Woody Guthrie Folk festival Winner
© 2018 Charlie Mosbrook
Remember who we are
As we come from near and far
Women marching in the streets and bent kneed athletes
We are refuges and dreamers
The Immigrants you blame
We will come from near and far
Remember who we are
Remember who we are
We carry open scars
Forward in our wheelchairs
You cannot disregard us
As we block the halls of Congress For the fear of a graveyard
We will come from near and far
Remember who we are
We stood up to the Klansmen
And the Nazis just the same
And to a tone-deaf president
For whom the victim shares the blame
For a deadly act of terror
to him it is just a game
We will come from near and far
Remember who we are
We are scientists and teachers
Reporters on TV
Investigators, lawyers
Theproof is plain to see
The evidence is obvious
Don’t look the other way
We will come from near and far
Remember who we are
We know that all lives matter
But it doesn’t seem that way
When the consequence of living
Is dying everyday
If the motto of the police
Is self-service and neglect
We will come from near and far
Remember who we are
The schools are filled with children
Who live with different rules
Drills and lockdowns put in place
Can’t save them from these fools
As you pander to the worst in us
Young lives are laid to waste
We will come from near and far
Remember who we are
© 2018 Charlie Mosbrook
No one wants to lose their place in line
Conceding all we had in better times
The Fear is real of being left behind
So we struggle for position in this new paradigm
(Chorus) We gave up on the American dream
Now we need a little cash and a simple scheme
To make it through the morning
Make it through the day
And the dark of night In the USA
Took a knee to say he wasn’t proud
Despite the boos of protest from the crowd
And The man who swore that he’d defend those rights
Instead condemned the moment as a slight
And demanded that the boss’s levy fines
Against anyone who dared to speak their mind
(Chorus)
I worry ‘bout the damage that’s been done
And the troubled waters further down the stream
Pull the ores, the worst is yet to come
I pray that this is nothing but a dream
Now my senator won’t even take my call
When I try to tell him how I see it all
I need a doctor more than we need a wall
Lord knows I need a break, more than some need it all
(Chorus)
© 2018 Charlie Mosbrook
They are sleeping tonight near the border
In an abandoned big box store
In chain link cages with blankets for space
They sleep on linoleum floors
They came here seeking asylum
Then torn from the arms of their moms
They are sleeping tonight near the border
in an abandoned big box store
They came here from Honduras,
Guatemala and El Salvador
Their parents did what a parent would do
To escape brutal drug wars
They came here seeking asylum
They were torn from the arms their moms
They are sleeping tonight near the border
in an abandoned big box store
Congress does nothing, though they disapprove
For the press they will all shake their heads
But political threats trump moral regret
They protect their seats
instead Of children seeking asylum
They were torn from the arms of their moms
They are sleeping tonight near the border
in an abandoned big box store
The president blames the democrats
And demands that we build a wall
Or continue to separate mother and child
He could end this with one single call
he ramps up his rhetoric to rally his base
And enrage his deplorable core
they are sleeping tonight near the boarder
In an abandoned big box store
Who will we stand up for these children?
Would you stand up for your own
if they were separated from you For the crime of not having a home
They came here seeking asylum
Then torn from the arms of their moms
They are sleeping tonight near the border
in an abandoned big box store
© 2018 Charlie Mosbrook
Nathan sent a letter to his mother
From a re-enactment of the civil war
The south was losing again,
running out of men and provisions from a nearby liquor store
wearing grey will make a man grow bitter
Like a football fan in my home town last fall
Starving for a win, they said let game begin
Today the south could win the war
Preparing for an early sneak attack
General Lee was sipping from his flask
Rebels gathered in a line
with blanks and rubber knives
And advanced as they heard the cannon’s roar
They shot the unsuspecting union soldiers
confused and overwhelmed the north gave up
the Jayhawk regiment, failed to prevent the southern army’s bid to win the war
(Chorus) At the battle of Topeka
the south had won the war
But no battle flags or monuments were ever restored
along the Kansas river, on the banks of the Kaw
There were rumors that the general had broken thelaw
For the southern cause
Convinced that every human was born equal
Abe read from the Gettysburg regret
“We will know another birth
and not parish from this earth
On this day, the south has won the war "
General Lee took in a round of golf
His victory seemed to Abe a little off
Lee boasted and bragged
Tweeted rude hashtags
Of the day that the south had won the war
Lee later ended up in handcuffs
When the police stopped him in the parking lot
Old Lee just saw blue
attacked the local cop
On the day that the south had won the war
Well you know this story probably doesn’t end well
When the police ran the generals license plate
found a warrant or two
they dropped the other shoe
On the day that the south had won the war
(Chorus)
© 2018 Charlie Mosbrook
And to the children that they may live
Sing out to the sinners her among us
Who have always sold you and I out
Sing out to the spirit he upon us Lay down your man-made things
Open your arms and fly away
A great darkness has opened up my eyes
To a world That has always told me lies
Like a whisper
or a thunderous cry
I look somewhere deep inside my soul
and I know
I am your brother
I come from the same blood as you
you are my sister
We both come from the same root
Why don’t we treat each other right
We treat each other like tools
I know we know our wrong from our right
Why do we keep on getting fooled
I am your brother
I come from the same blood as you
you are my sister
We both come from the same root
Sing out to the righteous and the holy
And to the children that they may live
Sing out to the sinners here among us
Who have always sold you and I out
Sing out to the spirit he upon us
Lay down your man-made things
Open your arms and fly away
© 2018 Charlie Mosbrook
Traditional
I shall not be, I shall not be moved
I shall not be I shall not be moved
Like a tree planted by the water
I shall not be moved
I am on my way to heaven, I shall not be moved
I am on my way to heaven, I shall not be moved
I am on my way to heaven, I shall not be moved
Like a tree planted by the water
I shall not be moved
I am sanctified and Holy, I shall not be moved
I am sanctified and Holy, I shall not be moved
I am sanctified and Holy, I shall not be moved
Like a tree planted by the water
I shall not be moved
Preacher of preacher, I shall not be moved
Preacher of preacher, I shall not be moved
Preacher of preacher, I shall not be moved
Like a tree planted by the water
I shall not be moved
(Chorus)
Under the bus
He threw his first-born son
Under the bus
Cause he had nowhere to run
Under the bus
There is one thing you can trust
He’s gonna do it to you
Toss ya under the bus
He did it to his lawyer,
he did it to his wife
Did it to his first-born son
He has done it all is life
He did to his old friend Jeff
for refusal to recuse
If you think that he has got your back
I bet that you’re getting screwed
(Chorus)
He did it to the democrats
He did it to the judge
Did it to the FBI
Talk about a grudge
He did it to republicans
He did it to the press
He did it to the NFL Just to cover up his mess
(Chorus)
He did to the Mexicans
Did it to the brits
Did to Canadians
And every immigrant
He did to the whole wide world
Except for a guy named Vlad
Makes your mind kind wonder
What that Russian had
(Chorus)
© 2018 Charlie Mosbrook
