DISQUS

geoff manne · 3 years ago

There is, of course, The Trees by Rush:

There is unrest in the forest,

There is trouble with the trees,


For the maples want more sunlight


And the oaks ignore their pleas.

The trouble with the maples,

(And they're quite convinced they're right)


They say the oaks are just too lofty


And they grab up all the light.


But the oaks can't help their feelings


If they like the way they're made.


And they wonder why the maples


Can't be happy in their shade.

There is trouble in the forest,

And the creatures all have fled,


As the maples scream "Oppression!"


And the oaks just shake their heads

So the maples formed a union

And demanded equal rights.


"The oaks are just too greedy;


We will make them give us light."


Now there's no more oak oppression,


For they passed a noble law,


And the trees are all kept equal


By hatchet, axe, and saw.

Not exactly a "folk" song, but it captures the essence of public choice quite nicely.

geoff manne · 3 years ago

Also not a folk song, but Bob Dylan's Neighborhood Bully is the best pro-Israel song there is (with some nice classical liberal points along the way):

Well, the neighborhood bully, he's just one man,

His enemies say he's on their land.


They got him outnumbered about a million to one,


He got no place to escape to, no place to run.


He's the neighborhood bully.

The neighborhood bully just lives to survive,

He's criticized and condemned for being alive.


He's not supposed to fight back, he's supposed to have thick skin,


He's supposed to lay down and die when his door is kicked in.


He's the neighborhood bully.

The neighborhood bully been driven out of every land,

He's wandered the earth an exiled man.


Seen his family scattered, his people hounded and torn,


He's always on trial for just being born.


He's the neighborhood bully.

Well, he knocked out a lynch mob, he was criticized,

Old women condemned him, said he should apologize.


Then he destroyed a bomb factory, nobody was glad.


The bombs were meant for him.


He was supposed to feel bad.


He's the neighborhood bully.

Well, the chances are against it and the odds are slim

That he'll live by the rules that the world makes for him,


'Cause there's a noose at his neck and a gun at his back


And a license to kill him is given out to every maniac.


He's the neighborhood bully.

He got no allies to really speak of.

What he gets he must pay for, he don't get it out of love.


He buys obsolete weapons and he won't be denied


But no one sends flesh and blood to fight by his side.


He's the neighborhood bully.

Well, he's surrounded by pacifists who all want peace,

They pray for it nightly that the bloodshed must cease.


Now, they wouldn't hurt a fly.


To hurt one they would weep.


They lay and they wait for this bully to fall asleep.


He's the neighborhood bully.

Every empire that's enslaved him is gone,

Egypt and Rome, even the great Babylon.


He's made a garden of paradise in the desert sand,


In bed with nobody, under no one's command.


He's the neighborhood bully.

Now his holiest books have been trampled upon,

No contract he signed was worth what it was written on.


He took the crumbs of the world and he turned it into wealth,


Took sickness and disease and he turned it into health.


He's the neighborhood bully.

What's anybody indebted to him for?

Nothin', they say.


He just likes to cause war.


Pride and prejudice and superstition indeed,


They wait for this bully like a dog waits to feed.


He's the neighborhood bully.

What has he done to wear so many scars?

Does he change the course of rivers?


Does he pollute the moon and stars?


Neighborhood bully, standing on the hill,


Running out the clock, time standing still,


Neighborhood bully.

Michael Giesbrecht · 3 years ago

Oingo Boingo's (Danny Elfman) "Capitalism" is a pretty good song.

There’s nothing wrong with capitalism

There’s nothing wrong with free enterprise


Don’t try to make me feel guilty


I’m so tired of hearing you cry

There’s nothing wrong with making some profit

If you ask me I’ll say it’s just fine


There’s nothing wrong with wanting to live nice


I’m so tired of hearing you whine


About the revolution


Bringin’ down the rich


When was the last time you dug a ditch, baby!

If it ain’t one thing

Then it’s the other


Any cause that crosses your path


Your heart bleeds for anyone’s brother


I’ve got to tell you you’re a pain in the ass

You criticize with plenty of vigor

You rationalize everything that you do


With catchy phrases and heavy quotations


And everybody is crazy but you

You’re just a middle class, socialist brat

From a suburban family and you never really had to work


And you tell me that we’ve got to get back


To the struggling masses (whoever they are)


You talk, talk, talk about suffering and pain


Your mouth is bigger than your entire brain


What the hell do you know about suffering and pain . . .

(repeat first verse)

(repeat chorus)

There’s nothing wrong with capitalism

There’s nothing wrong with capitalism


There’s nothing wrong with capitalism


There’s nothing wrong with capitalism

Wild Pegasus · 3 years ago

Beatles - "Taxman"

Let me tell you how it will be

It's one for you, nineteen for me


'Cause I'm the taxman


Yeah, I'm the taxman.

Should five percent appear too small

Be thankful I don't take it all


'Cause I'm the taxman


Yeah, I'm the taxman

If you drive car, I'll tax the street.

If you try to sit, I'll tax your seat.


If you get too cold, I'll tax the heat.


If you take a walk, I'll tax your feet.

Taxman!

