BLACK SPARTACUS HEART ATTACK MACHINE

 

History’s not made

By presidents or popes

Or kings or queens or generals

Or CIA kingpins runnin’ dope

History’s not made

By nine robed men

Or billionaires or bankers

It’s not made by them

 

Black Spartacus Heart Attack Machine

 

Might throw a little money ‘round

Wonderin’ who can be bought

Some might find they’re weaker

Some stronger than they thought

Well, I’ll stand or fall right here

In my country, in my home

I used to think I was alone

I ain’t alone no more

 

Black Spartacus Heart Attack Machine

 

Hollow box

Steel string

Union made

Let freedom ring

 

Me and my people are hungry

Me and my people are through

Me and my people are ready

Me and my people are just about due

I’m a massive air strike on a beautiful night

Yeah, this is my song I’m singin’

Somebody better start countin’

We’re comin’ out and we’re comin’ out swingin’

 

Black Spartacus Heart Attack Machine

 

THE DOGS OF TIJUANA

 

We are the dogs of Tijuana

Filled with garbage and stones

In the streets and in the fields

Cursed and crushed beneath the wheels

But together we are strong

Our songs echo in the darkness

Down the machiladora’s halls

Where Brother Solomon was tortured

The one tree in the orchard

Casts a shadow on the wall

 

The way is hard and long

But the dogs are coming home

 

We are the dogs of Tijuana

Left for dead in the ravine

In the arroyos and the valleys

The sewers and the alleys

We shiver and we dream

So, don’t stop to ask directions

If you think you’ve lost your way

The wrath of the lion

Is the wisdom of God

And every dog has its day

 

The way is hard and long

But the dogs are coming home

 

We crossed the tin can cardboard slums

And to these pastures came

Into the hands of wicked men

Sold by the hands of strangers

There’ll be no silver lining, friend

Of that I’m sure

So, shake my hand one last time

‘Cause brother, this is war

 

We are the dogs of Tijuana

Watching every road into town

A rising sea without a shore

Right outside your door

So, why weep now?

 

The way is hard and long

But tonight we’re coming home

 

We are the dogs of Tijuana

Howling in the night

The world will not end in fire

It will not end in ice

It will end when we arrive

 

 

IT BEGINS TONIGHT

 

I’m red, I’m black, I’m city born

Mau Mau scarecrow, far from home

I’m faceless, nameless, right or wrong

I’m fearless, hopeless, sing my song

Out go the lights

It begins tonight

 

On stage with borrowed angel’s sword

And a crossword puzzle of stolen chords

I’m alive but those I love are gone

Let’s move tonight and take the throne

Out go the lights

It begins tonight

 

Oh lord, it begins tonight

Oh lord, oh lord, it begins tonight

Oh lord, oh lord, it begins tonight

Cell door clicks open

I come alive

Oh lord, it begins tonight

 

I followed the rules

What did that bring?

Looked just where you told me

I never found a thing

Yeah, I see all the jewels

Gold and diamonds glistenin’

I see your mouth movin’

But man I ain’t listenin’

 

Sun and moon and stone and mud

A bottle of whiskey and a pint of blood

I’ll burn my way to the sea

‘Til all are dead or all are free

Out go the lights

It begins tonight

 

Oh lord, it begins tonight

Oh lord, oh lord, it begins tonight

Oh lord, oh lord, it begins tonight

Cell door clicks open

I come alive

Oh lord, it begins tonight

 

 

SAVE THE HAMMER FOR THE MAN   

 

I hurt the gentlest souls

I robbed my wife and son

I turned my back on troubles

Troubles I’d begun

I cut a swath of pain and loss

In the hallways of my home

In the quiet of my room

I know the things I’ve done

 

Save the hammer for the man

Save the hammer for the man

It’s the calling of the wretched

It’s the rising of the damned

Save the hammer for the man

 

I was driven from the city

In the wilderness I stand

In the cleansing rain and silence

I made my battle plan

Alone I march toward freedom

Leaving footprints ‘cross the land

With a vow that’s left unspoken

Save the hammer for the man

 

Save the hammer for the man

Save the hammer for the man

Never too far down the wrong road

To turn back and change your plan

Save the hammer for the man

 

I leaned against a hot murder wind

Beneath a hateful rain

Politics, apocalypse

Start to look the same

The price of my redemption

Will mean the end of many things

The ransom for my soul

The blood of generals and kings

 

Save the hammer for the man

Save the hammer for the man

I’ve sinned and I have suffered

And it feels good in my hands

Save the hammer for the man

 

I was driven from the city

In the wilderness I stand

In the cleansing rain and silence

I made my battle plan

I will whisper words of freedom

I will swing hard as I can

Lord knows the time is coming

Save the hammer for the man

 

