1. |
Old Harmonica
04:22
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I know a man who plays an old harmonica
It sings the blues so he don't have to
He lost his voice and he blames America
Says it don't sing the songs it used to
His harp his heart is hardly handling the draws
That seventh hole don't stay in tune
It's getting hard to use his tongue to block what he don't want
And he's well aware the truth
And he told me son
I'll be dead soon
He said I'll be done
By the next moon
So you take my harp
And don't you shake it out
Don't need you to take it far
But the next town
He said I know a guy who plays this old harmonica
He'll say he don't know who I am
Or else he'll ask if I am back in America
Still thinks he's fighting Vietnam
You give him my harp and it should bring him back home
For a minute or two, but don't stay long
You give him my harp, and he'll know what you know
For a minute or two, then he'll be gone
So you listen, son
I'll be dead soon
He said, "I'll be done
By the next moon.
So you take my harp,
And don't you shake it out
Don't need you to take it far
But the next town
I knew a man who played this old harmonica
It played the blues so you didn't have to
It sang the wordless songs of modern America
About the truth of me and you
It sang a song about the darkest hours of the night
The sun had set and no one knew
It sang a song about how long it took for one to fly
From the hungry mouth to the polished shoe
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2. |
Call Them What They Are
04:54
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I met a traveler from an antique land
Who told me about some stones
In a far away place in the desert sand
In the shadow of some bones
A face appearing painfully afraid and alone
Once proud of his accomplishments
But nothing to be shown
A pedestal with an inscription ironically contained
A praise for something that wasn't there
That history detained
Call me by my kingdom, call me by my name
Look upon my wealth, and look upon my fame
And somewhere down the line
This figure had failed
Somewhere down the line
Someone lifted the veil
Somewhere down the line
Someone had had enough
Somewhere down the line
Someone called his bluff
Leaders will come again
Leaders will fall again
Leaders will die again
Traitors will come again
Traitors will be found again
Traitors will be killed again
Fascists will come again
Fascists will fool again
And they'll consume their fellow man
Statues will be built for them
Statues will fall again
Statues will be built again
And that's why we must call them what they are
I followed back that traveler to show me the stones
In the far away place in the desert sand
In the shadow of some bones
A face appearing painfully, miserably alone
Once proud of its accomplishments
But nothing to be shown
The pedestal with the inscription so stubbornly proclaimed
The accolade of glory
An embarrassing display
It said, "Call me by my kingdom, Call me by my name
Look upon my wealth, and look upon my fame
The skilled ones learn to talk like you
The skilled ones learn to walk like you
And the skilled ones force their thoughts on you
And that's why we
Must call them what they are
Fascist nazi sympathizers
1950's glorifiers
Racist and misogynistic
Got a message so simplistic
Pro-life until you are born
Useless 'till you're sent to war
What you give is not enough
The NRA can give them more
And racists have come again
And as leaders they will pretend
And sexists have come again
To steal the rights from our women
And traitors have come again
To eat away his fellow man
And statues have been built again
And they'll stand long before they fall
And that's why we must call them what they are
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3. |
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Do you wanna throw a party?
Up against the wall?
Do you wanna have a good time?
Rise and watch them fall
Do you wanna know a secret?
It's right under your nose
Do you wanna take another hit?
Show them where it goes
If you wanna throw a party
They're running
For everything you think you want
And everything you think you need
Do you wanna throw a party?
Make the foe your friend
Do you wanna have a good time?
Determining their end
Do you wanna know a secret?
We're paying for their clothes
Do you wanna take another hit?
Punch'em in the nose
If you wanna throw a party
They're running
For everything you think you want
And everything you think you need
And you'll cough it up and buy it up
And you'll show up and keep it up
And in the end you'll find that you've been
Dealt a hand and it's your hand
And it's your turn to pay it up
And every dollar you turn up
Is gone before you had a chance
To take a breath and count it up
Do you wanna throw a party?
Or maybe overthrow?
Do you wanna have a mutiny?
Give'em what they're owed
Do you wanna tell their secrets
Make them beg for food
Do you wanna take another hit?
Hit'em till they're blue
If you wanna throw a party
They're running
For everything you think you want
And everything you think you need
And don't cough it up
Don't buy it up
And don't take the hand that you've been dealt
Without showing them how bad it felt
To keep showing up
And paying up
And turning up
All bottomed up
Till they know what's up
I think we should throw a party
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4. |
This Must Be the Place
05:11
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I read the news today, oh, boy
About a man fifteen years old
I read he must've been six foot, ten
At least that's what his killer told
He told a story of a
Brief encounter with a man who
Looked like he could've lifted
Ten cars with ease!
Then they showed a picture of a
Young, black boy
And I said, "This must be the place."
I read the news today, oh, boy
A city ripped down to the fold
I read the riot police were sent
A vain attempt to gain control
But they didn't tell the story
of a population mourning over
The death of one in their community
But they showed a picture of a
Smiling white man
And I said this must be the place.
I think this must be the place.
Yeah, when red, white, and blue means
Death has its eyes on you
And you don't got no choice 'cause
you're dead no matter what you do
They are the gunshots
They are the knotted noose
They are the choke hold
They are the black and blues
I read the news today, oh, boy
About a man who couldn't breathe
The last thing he ever felt
Was the pebbled ground of Bay Street
And though he told them so
Eleven times in total That he
couldn't breathe, they wouldn't
Release hold
Now his kids won't see their father
Anymore
I'm guessing this must be the place
I read the news today, oh, boy
The killer's acquitted once again
I read that he was justified
To pull that trigger fifteen times
'Cause he didn't follow orders
Though he was already cuffed
And he didn't have a weapon
Isn't that enough?
Now we're busy counting all
The holes it takes to
Prove that this must be the place
I know that this must be the place
When red, white, and blue shines
In the cabin of your car
You bet you're servin' time
If you even make it that far
They are the hand cuffs
They are the gavel
They are the needle
They are the shovel
I read the news today, oh, boy
About a young man in his home
He heard a knockin' at his door
Couple days later he's in the ground
And for every person who says
We've got a problem here let's
Put our heads together and see
What we can do
We've got another one who
Says nothing's wrong
And I'm sure that this must be the place.
I said this must be the place
Gather 'round cause this must be the place
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Keith Peters Middlesex, New Jersey
Keith Peters is a singer-songwriter from Middlesex, NJ. Peters performs solo or with a band. In 2015, he released his first self titled album. This was followed up in 2016 with The Big Boy Pants EP, in 2017 with If You've Come to Find Me, and in 2018 with his EP, This Must Be the Place. Keith Peters is known for his energetic performances and wide range of genres within his music. ... more
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