'Cause I'm the taxman

Yeah, I'm the taxman

Don't ask me what I want it for (ah-ah Mr Wilson)

If you don't want to pay some more (ah-ah Mr. Heath)


'Cause I'm the taxman


Yeah, I'm the taxman

Now my advice for those who die (taxman!)

Declare the pennies on your eyes (Taxman!)


'Cause I'm the taxman


Yeah, I'm the taxman


And you're working for no one but me...

- Josh

Scott Scheule · 3 years ago

Economists should consider commissioning such a folk song.

Robert Cote · 3 years ago

Robert Hazard, "Escalator of Life"

http://www.phillyrockers.com/robert_hazard_and_the_heroes/rhath_video_clips/escalator_video.mpeg

They got my Mazda at the E-Z Park It

At the rock & roll supermarket


Muzak music make me feel so funny


I went and spent all my money


We're riding on the escalator of life


We're shopping in the human mall


We're dancing on the escalator of life


Won't be happy 'til we have it all


We want it all


Escalator of life - up and down


Escalator of life - round and round


There's 111 choices


Don't listen to those little voices


I don't let the guilty feeling shake me


You can have your cake and eat it baby


We're riding on the escalator of life


We're shopping in the human mall


We're dancing on the escalator of life


Won't be happy 'til we have it all


Hey girl, I'm a personal friend of Gloria Vanderbilt


I got all the gold in the world around my neck


Come ride the steel dinosaur


Run wild in the jungle


Its a Zulu Nation


Seduction, sacrifice, a new sensation


Nothing ever changes


We're riding on the escalator of life


We're shopping in the human mall


We're dancing on the escalator of life


Won't be happy 'til we have it all

Kevin · 3 years ago

eeewwwww, folk music sucks. The fact that that's the end-product of a bunch of white people singing at each other is the best argument for the benefits of diversity.

liberty · 3 years ago

those are some great songs. Keep em coming!

JT · 3 years ago

Again, not a folk song (and not really a good song), but "Freewill" by Rush hits the mark:

You can choose from phantom fears

And kindness that can kill


I will choose a path that’s clear


I will choose free will

anon · 3 years ago

[v1]

Call it libertarian because we do as we please


Don't need fear of force or farce to know morality


Morals aren't a substance you can shove in someone's ear


They're basically a byproduct of reason true and clear

[v2]

It's nothing like The Bible, there's no lesson to be learned


It ain't the 10 commandments; nothing's written in stone


It has to do with freedom and personal liberty:


I don't f*** with you. Don't f*** with me.

[bridge]

The blueprints of a better world


Were written on a postage stamp


No one bothered to read the front


Stick out their tongue to lick the back

If you're not part of the cure

You're part of the disease


Father time will tell us who concedes

The blueprints of a better world

Disguised and revealed as fortunes


10,000 Chinese restaurant customers prefer not to read it


When they're taught - don't think, just eat it


A turning point we call the plan

Jim McCarthy · 3 years ago

What about the song "(Nothing But) Flowers by Talking Heads... Am I wrong or isn't it a rebuke to anti-market environmentalism? It's wry and sarcastic, yes, but the message is there. Plus, it's a catchy tune...

(Nothing But) Flowers

Talking Heads

Here we stand

Like an Adam and an Eve


Waterfalls


The Garden of Eden


Two fools in love


So beautiful and strong


The birds in the trees


Are smiling upon them


From the age of the dinosaurs


Cars have run on gasoline


Where, where have they gone?


Now, it's nothing but flowers

There was a factory

Now there are mountains and rivers


you got it, you got it

We caught a rattlesnake

Now we got something for dinner


we got it, we got it

There was a shopping mall

Now it's all covered with flowers


you've got it, you've got it

If this is paradise

I wish I had a lawnmower


you've got it, you've got it

Years ago

I was an angry young man


I'd pretend


That I was a billboard


Standing tall


By the side of the road


I fell in love


With a beautiful highway


This used to be real estate


Now it's only fields and trees


Where, where is the town


Now, it's nothing but flowers


The highways and cars


Were sacrificed for agriculture


I thought that we'd start over


But I guess I was wrong

Once there were parking lots

Now it's a peaceful oasis


you got it, you got it

This was a Pizza Hut

Now it's all covered with daisies


you got it, you got it

I miss the honky tonks,

Dairy Queens, and 7-Elevens


you got it, you got it

And as things fell apart

Nobody paid much attention


you got it, you got it

I dream of cherry pies,

Candy bars, and chocolate chip cookies


you got it, you got it

We used to microwave

Now we just eat nuts and berries


you got it, you got it

This was a discount store,

Now it's turned into a cornfield


you got it, you got it

Don't leave me stranded here

I can't get used to this lifestyle

Russell Nelson · 3 years ago

There's also the Rush tune Anthem:

Know your place in life is where you want to be


Don’t let them tell you that you owe it all to me


Keep on looking forward, no use in looking ’round

Hold your head above the ground and they won’t bring you

Down

Anthem of the heart and anthem of the mind

A funeral dirge for eyes gone blind


We marvel after those who sought


New wonders in the world, wonders in the world,


Wonders in the world they wrought

Live for yourself -- there’s no one else

More worth living for


Begging hands and bleeding hearts will


Only cry out for more

Well, I know they’ve always told you

Selfishness was wrong


Yet it was for me, not you, i


Came to write this song

Lauren Yuille · 3 years ago

"Refugee" by Tom Petty is often referred to by Dr. Gary Wolfram at Hillsdale College during his lectures about how "you don't have to live like a refugee" under a system of well-defined and enforced property rights. I'm not sure if that's what the song is about, but Dr. Wolfram's interpretation is certainly correct.

