1. |
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The cruel war is raging
Johnny has to fight
I want to be with him
From morning till night
I'm counting the minutes
The hours and the days,
Oh Lord, stop the cruel war,
For this, my heart prays.
Oh Johnny, dear Johnny,
Morning, noon and night,
I think of you marching,
Left, right, left and right
I know you're so gentle
When you hold me tight,
Oh how will they make you
Get out there and fight?
Oh Johnny, dear Johnny,
Yes, I know you're brave,
But, oh, how I miss you,
It's your love I crave.
Oh why did the army
Take you from my side?
To go into battle,
Away from your bride?
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2. |
Paper Conflicts
05:03
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The man in his grey suit
Stands before a grey sky
Says jobs will come
From the grey bricks behind
Says “never mind the birds”
“Never mind the trees”
“You can have jobs or be green”
“And jobs are what we need”
But this man is fuelled
By paper and coins
He builds paper conflicts
Ignores dots that I join
This man is surrounded
By straw men and lies
For we cannot have jobs
Without the sun and the sky
The man in his grey suit
Tells us “we have no cash”
“To waste on clean seas”
“And to make this world last”
“Short term takes priority”
“Short term profit and gain”
“No matter that we know”
“It’s something we can’t sustain”
This man is fuelled
By paper and coins
He builds paper conflicts
Ignores dots that I join
This man is surrounded
By straw men and lies
For we cannot have jobs
Without the sun and the sky
And they tell us on TV, every day on the news
That it’s those coming here; that too much they use
All these men in their grey suits and polished up shoes
Don’t tell us they’re coming here because of the way we’ve abused
The land and the atmosphere and the seas of deep blues
So much so that these people have nothing to choose;
Their land can’t be worked, the flood’s coming in
So they leave their homes and their lovers and start over again
And these men in their grey suits and polished up shoes
Have the cheek to tell us that too much they use;
These poor desperate people, pushed out of their homes
By our “growth” and our “progress” and all of our fumes
But these men are fuelled
By paper and coins
They build paper conflicts
Ignore dots that I join
These men are surrounded
By straw men and lies
For we cannot have jobs
Without the sun and the sky
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3. |
Definitions
03:20
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I have always defined the terms by which I'm defined
I will not just be a mouth, I will be a mind
And I will not be yours unless you are mine
I refuse to let you blur any lines
And I am not denying the wisdom of age
But you cannot deny the wisdom of youth
I will always vote for hope
And, at every chance, for truth
My love is not a weakness, nor is my womanhood
And if you think me weak then you've misunderstood
For it is within my weakness that my strength resides
If beauty is your rule then I will not abide
And I am not denying the wisdom of age
But you cannot deny the wisdom of youth
I will always vote for hope
And, at every chance, for truth
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4. |
One of Them
02:21
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You looked out and you wondered how
People find so little to talk about
When there are wars
And there are stories
Well I looked out and I told you how
People got other things to worry about
Like the colour of their shoes and their hair
It means they just don’t care
And you said “I don’t want to be one of them"
“I want to give a damn”
“Don’t want to be one of them”
You took my hand and we wondered a while
About how we could all go up in one missile
And I thought about the stories
Well I’ve seen pictures of empty eyes
They've got no food and the west it lies
About helping or hoping to save them.
And you said “I don’t want to be one of them"
“I want to give a damn”
“Don’t want to be one of them”
I don’t care that you don’t know me
I don’t care 'cause you don’t own me
I don’t care that you don’t know me
I don’t care 'cause you don’t own me
Don’t want to be one of them
Don’t want to be one of them
Don’t want to be one of them
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5. |
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(Translation)
Sleep, sleep, little black baby
For your mama is in the field, little black baby
She is going to bring quails for you
She is going to bring sweet fruits for you
She is going to bring pork for you
She is going to bring lots of things for you
But if the little black boy doesn’t go to sleep
Then the white devil will come
And Zhaz! He will eat your little leg
Chacapumba, chacapumba, acapumba, chacapumba
Sleep, sleep, little black baby
For your mama is in the field, little black baby
Working
Working hard
Working, she is mourning
Working, she doesn’t get paid
Working, she goes coughing
For the little black baby, little one
For the little black baby, yes, working
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6. |
Not in My Name (poem)
00:49
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I wonder how they sleep
Because I sure as hell can’t
I think of how they’ll weep
And it breaks my heavy heart
I see him pull the strings
It’s all part of his game
And I will join the chant
“Not in my name.”
