World War II Lessons That We're Still Fighting
Summer of 1966
I had been working
Since I turned eighteen
As an apprentice pressman
It was summertime in San Francisco
I got to work full time so in the Fall
I could afford to work part-time
And go to college
My dad had been
A newspaper pressman
Since he returned home
From WW II in the Pacific
He got me my job at the Chronicle
That was how you got union jobs
You had to know someone
Who was already working there
That's why no Blacks were in our union
None worked upstairs either
To report there were none
Working on the presses downstairs
My dad was only seventeen
When he and his buddies
Signed up for the Navy
Right after Pearl Harbor
His graduation was in North Carolina
Learning how to be a tail-gunner
Getting ready to ship out and find out
What the wide white line was for
Painted down the middle of the floor
Of the hall where the band played loud
While young men danced with women
Most would never see again
The local civilians thought
Concessions were being made
By even allowing them
In the building
But my dad saw firsthand
They knew their place
One side of the dance floor
Restrooms bar and buffet tables
Where for Whites Only
Sailors Waves nurses and
Local white females
Waiting to dance and be held
The other side of the line
Not to be crossed
Its restrooms bar and separate buffet
Were for the Blacks
They all danced
To the same music
Only careful not to cross
That wide white painted line
Summer of 1966
We danced in Golden Gate Park
Silly us - - - Did we think we had erased
That wide white dividing line
poem by Tom J. Mariani
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White Hat White Coat
To the late doug whalan.... from your daughter.....
White hat white coat and greying in hair
he would dance around the dance floor with plenty of flair
White hat white coat black pants to boot
the men would all say 'silly old coot'
Whitehat white coat and a big friendly smile
when he went to a dance he'd dress in style
White hat white coat and a beat in his feet
it's of to the dance and people to meet
White hat white coat and a scotch on the rocks he'd love to dance
and the men would all mock
White hat white coat asleep at the wheel
he's danced all night 'boy i know how he feels'
White hat white coat have been put to the test
it's time to go home for a well earned rest
White hat white coat clean shirt and socks too
he's all geard up and ready for round two
White hat white coat so tired and run down
close your eyes and dream of your nights on the town
White hat white coat you've seen better days
your torn around the edges and your starting to fray
White hat white coat the time's come for us to part
but always remember ' i love you with all my heart '
poem by Debbie Gregory
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Down The Line
She met this guy, she thought he was kinda good lookin
Yeah she met this guy, she thought he was funny sometimes
His mom and daddy had a little money tucked away
They were someday bound to come down the line, to come down the line
He had a job but you could not call it working
She had cuban boyfriend out of town
Shed do anything in the world not to hurt him on down the line
Imagine that, on down the line
Well the old man caught her and he moved out last summer
Yeah she was down for awhile but she came around with time
She met a guy at work she thought was kinda good lookin
Yeah on down the line
Down the line...
song performed by by Tom Petty
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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We Wont Dance
We wont dance no more
We wont shine out on the floor
We wont sway the band wont play
We wont dance
I kid you not we were hot
When the weekend came wed dance non-stop
No jitterbug no substitute
No twist and turn no crasha nd burn
Could top us two
We wont dance no more
We wont shine out on the floor
We wont sway the band wont play
We wont dance
As I dipped you down in your yellow dress
Wed brush the floor in a slow caress
As minutes turned to a rising sun
Wed leave the day to rest
Our dancing done
We wont dance no more
We wont shine out on the floor
We wont sway the band wont play
We wont dance
If I were God and controlled what is
Id steal your shoes so you couldnt dance with his
Well Im not all that I could be
But youll never dance with him
The way you danced with me
We wont dance no more
We wont dance no more
Well Im not all that I could be
But youll never dance with him
The way you danced with me
We wont dance no more
We wont shine out on the floor
We wont sway the band wont play
We wont dance
We wont dance no more
We wont shine out on the floor
We wont sway the band wont play
We wont dance
song performed by by Vince Gill
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Working On The Highway
Friday nights pay night guys fresh out of work
Talking about the weekend scrubbing off the dirt
Some heading home to their families some looking to get hurt
Some going down to stovell wearing trouble on their shirts
I work for the county out on 95
All day I hold a red flag and watch the traffic pass me by
In my head I keep a picture of a pretty little miss
Someday mister Im gonna lead a better life than this
Working on the highway laying down the blacktop
Working on the highway all day long I dont stop
Working on the highway blasting through the bedrock
Working on the highway, working on the highway
I met her at a dance down at the union hall
She was standing with her brothers back up against the wall
Sometimes wed go walking down the union tracks
One day I looked straight at her and she looked straight back
Working on the highway...