We got some thin’ we both know it,

We don’t talk too much about it


Ain’t no real big secret, all the same,


Somehow we get around it

Listen, it don’t really matter to me

Baby, you believe what you wanna believe


You see, you don’t have to live like a refugee

Somewhere, somehow, somebody must have

Kicked you around some


Tell me why you wanna lay there,


Revel in your abandon

Honey, it don’t make no difference to me

Baby, everybody’s had to fight to be free


You see, you don’t have to live like a refugee


No baby, you don’t have to live like a refugee

Baby, we ain’t the first

I’m sure a lot of other lovers been burned


Right now this ain’t real to you


It’s one of those things you got to feel to be true

Somewhere, somehow, somebody must have

Kicked you around some


Who knows, maybe you were kidnapped,


Tied-up, taken away, and held for ransom

Honey, it don’t really matter to me

Baby, everybody’s had to fight to be free


You see, you don’t have to live like a refugee


No, you don’t have to live like a refugee


Baby, you don’t have to live like a refugee

Alton · 3 years ago

A fun post; makes me wonder if there are economics or free market bumper stickers also. I've not had the chance to read your link to the concept of "the seen and not seen". Christianity once taught and inspired through music and song. Hey, what am I saying: I still remember songs and tunes from Sunday School(I guess they did not take hold).

Collectivist tunes inspire because they speak of pain and tend to be meditations toward relief of suffering. I can't see the new folk hit, "creative destruction", sung at a "sit-in" of the most devoted economics students. Singing out the 'tax man' can interest some minds, but crooning 'stop the violence' wins heats, thus the minds will follow.

Tim Worstall · 3 years ago

Two ideas:

Information Overload, while talking about advertising, nicely encapsulates the Hayekian point that no central authority can process enough information to make decent decisions:

too many messages multi media sponge

too many to address I guess


you could say I'm out lunch


television tells me what to think.


I don't even realise I know nothing

nothing at all

nothing at all


I know nothing

Mulder tells me what to think

lunatics what would they know


coke can tell me what to drink


I can consume with nothing to show


Jerry makes me feel better


I call them all freaks and do the Jerry call


nothing makes you realise I know nothing


nothing at all

I know nothing

nothing, nothing


you won't know nothing

I took with one hand and pushed

away with the other


still my cup overflows


can't make up my mind one way


or the other information overload

can't make up my mind

Or there is the wonderful point made somewhere out on the web in the last few days. Not so much the lyrics of the song, just the sheer glory of it. When someone questions liberty, freedom, the pursuit of happiness and so on, simply slap down a copy of "The Sloop John B" and say "We did that. Come back when you’re ready".

This also works with "Lust for Life".

Al · 3 years ago

Classical music composers like the Eastman kid tend to be left brainers, too. They tend to be better at math than English, and they play with numbers a lot, and translate them into notes later.

If you could locate some poetry about Hayekian themes you could probably convince a composer to set it. It wouldn't be folk music, though, which sounds like what you like.

Fatty · 3 years ago

"Don't Call Me White"

Don't call me white, Don't call me white

Don't call me white, Don't call me white

The connotations wearing my nerves thin

Could it be semantics generating the mess we're in?


I understand that language breeds stereotype


But what's the explanation for the malice, for the spite?

Don't call me white, Don't call me white

Don't call me white, Don't call me white

I wasn't brought here, I was born

Circumsized, categorized, allegiance sworn,


Does this mean I have to take such shit


For being fairskinned? No!


I ain't a part of no conspiracy,


I'm just you're average Joe.

Don't call me white, Don't call me white

Don't call me white, Don't call me white

Represents everything I hate,

The soap shoved in your mouth to cleanse the mind


The vast majority of sheep


A buttoned collar, starched and bleached


Constricting veins, the blood flow to the brain slows


They're so fuckin' ordinary white

Don't call me white, Don't call me white

Don't call me white, Don't call me white

We're better off this way

Say what you're gonna say


So go ahead and label me


An asshole cause I can


Accept responsibility, for what I've done


But not for who I am

Don't call me white, Don't call me white

Don't call me white, Don't call me white


Don't call me white, Don't call me white

Randy · 3 years ago

Not a song, but I recommend the series Firefly and the followon movie Serenity. With lines like;

"They couldn't let us profit, that would be uncivilized".

or my favorite scene,

Student; "Why would they resist us when we where only trying to bring them the benefits of civilization....Why would they fight us so hard?"

River Tam; "Because we meddle....People don't like it when we meddle...and we haven't got the right."

And the theme song for the series is pretty good too.

Take my love, take my land

Take me where I cannot stand


I don't care, I'm still free


You can't take the sky from me


Take me out to the black


Tell them I ain't comin' back


Burn the land and boil the sea


You can't take the sky from me


There's no place I can be


Since I found Serenity


But you can't take the sky from me...

