to seem so very far away
But now the way the water has been rising
I think it’s gonna be here Saturday
So, at last I’m gonna own some beach front
I’m sitting all alone, in my old Seattle home
In the Tropic of the Puget Sound
I’m sitting all alone on my Android phone
In the Tropic of the Puget Sound
“Where’s My Best Friend Jamie?”
I spoke at the wake for Jamie
Hero of Iraq
How I’d promised him, the drinks were on me
The day that he got back
We hugged each other at the station
Just like best friends do
He joked and he said “If I make it back,
Drinks are gonna be on you…
It’s gonna cost you more than a few!”
I got email from Jamie
He could not disclose from where
He said “You ain’t gonna believe the shit
That’s going on down out here.
I’ve got so much to tell you
‘Bout all I see and do
I’ll share it all if I make it home
Drinks are still on you…
You’ll be broke before we’re through.”
Chorus
Where’s my best friend Jamie?
He just wasn’t the same
It’s like someone came back
From his tours in Iraq
Wearing Jamie’s name
Jamie just wasn’t the same.
I picked up Jamie at the station
We got into my car
A little while later we were sitting and drinking
In a dark and cheerless bar
He talked about girls and baseball
And stuff we’d done before
He talked about damn near everything
But not a word about the war
Till he said…”There’s gonna be another tour!”
I went to the ballgame with Jamie
We had a dog and a beer
Sometime around the middle of the third
He said “Let’s get outta here…
There’s too many people here.”
So we went down to the water
And watched the evening sky
He tried to speak but nothing came out
That’s when he started to cry
That’s when said “I don’t want to die.” (Ch)
I picked Jamie up at the station
After his second tour
He didn’t speak a word till we got in the car
He said…“They want me back for more.”
We drove along in silence
Until I finally got him home
I said “Will I see tomorrow?”
He said “I think I need to be alone…
No offense…I think I need to be alone.”
I didn’t see much of Jamie
He just wasn’t around
His mama said he was hanging out
With some new friends he had found
She’d hear him come home in the morning
Stumbling up the stairs
Cursing at the darkness
Tripping over chairs
Like he might’ve had
A few too many beers
She called me late one morning
Told me through her tears
Words I must’ve expected
Words I never thought I’d hear
They found him by the high school
He’d been smoking crack cocaine
The tours finally ended for Jamie
Jamie finally ended the pain
With a bullet to his brain (Ch)
I spoke at the wake for Jamie
Hero of Iraq………
Keep Your Hands Off Of My Junk
We invaded Mexico
Cuba and the Philippines
The Dominican Republic
And all those little countries in-between
Vietnam and Grenada, Afghanistan, Iraq
We gave them our democracy
We never got it back
We fought the Nazis and the Reds
We fought the terrorists
All those evil doers
Wherever they exist
We attacked the on the ocean
On the land and in the air
But now we might have gone too far
We attacked my underwear
Chorus
Keep your hands off of my junk
And your prying eyes
That ain’t no Al-Qaeda operative
Traveling between my thighs
I’m giving you fair warning
Before you give me that squeeze
You might find a bomb
You never counted on
In the seat of my BVDs
I endorse Homeland security
I readily agree
We must give up our freedom
In order to stay free
And I’m OK with Guantanamo Bay
And military courts
And warrantless intrusions
But not inside my shorts (Ch)
Now that it’s all over
Now that it’s all done
It wasn’t bad as some I’ve had
In fact it was kind of fun
Before you punch my ticket
Before you wave me through
What time do you get off work?
I think I’m in love with you! (Ch)
“It’s All The Same Damn Fight”
I saw people on the street today
Waving signs up in the air
Fighting for a better way
Fighting for their share
I saw soldiers marching down the road
I knew what they were fighting for
Medical attention
To treat the wounds of war
I saw a sit-in at the Capitol
To restore lost voting rights
That’s when I got the notion
It’s all the same damned fight
Chorus
It’s all the same damned fight
It’s all the same damned fight
It’s the fight to make things better
It’s the fight to make things right
It’s all the same damned fight
And each thing that we are fighting for
Is just another front
In the same damn war!
I saw people on the street today
Fighting for their homes
Standing up together
So they wouldn’t stand alone
I saw folks demanding justice
For inmates doing time
In prisons run for profit
For the corporate bottom line
I saw folks decrying GMO
Each and every toxic bite
Confirming my suspicion
It’s all the same damned fight (CH)
I saw people blocking tracks today
With determined attitude
Trying to stop the death trains
Filled with coal and Bakken Crude
There were children fighting for their schools
Showing us how it should
Better education
And college that’s debt free
Suddenly we all joined hands
It was such an awesome sight
As we marched off together
To fight the same damned fight (Ch)
“Sing Your Song”
When the world seems dark and cold and grave
They say don’t rock the boat – don’t make waves
But your heart shows you a different view
You know what to say
You know what to do
Chorus
Sing your song…Sing it true…Sing it real
Don’t quit till it’s through
Nobody else can ever sing it for you
Sing your song…Sing your song
Sing your song…Sing your song
Sing your song…Sing your song
Sing your song
When you find folks living on the street
You share the despair in all you meet
And all eyes they seem to turn to you
You know what to say…You know what to do (Ch)
When they tell you that the war is lost
Keeping up the fight ain’t worth the cost
But if to thine own self you would stay true
You know what to say
You know what to do (Ch)
Gary Kanter 