Brad Will sings solidarity song video

Tear Gas anthem words
Saturday, March 24, 2007
The Tear Gas Anthem/Washing Machine Song
Corrected/definitive lyrics... a new verse added by me after my friend Brad Will was killed in oaxaca, mexico in october, 2006. back in 2000 when i first heard him sing this, i bugged him for lyrics for months. he finally got them to me typed out on the back of a flier for a film showing of "life and debt," about imf/world bank in jamaica. me and brad sang the song together in miami in november 2003 during the ftaa summit, in the courtyard of the convergence space the evening of november 19 (night before the big actions) as helicopters circled overheard shining spotlights down on us. my friend jordan died following those protests, exposed to the chemical weapons police were using. when i posted the lyrics online following that, i had misremembered many of the lyrics and have been trying to correct them ever since.

TEAR GAS ANTHEM aka THE WASHING MACHINE SONG

1st verse and chorus by Desert Rat (written following seattle wto protests, 1999),
2nd, 3rd & 4th verses by Brad Will,
5th verse by women in jail solidarity during the DNC 2000,
the 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 11th & 12th verses by tom evil,
10th verse by warpiper, medic @ miami ftaa summit protests in 2003.

acapella tune by desert rat/brad will

damn, i still miss brad and jordan so much.

--------------------------

i've seen the lands beyond these borders, where the corporations rule,
and they spin their lies and they globalize & the working man's their tool.
and the streams are so polluted, that the banks are bleak and bare,
and the babies all are born deformed and the smog is everywhere.
and the workers' wages dropped thirty percent in just one year,
now those greedy bastards want to bring the same conditions here...

[chorus]
so i called upon you brother (x2 sister), and you asked what i would do,
and i told the truth dear brother (x2 sister) when i spoke these words to you:
i will stand beside your shoulder, when the teargas fills the sky,
if a national guardsmen shoots me down i'll be looking him in the eye.
i will wash their pepper from your face and go with you to jail,
and if you don't make it through this fight i swear i'll tell your tale.
i will stay with you in the prison cell in solidarity,
and i will not leave that cursed room til you walk out with me.
for we the people fight for freedom, while the cops just fight for pay,
and as long as the truth is in our hearts we're sure to win someday.
i will not falter when that iron fist comes out of the velvet glove,
i will stand beside you shoulder to defend this land we love.

II.
i've heard tales of conquered islands, where the sweatshop barons rule,
recruiting girls from the asian slums to be the rich man's tool.
and they're promised lives of luxury in the golden USA,
then they're stranded on these islands with their passports stripped away.
and their aging fingers toil and bleed, year after grueling year,
now those greedy bastards want to bring the same conditions here...

[chorus]

III.
i've walked the misty forests, pulsing vein from ancient time,
they'll rip the heart out of a mountain to kill the oldest things alive.
rainforest dwellers smell a burning, and the 'dozers are close behind,
replaced with plantations and cattle ploughing under whatever they find.
with the rain comes a raging mudslide, where the land was stripped & sheared
now those greedy bastards want to push their bloody products here...

[chorus]

IV.
i've seen the oceans rolling, schools of fish swimming under the tide,
working fishermen grounding their boats, starving on a hook & line.
while the industrial fishers haul in their nets, scouring the deep ocean floor,
dolphin & sea turtle snagged in those nets will ride the waves no more.
they'll rip the heart out of the deep blue sea, increasing every year,
now those greedy bastards want to push their bloody products here...

[chorus]

V.
i've been inside the concrete cellblocks, where the fascist sergeants rule,
and they privatize and they criminalize and the inmates are their tools.
and they march you down the hallway with a chain around your waist,
you get one strike for your poverty and another for your race.
and they contract out your labor and they profit from your bail,
now those greedy bastards want to build another million jails...