Steve Horwitz · 3 years ago

I sent Russ a bunch of Rush lyrics links by email, but no one has yet posted "Something for Nothing":

Waiting for the winds of change

To sweep the clouds away


Waiting for the rainbow's end


To cast its gold your way


Countless ways


You pass the days

Waiting for someone to call

And turn your world around


Looking for an answer


To the question you have found


Looking for


An open door

You don't get something for nothing

You can't have freedom for free


You won't get wise


With the sleep still in your eyes


No matter what your dreams might be

What you own is your own kingdom

What you do is your own glory


What you love is your own power


What you live is your own story


In your head is the answer


Let it guide you along


Let your heart be the anchor


And the beat of your own song

You don't get something for nothing

You can't have freedom for free


You won't get wise


With the sleep still in your eyes


No matter what your dreams might be

Hayekians might also check out "Natural Science": http://www.lyricscafe.com/r/rush/043.htm</p>

R.J. Lehmann · 3 years ago

Though the authors (Marvin Gaye and Sting, respectively) certainly wouldn't have shared my politics, I always thought there were some great individualist and anti-state messages in the ostensibly lefty tunes "Inner City Blues" and "Spirits in the Material World":

Inner City Blues

Rockets, moon shots

Spend it on the have nots


Money, we make it


'Fore we see it, you take it

Oh, make you wanna holler

The way they do my life


Make me wanna holler


The way they do my life


This ain't livin', This ain't livin'


No, no baby, this ain't livin'


No, no, no

Inflation, no chance

To increase finance


Bills pile up sky high


Send that boy off to die

Make me wanna holler

The way they do my life


Make me wanna holler


The way they do my life


Dah, dah, dah

Hang ups, let downs

Bad breaks, set backs


Natural fact is


I can't pay my taxes

Oh, make me wanna holler

And throw up both my hands


Yea, it makes me wanna holler


And throw up both my hands

Crime is increasing

Trigger happy policing


Panic is spreading


God know where we're heading

Oh, make me wanna holler

They don't understand


Dah, dah, dah

***

Spirits in the Material World

There is no political solution

To our troubled evolution


Have no faith in constitution


There is no bloody revolution

Our so-called leaders speak

With words they try to jail you


The subjugate the meek


But it’s the rhetoric of failure

We are spirits in the material world

Are spirits in the material world


Are spirits in the material world


Are spirits in the material world

Where does the answer lie?

We live from day to day


If it’s something we can’t buy


There must be another way

We are spirits in the material world...

Steve Horwitz · 3 years ago

Another great Police song:

THE POLICE

MURDER BY NUMBERS

Once that you've decided on a killing

First you make a stone of your heart


And if you find that your hands are still willing


Then you can turn a murder into art

There really isn't need for bloodshed

You just do it with a little more finesse


If you can slip a tablet into someone's coffee


Then it avoids an awful lot of mess

It's murder by numbers one two three

It's as easy to learn as your ABC

Now if you have a taste for this experience

And you're flushed with your very first success


Then you must try a twosome or a threesome


And you'll find your conscience bothers you much less

Because murder is like anything you take to

It's a habit-forming need for more and more


You can bump off every member of your family


And anybody else you find a bore

Because it's murder by numbers one two three

It's as easy to learn as your ABC

Now you can join the ranks of the illustrious

In history's great dark hall of fame


All our famous killers were industrious


At least the ones that we all know by name

But you can reach the top of your profession

If you become the leader of the land


For murder is the sport of the elected


And you don't need to lift a finger of your hand

liberty · 3 years ago

Nobody has posted any country yet. They are very pro-America and many cross over to the American values of independent spirit, frontier, hence free market, low taxes, etc. -- of course some are also protectionist, pro-union etc, but at least there is a decent mix.

Here is a recent, sort of political one:

Gretchen Wilson - Politically Uncorrect Lyrics

I'm for the low man on the totem pole

And I'm for the underdog god bless his soul


And I'm for the guys still pulling third shift


and the single mom raising her kids


And I'm for the preacher who stay on their knees


And I'm for the sinner who finally believed


And I'm For the farmer with dirt on his hands


And the soldiers who fight for this land

And I'm for the bible

And I'm for the flag


And I'm for the working man


Me and Ol' hag


I'm just one of many who can't get no respect


Politically Uncorrect

I guess my opinion is all out of style

Don't get me started because i can get wild


And I'll make a fight for the fore-father's plan (That's Right)


Hell the world already knows where I stand

And I'm for the bible

And I'm for the flag


And I'm for the working man


Me and Ol' hag


I'm just one of many who can't get no respect


Politically Uncorrect

Nothing Wrong with the bible

Nothing Wrong with the flag


Nothing Wrong with the working man


Me and Ol' Hag


We're just some of many that can't get no respect


Politically Uncorrect


Politically Uncorrect

And here is a more classic example:

