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Some people think that |
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America invented the blues |
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And few people doubt that |
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America is the home of the blues |
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As the bluesicians have gone all over the world carrying the blues message |
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And the world has snapped its fingers and tapped its feet right along with the blues folks |
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But, the blues has always been totally |
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American As |
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American as apple pie |
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As American as the blues |
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As American as apple pie |
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The question is why? |
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Why should the blues be so at home here |
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Well, America provided the atmosphere |
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America provided the atmosphere for the blues and the blues was born |
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The blues was born on the |
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American wilderness |
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The blues was born on the beaches where the slave ships docked |
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Born on the slave man's auction block |
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The blues was born and carried on the howling wind |
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The blues grew up a slave |
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The blues grew up as property |
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The blues grew up in |
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Nat Turner visions |
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The blues grew up in |
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Harriet Tubman courage |
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The blues grew up in small town deprivation |
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The blues grew up in big city isolation |
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The blues grew up in the nightmares of the white man |
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The blues grew up in the blues singing of |
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Bessie and |
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Billie and |
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Ma The blues grew up in |
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Satchmo's horn, on |
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Duke's piano and |
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Langston's poetry, on |
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Robeson's baritone |
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The point is |
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That the blues has grown |
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The blues is grown now, full grown |
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And you can trace the evolution of the blues |
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On a parallel line with the evolution of this country |
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From Plymouth |
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Rock to acid-rock |
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From 13 states to |
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Watergate |
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The blues is grown |
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But not the home |
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The blues is grown |
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But the country has not |
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The blues remembers everything the country forgot |
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It's a bicentennial year and the blues is celebrating a birthday |
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And it's a bicentennial blues |
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America has got the blues and it's a bicentennial edition |
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The blues view might amuse you |
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But make no mistake, it's a bicentennial year |
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A year of hysterical importance |
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A year of historical importance |
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Ripped off like donated moments from the past 200 years ago this evening 200 years ago last evening |
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And what about now? |
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The blues is now |
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The blues has grown up and the country has not |
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The country has been ripped off |
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Ripped off like the |
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Indians Ripped off like jazz |
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Ripped off like nature |
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Ripped off like |
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Christmas |
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Man-handled by media overkill |
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Goosed by aspiring vice presidents |
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Violated by commercial corporations |
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A bicentennial year |
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The year the symbol transformed into the |
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B-U-Y centennial |
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Buy a car |
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Buy a flag |
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Buy a map |
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Until the public in mass has been bludgeoned into bicentennial submission |
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Or bicentennial suspicion |
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I fall into the latter category |
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It's a blues year |
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And America has got the blues |
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It's got the blues because of partial deification |
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Of partial accomplishments |
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Over partial periods of time |
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Halfway justice |
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Halfway liberty |
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Halfway equality |
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It's a half-ass year |
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And we would be silly in all our knowledge |
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In all our self-righteous knowledge |
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When we sit back and laugh and mock the things that happen in our lives |
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To accept anything less than the truth |
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About this bicentennial year |
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And the truth relates to 200 years of people and ideas getting by |
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It got by |
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George Washington |
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The ideas of justice, liberty and equality |
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Got cold by |
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George Washington |
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Slave-owner general |
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Ironic that the father of this country |
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Should be a slave owner |
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The father of this country a slave-owner |
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Having got by him |
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It made it easy to get by his henchman |
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The creators of this liberty |
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Who slept in the beds with the captains of slave ships |
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Fought alongside black freed men in the union army |
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And left America a legacy of hypocrisy |
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It's a blues year |
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Got by Gerald |
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Ford Oatmeal man |
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Has declared himself at odds |
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With people on welfare, people who get food stamps |
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Day care children, the elderly, the poor, women |
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And people who might vote for |
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Ronald Reagan |
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Ronald Reagan, it got by him |
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Hollyweird |
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Acted like a actor |
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Acted like a liberruuuuuuuulllzz lolz |
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Acted like |
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General Franco when he acted like governor of |
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California |
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Now he acts like somebody might vote for him for president |
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It got by |
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Jimmy Carter |
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Skippy Got by |
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Jimmy Carter and got by him and his friend the colonel |
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The creators of southern-fried triple talk |
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A blues trio |
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America got the blues |
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It got by |
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Henry Kissinger |
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The international godfather of peace |
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A piece of |
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Vietnam A piece of |
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Laos A piece of |
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Angola A piece of |
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Cuba A blues quartet |
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And America got the blues |
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The point is that it may get by you |
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For another 4 years |
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For another 8 years |
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You stuck |
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Playing 2nd fiddle in a blues quartet |
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Got the blues looking for the first principle |
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Which was justice |
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It's a blues year for justice |
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It's a blues year for the |
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San Quentin 6 |
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Looking for justice |
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It's a blues year for |
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Gary Tyler |
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Looking for justice |
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It's a blues year for |
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Rev. Ben Chaves |
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Looking for justice |
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It's a blues year for |
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Boston Looking for justice |
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It's a blues year for baby's on buses |
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It's a blues year for mothers and fathers with babies on buses |
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It's a blues year for |
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Boston And it's a blues year all over this country |
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America has got the blues |
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And the blues is in the street looking for the 3 principles |
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Justice, liberty and equality |
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We would do well to join the blues looking for justice, liberty and equality |
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The blues is in the street |
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America has got the blues |
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But don't let it get by us. |