Save the hammer for the man

Save the hammer for the man

If the fire’s hot enough

Iron and steel will bend

Save the hammer for the man

 

Save the hammer for the man

Save the hammer for the man

I will whisper words of freedom

I will swing hard as I can

Save the hammer for the man

 

I will whisper words of freedom

I will swing hard as I can

 

 

THE FIFTH HORSEMAN OF THE APOCALYPSE

 

Dead saint on my necklace

Whiskey in my hand

Razor in my pocket

Baby, I’m your man

 

I signed up to play and then it hit me

Gotta nice leather jacket but it don’t quite fit me

I welcomed back all those who quit me

But I’m leavin’ tonight before they come and get me

 

Righteous men and scoundrels

Banded together to stop The Four

They burned witches, they pounded nails

Then The Fifth Horseman came and tipped the scales

 

Slow resistance, I have seen it

Yeah, I said that too but I didn’t mean it

The word is war, you did not dream it

You made the mess but I’m gonna clean it

 

Righteous men and scoundrels

Banded together to stop The Four

They burned witches, they pounded nails

Then The Fifth Horseman came and tipped the scales

 

Jaw teeth as knives to snatch the greedy

And plead the cause of the poor and needy

Been savin’ up to finally purchase

The courage to harm those who deserve it

 

Righteous men and scoundrels

Banded together to stop The Four

They burned witches, they pounded nails

Then The Fifth Horseman came and tipped the scales

 

I’m not there yet but I’m gettin’ close

I eat gravel at the side of the road

I smell of blood and kerosene

What’s rarely done is rarely seen

 

 

SPEAK AND MAKE LIGHTNING

 

So, stand in line and state your name

The first one’s sacred, the rest profane

Speak and make lightning and then confess

Her children rise up and call her blessed

Shards of bone scattered cross the clearing

The fears she had were well worth fearing

I’m pacing and worrying all night and day

Neither you nor your momma do a single thing I say

 

Speak and make lightning and it will pass

Speak and make lightning and I will stand fast

On an icy road north of Edmonton

Speak and make lightning and it will come

 

I wanna kiss your cheek, I wanna hold you tight

But you took your pills and you’re out tonight

Speak and make lightning, forget the rest

And enter the fields of the fatherless

I lost almost everything, so I’m almost free

I was trying to tell you, you wouldn’t listen to me

I’m driving up the hill to a place others call my home

It’s just where I go

 

Speak and make lightning and it will pass

Speak and make lightning and I will stand fast

Tell me how bad you really want it, son

Speak and make lightning and it will come

 

If you can’t stand me, you’ll hate my replacement

All my heroes are late with their payments

Speak and make lightning, remember my face

And spoil not my resting place

Line to the horizon, first man to last

On a warm autumn day I lay in the grass

The house is quiet, a silent wind

Love covers all sins

 

Speak and make lightning and it will pass

Speak and make lightning and I will stand fast

In the attic there’s an old Gatling gun

Speak and make lightning and it will come

 

 

FACING MOUNT KENYA

 

Black for the skin

Green for the land

Red for the blood

Steady freedom’s hand

Alone with the wind

I am only one man

Facing Mount Kenya

 

Facing Mount Kenya

Holding time

Facing Mount Kenya

Facing Mount Kenya

Holding time

Facing Mount Kenya

 

Brace for the day

Sing for the past

Listen to the memory

In the stone and grass

Who make the wind?

I’m only one man

Facing Mount Kenya

 

Facing Mount Kenya

Holding time

Facing Mount Kenya

Facing Mount Kenya

Holding time

Facing Mount Kenya

Facing Mount Kenya

Holding time

Facing Mount Kenya

Facing Mount Kenya

Holding time

Facing Mount Kenya

It’s time

 

On the big plantation

In the ghetto and slum

In the president’s palace

In the Mau Mau drum

Wind gon’ howl, I’m only one man

Wind gon’ howl, I’m only one man

Wind gon’ howl, I’m only one man

Facing Mount Kenya

 

Facing Mount Kenya

Holding time

Facing Mount Kenya

Facing Mount Kenya

Holding time

Facing Mount Kenya

Facing Mount Kenya

Holding time

Facing Mount Kenya

Facing Mount Kenya

Holding time

Facing Mount Kenya

It’s time

Facing Mount Kenya

Holding time

Facing Mount Kenya

It’s time

 

 

THE WHIRLWIND

 

From zero to sixty

In one or two lifetimes

Can’t find the criminal

Just follow the pipeline

I’ll sing for my supper

Of fuel sand and shot

And pray that the cannons

Will pound the guilt I’ve got

Unwilling to negotiate

They fire from the precipice

An army of grizzlies

Divide up the rest of us

The problem I have

With the movie is just that

The cameras were shaky

And just missed the bloodbath

 

An ash-covered highway

Silent and frozen

I dreamed that you held me

It was me you were holdin’

I stood in the whirlwind

Of shrapnel and sawdust

Outside of the motel

And then it was just us

 

The borders are closin’

No one goes in or out

The assets all frozen

In sixteen Swiss bank accounts

A red raging migraine

A fear of hegemony

I looked back, I heard the shot

My friend said, “Wasn’t me”

How can you sit back and wait?