Artist/Band: Brooks And Dunn

Lyrics for Song: Only in America


Lyrics for Album: Greatest Hits Collection 2


Sun coming up over New York City


School bus driver in a traffic jam


Starin' at the faces in her rearview mirror


Looking at the promise of the Promised Land


One kid dreams of fame and fortune


One kid helps pay the rent


One could end up going to prison


One just might be president

Only in America

Dreaming in red, white and blue


Only in America


Where we dream as big as we want to


We all get a chance


Everybody gets to dance


Only in America

Sun going down on an La. freeway

Newlyweds in the back of a limousine


A welder's son and a banker's daughter


All they want is everything


She came out here to be an actress


He was the singer in a band


They just might go back to Oklahoma


And talk about the stars they could have been

Only in America

Where we dream in red, white and blue


Only in America


Where we dream as big as we want to


We all get a chance


Everybody gets to dance


Only in America

Yeah only in America

Where we dream in red, white and blue


Yeah we dream as big as we want to

averagejoe · 3 years ago

My vote is for the Tax Man. How about putting the 'Little Red Hen' to music?

Marshall S · 3 years ago

How about Louis Armstrong's rendition of "Hello Brother"? It's all in the first line.

HELLO BROTHER

(George Weiss / Bob Thiele)

A man wants to work for his pay

A man wants a place in the sun


A man wants a gal proud to say


That she'll become his lovin' wife


He wants a chance to give his kids a better life, yes


Well hello, hello, hello brother

You can travel all around the world and back

You can fly or sail or ride a railroad track


But no matter where you go you're gonna find


That people have the same things on their minds

---

Oh and for the person looking for bumper stickers, etc. check out: http://bureaucrash.com/contraband
</p>

Helen&#39;s_kid · 3 years ago

This is why I'm warped.

Les Miserables Soundtrack Lyrics

Artist: M. & Mme. Thenardie Lyrics


Song: Master of the House Lyrics


DRINKER THREE


Come on you old pest

DRINKER TWO

Fetch a bottle of your best

DRINKER ONE

What's the nectar of the day?

(Thenardier enters with a flask of wine)

THENARDIER

Here, try this lot


Guaranteed to hit the spot


Or I'm not Thenardier

DRINKERS

Gissa glass a rum


Landlord, over here!

THENARDIER

Right away, you scum (to himself)


Right away, m'sieur (to customer)

DINER ONE

God this place has gone to hell

DINER TWO

So you tell me every year

DRINKER SIX

Mine host Thenardier


He was there so they say,


At the field of Waterloo

DRINKER SEVEN

Got there, it's true


When the fight was all through

DRINKER ONE

But he knew just what to do


Crawling through the mud


So I've heard it said


Picking through the pockets


Of the English dead

DRINKER EIGHT

He made a tidy score


From the spoils of war

THENARDIER

My band of soaks


My den of dissolutes


My dirty jokes, my always pissed as newts.


My sons of whores


Spent their lives in my inn


Homing pigeons homing in


They fly through my doors


And their money's as good as yours

DINER ONE

Ain't got a clue


What he put in this stew


Must have scraped it off the street

DINER TWO

God what a wine!


Chateau Neuf de Turpentine


Must have pressed it with his feet

DRINKERS

Landlord over here!


Where's the bloody man?


One more for the road!


Thenardier, one more slug o' gin.

GIRL

Just one more, or my old man is gonna do me in.

(Thenardier greets a new customer)

THENARDIER

Welcome, M'sieur


Sit yourself down


And meet the best


Innkeeper in town


As for the rest,


All of 'em crooks


Rooking their guests


And cooking the books.


Seldom do you see


Honest men like me


A gent of good intent


Who's content to be

Master of the house

Doling out the charm


Ready with a handshake


And an open palm


Tells a saucy tale


Makes a little stir


Customers appreciate a bon-viveur


Glad to do a friend a favor


Doesn't cost me to be nice


But nothing gets you nothing


Everything has got a little price!

Master of the house

Keeper of the zoo


Ready to relieve 'em


Of a sou or two


Watering the wine


Making up the weight


Pickin' up their knick-knacks


When they can't see straight


Everybody loves a landlord


Everybody's bosom friend


I do whatever pleases


Jesus! Won't I bleed 'em in the end!

THENARDIER & CHORUS

Master of the house


Quick to catch yer eye


Never wants a passerby


To pass him by


Servant to the poor


Butler to the great


Comforter, philosopher,


And lifelong mate!


Everybody's boon companion


Everybody's chaperone

THENARDIER

But lock up your valises


Jesus! Won't I skin you to the bone!

(To another new customer)

THENARDIER

Enter M'sieur


Lay down your load


Unlace your boots


And rest from the road

(Taking his bag)

This weighs a ton

Travel's a curse


But here we strive


To lighten your purse


Here the goose is cooked


Here the fat is fried


And nothing's overlooked


Till I'm satisfied...

Food beyond compare

Food beyond belief


Mix it in a mincer


And pretend it's beef


Kidney of a horse


Liver of a cat


Filling up the sausages


With this and that

Residents are more than welcome

Bridal suite is occupied


Reasonable charges


Plus some little extras on the side!

Charge 'em for the lice

Extra for the mice


Two percent for looking in the mirror twice


Here a little slice


There a little cut


Three percent for sleeping with the window shut


When it comes to fixing prices


There are a lot of tricks he knows


How it all increases


All those bits and pieces


Jesus! It's amazing how it grows!

