Edgar Lee Masters

The Town Marshal

The Prohibitionists made me Town Marshal
When the saloons were voted out,
Because when I was a drinking man,
Before I joined the church, I killed a Swede
At the saw-mill near Maple Grove.
And they wanted a terrible man,
Grim, righteous, strong, courageous,
And a hater of saloons and drinkers,
To keep law and order in the village.
And they presented me with a loaded cane
With which I struck Jack McGuire
Before he drew the gun with which he killed me.
The Prohibitionists spent their money in vain
To hang him, for in a dream
I appeared to one of the twelve jurymen
And told him the whole secret story.
Fourteen years were enough for killing me.

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Edgar Lee Masters

Jack McGuire

They would have lynched me
Had I not been secretly hurried away
To the jail at Peoria.
And yet I was going peacefully home,
Carrying my jug, a little drunk,
When Logan, the marshal, halted me,
Called me a drunken hound and shook me,
And, when I cursed him for it, struck me
With that Prohibition loaded cane --
All this before I shot him.
They would have hanged me except for this:
My lawyer, Kinsey Keene, was helping to land
Old Thomas Rhodes for wrecking the bank,
And the judge was a friend of Rhodes
And wanted him to escape,
And Kinsey offered to quit on Rhodes
For fourteen years for me.
And the bargain was made. I served my time
And learned to read and write.

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Don't Let The Bastards Get You Down

They're killing babies in the name of Freedom
We've been down that sorry road before
They let us hang around a little longer than they should have
And it's too late to fool us anymore
We've seen the ones who killed the ones with vision
Cold-blooded murder right before your eyes
Today they hold the power and the money and the guns
It's getting hard to listen to their lies.
Chorus:
And I've just got to wonder what my Daddy would've done
If he'd seen the way they turned his dream around
I've got to go by what he told me, try to tell the truth
And stand your ground
DON'T LET THE BASTARDS GET YOU DOWN
Mining roads
Killing farmers
Burning down schools full of children
Fighting communism
Chorus:
And I've just got to wonder what my Daddy would've done
If he'd seen the way they turned his dream around
I've got to go by what he told me, try to tell the truth
And stand your ground
DON'T LET THE BASTARDS GET YOU DOWN

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Don't Let The Bastards

They're killing babies in the name of freedom
We've been down that sorry road before
They let us hang around a little longer than they should have
And it's too late to fool us anymore
We've seen the ones who killed the ones with vision
Cold-blooded murder right before your eyes
Today they hold the power and the money and the guns
It's getting hard to listen to their lies.
Chorus:
And i've just got to wonder what my daddy would've done
If he'd seen the way they turned his dream around
I've got to go by what he told me, try to tell the truth
And stand your ground
Don't let the bastards get you down
Mining roads
Killing farmers
Burning down schools full of children
Fighting communism
Chorus:
And i've just got to wonder what my daddy would've done
If he'd seen the way they turned his dream around
I've got to go by what he told me, try to tell the truth
And stand your ground
Don't let the bastards get you down

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All The Love I Ever Had

Key c all the love I ever had written and recorded by hank williams
(c) one time you know I (g7) loved you (c) true,
There was (g7) nothing I wouldnt (c) do,
But you have treated me so (f) bad,
You killed (c) all the (g7) love I ever (c) had.
You leave me alone and run around,
You were the talk of the town,
It made you glad to see me sad,
You killed all the love I ever had.
No one knows the torture I went through,
Loving you and knowing you were untrue,
Its over now and Im so glad,
You killed all the love I ever had.
All these years Ive set and cried,
A thousand times my poor soul died,
You have treated me so bad,
You killed all the love I ever had.

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Dream I Killed God

Dream I killed God and woke up
Dream I killed God and woke up
Hes begging please, please, please.
No, dont....
Dream I killed God and woke up
Time dries, time dries my mind
Oh, Ill survive, no one can save us
Talk to myself, talk to my soul
I want you to follow
Yes, follow...
Its only...its only a dream, only
Dream I killed God and woke up
He was lying, bleeding and wishing
Its passing
Its passing
Dream I killed god
Dream I killed god
Is he dead?
And then I dreamt of him

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They Killed Them!

my hero when i was a kid
was Crazy Horse.... they killed him!
my mother wanted me to be
a preacher, so i read about Jesus,
and His life... they killed Him!
when i was nine years old,
and in the fourth grade,
they killed JFK in Dallas....
just before he pulled us
out of the Vietnam lie......

by this time i had questions,
i knew something was wrong....
they went on to kill Martin Luther King,
Robert Kennedy, Malcolm X......
anybody that stood up for
what they believed.....
they killed them!

the fear of ignorant apathy,
the murderer that betrays humanity!

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The Immortals

I killed them, but they would not die.
Yea! all the day and all the night
For them I could not rest or sleep,
Nor guard from them nor hide in flight.

Then in my agony I turned
And made my hands red in their gore.
In vain - for faster than I slew
They rose more cruel than before.

I killed and killed with slaughter mad;
I killed till all my strength was gone.
And still they rose to torture me,
For Devils only die in fun.