The battle is raging

Hold on man, I’m comin’

Just straightening my cage first

Three hundred closed caskets

A world famous symphony

Of angry ghosts singin’

And marching from Wounded Knee

 

An ash-covered highway

Silent and frozen

I dreamed that you held me

It was me you were holdin’

I stood in the whirlwind

Of shrapnel and sawdust

Outside of the motel

And then it was just us

 

A colonial investment

In steel ore and iron

The natives are restless

Can’t blame ‘em for tryin’

The lightning blows through

The legion it enters

The hail it follows

And smashes the center

I sit ‘round the table

Of strangers and friends

My dad knows it’s comin’

Still, he pretends

My brother, he smiles

Reveals the secret

The stepmother shudders

She just can’t believe it

 

An ash-covered highway

Silent and frozen

I dreamed that you held me

It was me you were holdin’

I stood in the whirlwind

Of shrapnel and sawdust

Outside of the motel

And then it was just us

 

 

STRAY BULLETS

 

Wooah oh oh

Ayy ee yay

I I I sail away

Wooah oh oh

Ayy ee yay

Slide on down

Wooah oh oh

Ayy ee yay

What is lost

You gave away

Stray bullets rainin’ on

Down, down, down

Stray bullets rainin’ on down

 

Me and Danny Lord and Steve

Were fuckin’ drunk on New Year’s Eve

Singin,’ drinkin,’ playin’ guitars

Layin’ ‘round

We pulled the shotgun out the shed and

Fired it towards the heavens

Stray bullets rainin’ on down

 

Wooah oh oh

Ayy ee yay

I I I sail away

Wooah oh oh

Ayy ee yay

Slide on down

Wooah oh oh

Ayy ee yay

What is lost

You gave away

Stray bullets rainin’ on

Down, down, down

Stray bullets rainin’ on down

 

Back of an Ace uncovered truck

The captain laughed and said, “Good luck”

As we rolled on through

Our first Iraqi town

From the rooftop we got blasted

Danny Lord’s spine came unfastened

Stray bullets rainin’ on down

 

Wooah oh oh

Ayy ee yay

I I I sail away

Wooah oh oh

Ayy ee yay

Slide on down

Wooah oh oh

Ayy ee yay

What was is lost

You gave away

Stray bullets rainin’ on

Down, down, down

Stray bullets rainin’ on down

 

Fifteen months lost in Iraq

We got stop-lossed, they sent us back

Why the fuck we’re even here I’ll never know

Me and Steve, we went out walkin’

A few of us have started talkin’

And now we’ve got a mission of our own

 

Wooah oh oh

Ayy ee yay

I I I sail away

Wooah oh oh

Ayy ee yay

Slide on down

Wooah oh oh

Ayy ee yay

What was is lost

You gave away

Stray bullets rainin’ on

Down, down, down

Stray bullets rainin’ on down

 

‘Cuz now were comin’ for the captain

To reap the seeds he’s sewn

Everybody hit the deck

‘Cuz his tent’s about to blow

Tell the general when we find him

He’ll be the next to go

We’re coming for the captain

And then we’re going home

 

Wooah oh oh

Ayy ee yay

I I I sail away

Wooah oh oh

Ayy ee yay

Slide on down

Wooah oh oh

Ayy ee yay

What was is lost

You gave away

Stray bullets rainin’ on

Down, down, down

Stray bullets rainin’ on down

 

 

BRANDING IRON

 

At the textile plant

There’s sixteen dead

There’s a hornet’s nest

Inside my head

My daughter’s gone

She won’t be back

Behind chained doors

They burned to black

 

Parked down the street

From the convenience store

I been keepin’ a secret

In my top dresser drawer

Red light flashin’

Siren comin’ loud

The trap is sprung

I greet the crowd

 

I’m a thousand tornados

Screamin’ cross the plains

I’m Gabriel’s Horn

On Judgment Day

I’m months of darkness

I’m years of rain

God’s branding iron

Bears my name

 

There is no tether

To hold me back

There is no answer

There is no path

There is no reason

There is no end

There’s just regret

There’s just revenge

Tonight the tower

Bells will chime

Clear and true

One final time

 