THENARDIER AND CHORUS

Master of the house


Quick to catch yer eye


Never wants a passerby


To pass him by


Servant to the poor


Butler to the great


Comforter, philosopher,


And lifelong mate!


Everybody's boon companion


Gives 'em everything he's got

THENARDIER

Dirty bunch of geezers


Jesus! What a sorry little lot!

MME. THENARDIER

I used to dream


That I would meet a prince


But God Almighty,


Have you seen what's happened since?


`Master of the house?'


Isn't worth me spit!


`Comforter, philosopher'


- and lifelong shit!


Cunning little brain


Regular Voltaire


Thinks he's quite a lover


But there's not much there


What a cruel trick of nature


Landed me with such a louse


God knows how I've lasted


Living with this bastard in the house!

THENARDIER & CHORUS


Master of the house.

MME. THENARDIER

Master and a half!

THENARDIER & CHORUS

Comforter, philosopher

MME. THENARDIER

Ah, don't make me laugh!

THENARDIER & CHORUS

Servant to the poor. Butler to the great.

MME. THENARDIER

Hypocrite and toady and inebriate!

THENARDIER & CHORUS

Everybody bless the landlord!


Everybody bless his spouse!

THENARDIER

Everybody raise a glass

MME. THENARDIER

Raise it up the master's arse.

ALL

Everybody raise a glass to the master of the house!

liberty · 3 years ago

>Oh and for the person looking for bumper stickers, etc. check out: http://bureaucrash.com/contraband</p>

Awesome shirts! Just bought the Marx one!!

SteffenH · 3 years ago

Maybe I got the meaning of the lyrics of "Green Disease" by Pearl Jam (!) wrong, but it sounds like a anti-doomsdayer song:

t's a disease and they're all green. Pearl

It emminates from their being.


Agitation with occupation.


And like weeds with big leaves. Jam


Stealing light from what's beneath.


Where they have more. Still they take more. Green

Course I know. Then I don't.

There's a stoway with my throat. Disease


It's deceiving. I don't believe him.


We can scream out our doors. Songtexte


Behind the wall a fat man snores.


In his dreams he's choking on leaves. Songtext

Well I guess there's nothing wrong with what you say. Lyrics

But don't sell me, "There can't be better ways." Lyric


Tell the captain "This boat's not safe, and we're drowning." Liedertexte


Turns up he's the one making waves. Waves. Waves.

I said there's nothing wrong with what you say. Liedertext

Believe me just asking you to sway.


No white or black just grey. Alle


Can you feel this world with your heart and not your brain?

What do you think?

Chuck Sicotte · 3 years ago

"It Works for Me"-A recent favorite of mine by Toby Keith. Sing it loud Russ.

Never owned a brand new car

Never worked in a white collar


Never held a woman longer


Than I held one single dollar


I never went out chasin’ rainbows


’cause there can’t be that much to it


Even if I found my pot of gold


I know I’d piss right through it

I can’t remember ever wanting

For one second of my life


Even if I did it cost too much


To ever pay the price


I don’t dance out on the dark side


Ain’t no secrets I have to tell


So you don’t have to say a prayer for me


I just said one for myself

Chorus:

I’m livin’ my life


Under my terms


I’m callin’ the shots


As far as I can see


I don’t owe nobody nothin’


I don’t answer to a soul


Might not work for you


But it works for me

I’ve been bent and bruised and broken

And flat busted once or twice


I brought most of it upon myself


But I never compromised


My pride’s too hard to swallow


So I’ve chewed a lot of it


Mild-mannered and soft-hearted


And hard-headed as you get


I live out on the backroads


Where I walk my country mile


And if it’s so good in the city


Why don’t anybody smile?


The traffic’s always heavy


And the air ain’t fit to breathe


I ain’t saying that it’s wrong for you


It just don’t make sense to me

Chorus

C · 3 years ago

Bob Dylan's lyrics are a bit obscure, but I like to think of his "Chimes of Freedom" as a song of hope for those struggling under totalitarianism. (BTW, the song was recorded best by the Byrds.)

Far between sundown's finish an' midnight's broken toll

We ducked inside the doorway, thunder crashing


As majestic bells of bolts struck shadows in the sounds


Seeming to be the chimes of freedom flashing


Flashing for the warriors whose strength is not to fight


Flashing for the refugees on the unarmed road of flight


An' for each an' ev'ry underdog soldier in the night


An' we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing.

In the city's melted furnace, unexpectedly we watched

With faces hidden as the walls were tightening


As the echo of the wedding bells before the blowin' rain


Dissolved into the bells of the lightning


Tolling for the rebel, tolling for the rake


Tolling for the luckless, the abandoned an' forsaked


Tolling for the outcast, burnin' constantly at stake


An' we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing.

Through the mad mystic hammering of the wild ripping hail

The sky cracked its poems in naked wonder


That the clinging of the church bells blew far into the breeze


Leaving only bells of lightning and its thunder


Striking for the gentle, striking for the kind


Striking for the guardians and protectors of the mind


An' the poet an the painter far behind his rightful time


An' we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing.