I used to think the Devil hid
In women’s smiles and wine’s carouse.
I called him Satan, Balzebub.
But now I call him, dirty louse.

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His Song

it is natural that he can be mistaken
as the mad man
at noon he demands that all street lights
be switched on
he says the town is as dark as the night
without the stars and the moon

he proclaims that God is killed by
all these self-righteous people of his town
that God is crucified again and that there
is no Veronica who wipes the blood
from his brow

his song is the song of doubt
he says it is the only certain thing

there is only Nothing
and Nietzche is coming over to strengthen
those that never killed him

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Rudyard Kipling

The Story of Uriah

Jack Barrett went to Quetta
Because they told him to.
He left his wife at Simla
On three-fourths his monthly screw.
Jack Barrett died at Quetta
Ere the next month's pay he drew.

Jack Barrett went to Quetta.
He didn't understand
The reason of his transfer
From the pleasant mountain-land.
The season was September,
And it killed him out of hand.

Jack Barrett went to Quetta
And there gave up the ghost,
Attempting two men's duty
In that very healthy post;
And Mrs. Barrett mourned for him
Five lively months at most.

Jack Barrett's bones at Quetta
Enjoy profound repose;
But I shouldn't be astonished
If now his spirit knows
The reason of his transfer
From the Himalayan snows.

And, when the Last Great Bugle Call
Adown the Hurnai throbs,
And the last grim joke is entered
In the big black Book of Jobs.
And Quetta graveyards give again
Their victims to the air,
I shouldn't like to be the man
Who sent Jack Barrett there.

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Buenas Tardes Amigo

Buenas tardes amigo
Hola, my good friend
Cinco de mayos on tuesday
And I hoped wed see each other again
You killed my brother last winter
You shot him three times in the back
In the night I still hear mama weeping
Oh mama, still dresses in black
I looked at every fiesta
For you I wanted to greet
Maybe Id sell you a chicken
With poison interlaced with the meat
You... you look like my brother
Mama loved him the best
He was head honcho with the ladies
Mama always said he was blessed
The village all gathered around him
They couldnt believe what they saw
I said it was you that had killed him
And that Id find you and upstand the law
The people of the village believed me
Mama... she wanted revenge
I told her Id see that she was honored
Id find you and put you to death
So now... now that Ive found you
On this such a joyous day
I tell you it was me who killed him
But the truth Ill never have to say
Buenas tardes amigo
Hola, my good friend
Cinco de mayos on tuesday
And I hoped wed see each other again
Yes, I hoped wed see each other again
I hoped wed see each other again

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Transformation Scene

A plain building was removed to a pleasant grove, and in a
few weeks it was transformed into the neatest frame
building in town.

As westward we of late did rove
We beheld in the maple grove
An old church now owned by Peter ;
In town there is no house looks neater,
For those bay windows do look sweeter
Than anything in prose or meter.

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Jack's Confession Sonnet

Jack O'reilly:

Father I think you can guess why I left
I was only fifteen years old that time
nobody knew me, it wasn't for theft
I had to leave Manchester, for my crime
was exactly what you are thinking now
it was no coincidence, Lucas died
and it is clear to me your thinking how
Lucas had to go, all true to us tried
but nobody knew me I was a boy
my father never wanted me to fight
I took his gun and used it like a toy
I killed Lucas and I did what was right
because he killed my dad, I moved away
four years ago, I confess death that day.

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Ma Baker

She was the meanest cat
In old chicago town
She was the meanest cat
She really moved them down
She had no heart at all
No no no heart at all
She was the meanest cat
Oh she was really tough
She left her husband flat
He wasnt tough enough
She took her boys along
cos they were mean and strong
Ma ma ma ma - ma baker - she taught her four sons
Ma ma ma ma - ma baker - to handle their guns
Ma ma ma ma - ma baker - she never could cry
Ma ma ma ma - ma baker - but she knew how to die
They left a trail of crime
Across the u.s.a.
And when one boy was killed
She really made them pay
She had no heart at all
No no no heart at all
Ma ma ma ma - ma baker - she taught her four sons
Ma ma ma ma - ma baker - to handle their guns
Ma ma ma ma - ma baker - she never could cry
Ma ma ma ma - ma baker - but she knew how to die
She met a man she liked
She thought shed stay with him
One day he formed with them
They did away with him
She didnt care at all
Just didnt care at all
- here is a special bulletin.
Ma baker is the fbis most wanted woman.
Her photo is hanging on every post office wall.
If you have any information about this woman,
Please contact the nearest police station...
- dont anybody move! the money or your lives!
One day they robbed a bank
It was their last foray
The cops appeared too soon
They couldnt get away
And all the loot they had
It made them mighty mad
And so they shot it out
Ma baker and her sons
They didnt want to hang
They died with blazing guns
And so the story ends
Of one who left no friends
Ma ma ma ma - ma baker - she taught her four sons
Ma ma ma ma - ma baker - to handle their guns
Ma ma ma ma - ma baker - she never could cry
Ma ma ma ma - ma baker - but she knew how to die
Ma ma ma ma - ma baker - she taught her four sons
Ma ma ma ma - ma baker - to handle their guns
Ma ma ma ma - ma baker - she never could cry
Ma ma ma ma - ma baker - but she knew how to die

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Edgar Lee Masters

Nellie Clark

I was only eight years old;
And before I grew up and knew what it meant
I had no words for it, except
That I was frightened and told my Mother;
And that my Father got a pistol
And would have killed Charlie, who was a big boy,
Fifteen years old, except for his Mother.
Nevertheless the story clung to me.
But the man who married me, a widower of thirty-five,
Was a newcomer and never heard it
Till two years after we were married.
Then he considered himself cheated,
And the village agreed that I was not really a virgin.
Well, he deserted me, and I died
The following winter.