I’m a thousand tornados

Screamin’ cross the plains

I’m Gabriel’s Horn

On Judgment Day

I’m months of darkness

I’m years of rain

God’s branding iron

Bears my name

 

I’m making a list

And checking it twice

You name the place

I name the price

If you’re feelin’ lucky

Then hold your breath

And wave goodbye

When nothing’s left

 

Parked down the street

From the convenience store

I been keepin’ a secret

I won’t keep anymore

I’m months of darkness

I’m years of rain

God’s branding iron

Bears my name

 

 

WORLD WIDE REBEL SONGS

 

World Wide Rebel Songs

Sing out loud all night long

Hang on man, it won’t be long

World Wide Rebel Songs!

 

In the alleys of Harare

The tenements of London town

Where there’s voices raised and barricades

Believe me, man, I’m down

Tyrants, bloodsuckers and bagmen

Got us pickin’ through the crumbs

Raise your voices all together

Motherfucker, here we come

 

World Wide Rebel Songs

Sing out loud all night long

Hang on man, it won’t be long

World Wide Rebel Songs!

 

In the hallowed pubs of Ireland

In Nairobi’s sprawling slums

In Korea open fire

With the guitar, bass and drums

Down in Gaza, down in Fresno

Out your door and down your street

Are ya gonna stand around

Or are you gonna be free?

 

World Wide Rebel Songs

Sing out loud all night long

Hang on man, it won’t be long

World Wide Rebel Songs!

 

I was born here and I’ll die here

You can’t drive me away

Freedom’s train has left the station

And it’s pullin’ in today

We won’t be coming home tonight, love

The fight has just begun

So raise your voices all together

Motherfucker, here we come

 

World Wide Rebel Songs

Sing out loud all night long

Hang on man, it won’t be long

World Wide Rebel Songs!

 

 

 GOD HELP US ALL

 

I stood upon the platform

And waited for the train

The first stop was redemption

And the whistle called my name

 

God help us all

God help us all

God help us all

God help us all, we’re sufferin’

God help us all, we’re lost

God help us all, we’re wanderin’

With no future and no hope

God help us all, we’re sick

Of cryin’ all these tears

God help us all

‘Cause we are all that we feared

 

I stood among the faithful

And raised my banner high

I held my breath with wonder

In the cold October night

 

God help us all

God help us all

God help us all

God help us all, we’re wanderin’

God help us all, we’re lost

God help us all, we’re sufferin’

With no future and no hope

God help us all, we’re sick

Of cryin’ all these tears

God help us all

‘Cause we are all that we feared

 

They showed me on the TV

Above the ivy and the brick

My face glowed with salvation

But the light was playing tricks

 

And in the tomb like silence

I walked with my head down

Another broken spirit

In a broken-hearted town

 

God help us all

God help us all

God help us all

God help us all, we’re sufferin’

God help us all, we’re lost

God help us all, we’re wanderin’

With no future and no hope

God help us all, we’re sick

Of cryin’ all these tears

God help us all

‘Cause we are all that we feared

 

UNION TOWN (Bonus Track)        

 

Good memories are forever

Said the dog on the tombstone

If you’re livin’ underneath a bridge, man

All roads lead to home

I gotta hidden flask and I’m paid in cash

Gotta cross above my bed

I hitchhiked from Chicago

And a man walked up and said

 

This is a union town, a union town

All down the line

This is a union town, a union town

All down the line

And if you come to strip our rights away

We’ll give you hell every time

This is a union town, a union town

All down the line

 

Today the policeman’s a union man

Brother firefighter’s my friend

And the kids locked in the Capitol

Are fighting ‘til the end

And we’re not gonna break tonight

And we’re not gonna bend

Some say the union’s down

But I asked around

And everybody said

 

This is a union town, a union town

All down the line

This is a union town, a union town

All down the line

And if they come to strip our rights away

We’ll give ‘em hell every time

This is a union town, a union town

All down the line

 

For every action, a reaction

Equal and opposite

That’s why, my friend, the blood tastes good

Every time I’m hit

I gotta will to win and a Cheshire grin

The Nightwatchman is near

And you can’t get it where you’re at

But you can sure get it here

So, come rain or sleet or dark of night

Come wind or frigid snow

There’s 100,000 in the street

And that number’s gonna grow

And when we put the governor on trial

I’ll be in the front row

Just take a look around

We’re a union town

One, two, three, four – let’s go!

 

This is a union town, a union town

All down the line

This is a union town, a union town

All down the line

And if they come to strip our rights away

We’ll give ‘em hell every time

This is a union town, a union town

All down the line