In the wild cathedral evening the rain unraveled tales

For the disrobed faceless forms of no position


Tolling for the tongues with no place to bring their thoughts


All down in taken-for granted situations


Tolling for the deaf an' blind, tolling for the mute


For the mistreated, mateless mother, the mistitled prostitute


For the misdemeanor outlaw, chased an' cheated by pursuit


An' we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing.

Even though a clouds's white curtain in a far-off corner flashed

An' the hypnotic splattered mist was slowly lifting


Electric light still struck like arrows, fired but for the ones


Condemned to drift or else be kept from drifting


Tolling for the searching ones, on their speechless, seeking trail


For the lonesome-hearted lovers with too personal a tale


An' for each unharmfull, gentle soul misplaced inside a jail


An' we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing.

Starry-eyed an' laughing as I recall when we were caught

Trapped by no track of hours for they hanged suspended


As we listened one last time an' we watched with one last look


Spellbound an' swallowed 'til the tolling ended


Tolling for the aching whose wounds cannot be nursed


For the countless confused, accused, misused, strung-out ones an' worse


An' for every hung-up person in the whole wide universe


An' we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing.

Dennis Gildea · 3 years ago

Try, "Sunshine" by Jonathan Edwards.

A snippet from memory:

"Sunshine go away today

Don't feel much like dancin'


Sme man's gone, he's tried to run my life


Don't know what he's askin'

Workin' starts to make me wonder where

Fruits of what I do are goin


He say "In love and War


"All is Fair"


He's got cards he ain't showin . . ."

Also, "You Run Your Mouth (and I'll Run My Business") by Joe Jackson

"You Can't Push People Around" by Mose Allison.

liberty · 3 years ago

he sure is a poet.

Monyet Miskin · 3 years ago

Here's a real folk song (none of your Yankee crap) "Belfast Mill" I know it from the Pogues version:

At the east end of town

At the foot of the hill


There's a chimney so tall


It says Belfast Mill.

But there's no smoke at all

Coming out of the stack


For the mill has shut down


And its never coming back.

Chorus:

And the only tune I hear


Is the sound of the wind


As she blows through the town


Weave and spin, weave and spin.

There's no children play

In the dark narrow streets


And the loom has shut down


It's so quiet I can't sleep.

The mill has shut down

'Twas the only life I know


Tell me what will I do


And where will I go.

For I'm too old to work

And I'm too young to die


Tell me where will I go


My family and I.

BTW, Not much difference between your libertarian songs and radical communist ones, are there?

Sheldon Richman · 3 years ago

I don't have a lyric to contribute, but I do want to suggest that maybe our attitude toward unions, labor actually, should be somewhat more nuanced. We libertarians have no trouble pointing out that a century and a half of corporate-state intervention helps to rigidify the economy: taxes and regulations are more easily coped with by big established companies than by small and potential contributors. These are barriers to entry. (It's not impossible to overcome them, but it is tougher.) Thus there is a built-in subsidy for incumbents. But if this is so, it means that workers have fewer options in the labor market than they would have under laissez faire. Fewer options means fewer potential employers bidding for their serves (and less chance for self-employment), which means lower wages. If this is so, we can hardly blame workers (however misguided) for trying to improve their lot within the current environment. This doesn't justify government intervention on their behalf. But when we criticize such intervention, we ought, at the same time, to criticize the corporate intervention that works to the prejudice of workers. We can hardly blame them for trying to get the most pay for the least exertion, when he praise business for trying to get the biggest return for the smallest expenditure. Let's keep the full context in mind.

Maureen · 3 years ago

A pro-chainsaw folk song!

"Caretakers" by Bill Sutton

In a time of rising mountains,

In an age when life was new,


The trees were the rulers of life on earth


And the world as a forest grew.


New life found the forest,


And the new life tore the land.


So the dryad came to protect her wood


And stay the humans' hand.

Singing,

I am the strength of the heart and the root


I am the soul of the wood.

In a time of ancient mountains,

In an age no longer new,


A man walked into the hardwood wall


With a chainsaw and his crew.


He reached for the crippled oak tree


And he waved his crew to start,


When a vision leapt from the broken limb


That burst him through the heart.

Singing,

I am the strength of the heart and the root


I am the soul of the wood.

She was sun and moon and starlight,

She was earth and sky and sea,


She was everything that he ever loved


And all that he wished to be.


And she sang of the elder forest,


And she sang of the rustling wind,


And her arms reached out


from the jagged bark,


Reached out to pull him in.

Singing,

I am the strength of the heart and the root


I am the soul of the wood.

But the man pulled out an acorn,

And he held it to her eyes,


And he sang to her of birth and life,


And that even an oak must die.


And she knew that her tree had withered,


So she turned, no longer strong,


And she passed away as the chainsaw roar


Drowned out her final song.

Singing,

I am the strength of the heart and the root


I am the soul of the wood.

In a night under ancient mountains,

In a night under autumn sky,


A man looks down at a rotting stump


And he shakes his head and he sighs.


So he kneels to plant the acorn,


And he hears a quiet sound --


The sound of joy and a hope of spring


And new life in the ground.