[chorus]

VI.
i've read reports of Wall Street boardrooms where they manufacture wealth,
and they've echoed lies so many times they don't know the truth themselves.
they defraud the working families, blow their savings all to hell,
and you're forced to work for half the pay while corporate profits swell.
and there's one law for the CEO's and another for you and me,
still those greedy bastards dare to claim that you and i are free...

[chorus]

VII.
i watched the towers falling, and i watched my brothers die,
i watched in utter horror with my only question, why?
and all the air force bombers, and all the army men
in three million years can never bring my sisters back again.
you can wage war on the world, until every coffin's filled,
but your leaders can't protect you they can only get you killed.

[chorus]

VIII.
i've heard voices of the disappeared, kidnapped in the night,
and they're thrown into detention camps and locked away from sight.
while Homeland Agents scour the country sowing seeds of martial law,
with immigrant families waiting for the other boot to fall.
and they claim it's for our safety, and they say we shouldn't fear,
but those evil bastards want to build another Third Reich here...

[chorus]

IX.
i've seen the warplanes leaving, to bring death to distant lands,
bearing loads of missiles made by working people's hands.
and they're guided 'cross the oceans and they're guided 'cross the sky,
and they're guided into third world homes where starving children die
and they fuel the flames of hatred, and they teach the soul to rage
now those fucking bastards want to write another bloody page...

[chorus]

X.
the cops they fire bullets, of rubber, wood and pain
and they force the people to the ground and beat them once again.
and the pepper flows like water, and their eyes are filled with hate.
they march like mindless zombies pushing people through the gate.
and the people are all beaten within inches of their lives,
now those fascist pigs they want to spread another filthy lie...

[chorus]

XI.
i'll resist this war for empire, i'll stop it in its tracks,
my sisters didn't die so we could kill the people of iraq.
and all the guided missiles launched from all the ships at sea,
in three million years can never bring my brothers back to me.
you can wage war on the world, until every coffin's filled,
but your leaders can't protect you they can only get you killed.

[chorus]

XII.
i stood beside your shoulder, and we raised our voices high.
and i'll keep your name close to my heart until the day i die.
with every fleeting moment, and with every passing year,
so long as i recall your voice i've nothing left to fear.
for in our hearts there beats a power that outlives their blazing guns,
and we will not give up this fight, until the day we've won...
Labels: anarchy, anti-war, Brad Will, Desert Rat, Jordan Feder, Tear Gas Anthem, WTO

People act shocked when something like Kent State happens??????? OMG, this is America I hear them say.......... WELL, the following is what my reality of America has always been........ oh yeah and BTW, one of the guys from my high school class came home and I cannot remember for sure if he'd lost both arms and legs or just his legs..... (Sowy Tommy but it's been a long long time since last we met but I do remember how sorry I felt that WE couldn't have done more to get you home before this happened to you....... anyways Tommy's gone now R.I.P) ........ but he did have kids when he came back and he and his wife named their daughter -DEDRA...

Vietnam War Footage-Music Video-Run Through The Jungle youtube

Real Vietnam Footage With music by CCR youtube

Four Dead in Kent State Protests youtube

Tin soldiers and Nixon's comin'.
We're finally on our own.
This summer I hear the drummin'.
Four dead in Ohio.

Gotta get down to it.
Soldiers are gunning us down.
Should have been done long ago.
What if you knew her and
Found her dead on the ground?
How can you run when you know?

Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na.
Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na.
Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na.
Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na.

Gotta get down to it.
Soldiers are cutting us down.
Should have been done long ago.
What if you knew her and
Found her dead on the ground?
How can you run when you know?

Tin soldiers and Nixon's comin'.
We're finally on our own.
This summer I hear the drummin'.
Four dead in Ohio.
Four dead in Ohio.
Four dead in Ohio.
Four dead in Ohio.
Four dead in Ohio.
Four dead in Ohio.
Four dead in Ohio.
Four dead in Ohio.
Four dead in Ohio.
Four dead in Ohio.