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God Almighty never intended that the devil should triumph over the Church. He never intended that the saloons should walk rough-shod over Christianity.

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I Killed The Cat

damn i killed the cat
i can't believe it
a well placed kick killed
the cat yet no remorse
wait is that a smile
yea peaceful nights now
you waking up for cats yea
but no its not your life to take
you killed a living thing
it only a cat
there no where near extinction
so you have no problem
no the kids loved it
how do i explain it to them
ooh bury it and say it ran away
but they will be sad
sad! what sad face never killed
no one but my boot did
it collided in its tiny skull
it moaned till it pass
my god i killed the cat
i killed the cat

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The Art Of Killing

he never for once
imagined that he could kill

killing
the simple thought of killing
makes him puke

he tried once
killing a fruit fly
in a snap
reasoning that it infected
its dessert
that whole night
he could not sleep
for he was
worn with guilt

his brother is a moron
the worst in class
makes most of the fame
by killing
many fruit flies


he is the top of his class
but he laughs at him
short of respect
for his fear of killing

'it is a phobia' his brother says
and just like everything else
runs berserk and
becomes an unreasonable
generalization

let me cut this story short
he did not make money
waddled in poverty and
feared the art of killing

helpless n& useless in-himself
his wife
deserted him and his kids
lost that respect
because he will never kill
a fly again

i do not want to make this
story long and
agonizing,

know what?
he killed himself.

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Even if one takes every reefer madness allegation of the prohibitionists at face value, marijuana prohibition has done far more harm to far more people than marijuana ever could.

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American Skin

41 shots
41 shots
41 shots
41 shots
41 shots
41 shots
41 shots
41 shots
41 shots, and we'll take that ride
Across this bloody river to the other side
41 shots, they cut through the night
You're kneeling over his body in the vestibule
Praying for his life
Is it a gun?
Is it a knife?
Is it a wallet?
This is your life
It ain't no secret (it ain't no secret)
It ain't no secret (it ain't no secret)
Ain't no secret my friend
You can get killed just for living in your american skin
41 shots
41 shots
41 shots
41 shots
41 shots, lena gets her son ready for school
She says now on these streets charles
You got to understand the rules
Promise me if an officer stops you'll always be polite
Never ever run away and promise mama you'll keep your hands in sight
Cause is it a gun?
Is it a knife?
Is it a wallet?
This is your life
It ain't no secret (it ain't no secret)
It ain't no secret (it ain't no secret)
No secret my friend
You can get killed just for living in your american skin
41 shots
41 shots
41 shots
41 shots
Is it a gun?
Is it a knife?
Is it a wallet?
This is your life
It ain't no secret (it ain't no secret)
It ain't no secret (it ain't no secret)
It ain't no secret (it ain't no secret)
41 shots and we'll take that ride
Across this bloody river to the other side
41 shots my boots caked in mud
We're baptized in these waters and in each other's blood
Is it a gun?
Is it a knife?
Is it a wallet?
This is your life
It ain't no secret (it ain't no secret)
It ain't no secret (it ain't no secret)
No secret my friend
You can get killed just for living in
You can get killed just for living in
You can get killed just for living in
Your american skin
41 shots
41 shots
41 shots
41 shots
41 shots
41 shots
41 shots

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Jesse James

(neil morris)
I'll tell you about jesse and frank james
My grandfather was personally acquainted with them
My grandfather lived in the southern edge of baxter county, arkansas
And they stayed all night with him lots of nights
And my grandfather told me there was a lot of those robberies that was layed to jesse and frank james
And he knew they didn't do it 'cause they was at his place when it happened
But you couldn't tell the public that
When they get their minds made up that somebody's done something
Why the public's gonna stick to it anyway
My grandfather, he knew them as boys
And they could come to his place and go without anybody paying attention 'cause nobody expected them
Down in arkansas, see, 'cause they was from missouri
Now that's the story that my grandfather told me when i was just a boy
And he said that frank james, at that world's fair,
I think it was 1901 in st. louis him and jesse were both there
My grandfather and frank james were together there
And that frank james offered to bring jesse there alive
He said that the man that the ford boys killed wasn't jesse james at all
But the fellow they killed was just about the size of jesse and he was red headed
And he wasn't any relation to the fords
See, jesse james was a known cousin to charles and bob ford
That's what my grandfather said
He said jesse and frank were not even in that part of the country when that fellow was killed
And the ford boys, why, they collected a thousand dollars for killing jesse james!
Now the song says that the ford boys killed jesse
None of us up here in the mountains believe that, no sir!

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