Singing,

I am the strength of the heart and the root


I am the soul of the wood!

liberty · 3 years ago

>BTW, Not much difference between your libertarian songs and radical communist ones, are there?

Sure there are. The Libertarian songs are about making your own life, the communist ones are weepy about not getting what you want. Your song is weepy about a lost job, rather than recognizing that people can move on and try something new, that sometimes the buggy whip factory has to close and it will be better for everyone that it does.

>taxes and regulations are more easily coped with by big established companies than by small and potential contributors. ... workers have fewer options in the labor market than they would have under laissez faire.... Let's keep the full context in mind.

Big companies always have some advantages - we should limit the ones government gives them (eliminate them if possible) but we should not add to the problem by giving workers false advantages too. I have no problem with workers spontaniously (if misguidedly) unionizing; I do have a problem with giving them help from government. But even when companies have a big advantage, they also have disadvantages - they often change more slowly, they have already invested in certain technologies and can't change as quickly as a new entrant can create a better way - hence if there are no big anti-trust interventions, new entrants can compete both for customers and for workers.

Just because wwe don't have perfect laissez-faire doesn't mean we should compensate the rigities one one side with more rigitities on the other and compound the problem. That is the way that welfare states try to fix economic problems with more welfare and go down the road toward Socialism.

Good individualist song:

Cult of personality - Living Colour

look into my eyes, what do you see?

Cult of personality


I know your anger, i know your dreams


I've been everything you want to be


I'm the cult of personality


Like mussolini and kennedy


I'm the cult of personality


Cult of personality


Cult of personality

Neon lights, a nobel prize

The mirror speaks, the reflection lies


You don't have to follow me


Only you can set me free


I sell the things you need to be


I'm the smiling face on your t.v.


I'm the cult of personality


I exploit you still you love me

I tell you one and one makes three

I'm the cult of personality


Like joseph stalin and gandi


I'm the cult of personality


Cult of personality


Cult of personality

Neon lights a nobel prize

A leader speaks, that leader dies


You don't have to follow me


Only you can set you free

You gave me fortune

You gave me fame


You me power in your god's name


I'm every person you need to be


I'm the cult of personality


Look into my eyes, what do you see?


Cult of personality


I know your anger, i know your dreams


I've been everything you want to be


I'm the cult of personality


Like mussolini and kennedy


I'm the cult of personality


Cult of personality


Cult of personality

Neon lights, a nobel prize

The mirror speaks, the reflection lies


You don't have to follow me


Only you can set me free


I sell the things you need to be


I'm the smiling face on your t.v.


I'm the cult of personality


I exploit you still you love me

I tell you one and one makes three

I'm the cult of personality


Like joseph stalin and gandi


I'm the cult of personality


Cult of personality


Cult of personality

Neon lights a nobel prize

A leader speaks, that leader dies


You don't have to follow me


Only you can set you free

You gave me fortune

You gave me fame


You me power in your god's name


I'm every person you need to be


I'm the cult of personality

Kyle · 3 years ago

Not an expert in the genre, but there's an awful lot of such stuff in the Filk community (Sci-fi fandom acquires folk music).

Lewis · 3 years ago

From Bonnie Raitt’s albumn Souls Alike

I Will Not be Broken

That was then and this is now

I found my way back here somehow


Knew you'd have to let me go


I told you once I told you so

chorus;

Take me down


You can hold me but you


Can't hold what's within


Pull me round


Push me to the limit


Maybe I may bend


But I know where I'm not going


I will not be broken


I will not be broken


I will not be...

Someone other than who I am

I will fight to make my stand


Cause what is livin' if I can't live free


What is freedom if I can't be me

(chorus)

I won't let you near it

I will let my spirit fly


Fly


High


Oh take me down

Take me down

You can hold me but you


Can't hold what's within


Pull me round


Push me to the limit


Maybe I may bend


But we both know where I'm not going


I will not be broken


I will not be broken


I will not be...

dagny · 3 years ago

I gotta say, being as I just spent the past hour or so arguing why "Imagine" is really a god-damn terrible song, I appreciate this thread quite a bit.

Also, everyone here should get the DVDs of Firefly & Serenity, there's some great libertarianish stuff there.

Lewis · 3 years ago

"Blinded By The Darkness"

T-Bone Burnett


from his 2006 CD "The True False Identity"

The laws of God and the laws of man

The laws of man

They don't carry the same weight as the laws of God


Or the laws of nature


In the nomenclature

Do we want to inject the concept of sin

Into the Constitution?


Is this really necessary?


Does this not make you somewhat wary?


Shouldn't sin be left to the laws of God


And to the laws of nature?


Can we trust this to the legislature?

And shall we trust sin to the wisdom

Of the criminal justice system


Which can't handle the criminals we have now


Why create a whole new class of them?

Isn't crime dealt with by the laws of man?

Isn't sin dealt with by the laws of God?

If sin were dealt with by the laws of man

Everybody would be in jail for life


In solitary confinement


With no one to go his bail


Or would have gotten death


Maybe I should save my breath


But this lunacy is bound to fail

But there would be no one to get the food

Or run the machines


Mercy on us, dude

You shine your darkness on me

I am blinded by the darkness

In seven days God created evolution

When shall I expect retribution


From the counter revolution?