It is not our right
To police this broken world
To send our bombs and missiles
Into the homes of little girls
I see him pull the strings
It’s all part of his game
And I will join the chant
“Not in my name.”
Bombs don’t kill ideas
Of hate and division
They speak of hate themselves
And add to their vision
Terror can’t be met with terror
Nor the end of more lives;
We are adding to the bloodshed
And wasting precious time
I see him pull the strings
It’s all part of his game
And I will join the chant
“Not in my name.”
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7. |
Meek and Mild
03:53
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I’ve hung myself and wrung myself
Purged myself of all the pain
But your hands and her words
Make me relive it all again
You tell me just what I must be:
Not too damaged, but damaged enough
You tell me just how I must feel:
Distressed, but made of sterner stuff
I must not feel angry
I must be meek and mild
I must not complain
When you treat me like a child
But I am not yours to mould
Nor hers to shape
I am not his to cast
Not theirs to remake
I am my own
As is my time
You do not know what’s good for me
Better than I
I will not be a “good victim”
I will not play that part
I won’t let you pin this on me
When I’m already torn apart
I am not a thing
To be fitted in a box
And each time you share your “wisdom”
You set back all the clocks
I’ve hung myself and wrung myself
Got rid of all the pain
But your desperation for innocence
Means I take all the blame
So if you want to help me
Hear me when I say
I will heal with time, but most of all
I’ll do it my own damn way.
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8. |
Jetsam
04:34
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9. |
Weapons of War
04:07
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I feel every second
Heavy on my shoulder
Every minute, every hour, every day
I carry every second
In the hands of a soldier
While war slowly wears me away
I see bullets at night
And I know it’s not right
To see weapons of war in my bed
I see bullets at night
Because I’m trying to fight
The war raging inside of my head
I feel every breath
Sharp in my chest
Every step, every blink, every beat
I carry each breath
Heavy till the next
Hope not to taste the tang of defeat
I see bullets at night
And I know it’s not right
To see weapons of war in my bed
I see bullets at night
Because I’m trying to fight
The war raging inside of my head
And I see the white
The poppy of peace
All pinned to the others’ lapels
And I know it’s not right
To see bullets at night
When they’re all waving goodbye to the shells
I see bullets at night
And I know it’s not right
To see weapons of war in my bed
I see bullets at night
Because I’m trying to fight
The war raging inside of my head
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10. |
Fight Fear with Fire
02:29
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I feel like I can love the height
Without thinking of the fall
I feel like I can love the night
Without remembering it all
And every time you say goodnight
I’m thankful that I stayed
That I held to life so tight
And only wished it all away
Instead of living my last day
And the war is far from over
I’ve still got scars on my skin
But I’m the victor of this battle
And the war is mine to win
I feel like I can cross the road
Without thinking of the speed
Like I can read a book
Without needing what I read
And every time you say “sleep tight”
I’m thankful that I stayed
For though there may be sleepless nights
I’d not wish it all away
I love the everyday
And the war is far from over
I’ve still got scars on my skin
But I’m the victor of this battle
And the war is mine to win
I never really knew it
But I know now that I’m brave
For fighting all these demons
Who’d see me to my grave
Well I’ll fight fear with fire
And not let them silence me
Amongst the saints and liars
There are few can really see
And the war is far from over
I’ve still got scars on my skin
But I’m the victor of this battle
And the war is mine to win
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Tilly Moses England, UK
Tilly Moses is a folk singer-songwriter & mandolin player from Suffolk, based in York, who has been writing & performing
since she was just 13.
"Tilly’s songs are masterpieces of emotional raw power... [She] possesses an uncanny ability to communicate her messages and narratives with total conviction and an immediacy and intellectual, as well as emotional, depth." - David Kidman, FATEA Magazine
... more
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