I saved up my money and I put it all away
I went to see her daddy but we didnt have much to say
Son cant you see that shes just a little girl
She dont know nothing about this cruel cruel world
We lit out down to florida we got along all right
One day her brothers came and got her and they took me in a black and white
The prosecutor kept the promise that he made on that day
And the judge got mad and he put me straight away
I wake up every morning to the work bell clang
Me and the warden go swinging on the charlotte county road gang
Working on the highway...
song performed by by Bruce Springsteen
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Scottish Dance
I once had myself a Scottish Lassie
She then became my joy and pride
Then one-night she gave me Scottish ale
Then she became my Scottish bride
~We then danced around the table
We danced across the floor
We danced and danced all night long
And then we drank a little more~
She enjoyed to go out clubbing
Her family and mates I would meet
She was so exciting and loving
And when I grabbed her she said I was cheek...
I once had myself a Scottish Lassie
She was also my Scottish bride
She fed me Scottish eggs and Haggis
I got so sick I thought I had nearly died.
~So we danced around the table
We danced across the floor
We danced and danced all night long
And then we ate a little more.~
She took me out dancing
Where I would meet her friends and mates
She would drink and dance all night long
How I wished to go back to the states...
I once had myself a Scottish Lassie
She was also my Scottish wife
She told me she loved me with all of her heart
And together we would share the same life.
~So we danced around the table
We danced across the floor
We danced and danced all night long
And then we loved a little more~
I would take her out drinking
Every Friday and Saturday night
One thing she loved more than drinking or singing
My lassie she loved to argue and fight...
I once had myself a Scottish Lassie
But that was many years ago
I will always remember my Scottish Lassie
And the places that we use to go
~We would dance around the table
We would dance across the floor
We would dance and dance all night long
And then we would dance a little more~
Now I am alone and single
But her memories and thoughts I do keep
I remember the good-times and not the bad
So now I smile and I never weep
~So I dance around the table
I dance across the floor
I dance and dance all night long
And then I drink and dance a little more~
Randy L. McClave
poem by Randy McClave
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I am a man of black and white
I am a man of black and white,
my name is written on the gates of the sky.
i am a man of black and white
my origin is united, yet two apart.
I speak the language of the whites,
but lost in the language of the blacks.
i am a man of black and white,
my resemblance is same with the blacks.
I am a man of black and white,
i was brought up in the land of the whites.
i am a man of black and white,
my home is in the south-east, in the abode of my black dad.
I am a man of black and white,
i love the aspirations of life.
i am a man of black and white,
although two apart, we are united as one.
poem by Randy Micheal
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Renda Writer - Cubicle Cages
Work to live or live to work
For better or for worse
Most of us put work first
But what hurts worse
Is the world was built by blue shirts
But white shirts get respect first
It should be vice verse in the network
What's your net worth?
Evenly disperse
The paychecks and the perks
Who ever gets first
Is whoever knows how the network
And the experts
Do less work
While the rest work
Til' their heads hurt
Excessive stress and work
Is situation red alert
We're working for oppressive jerks
'Til our backs and our necks hurt
Interview is the first date
First impression
Flirt
Fired from a line of work
Surrounded by spineless lying jerks
Frowns surrounded by smirks
But now I'm outta work
Working hard or hardly working
This is hard
Cause not working hardly works
And it's hurting
Looking for a job in a city where jobs hide
All time jobless high
National debt is colossal sized
A need to eat and stay alive
Collides with human pride
War is prophesized
Even the prophets lie
And still jobs hide
Behind curtains of diversions
I'm nervous
Working on the side
Haven't found a job so far
Only found the sound of jinglin' change
Inside of an empty pocket
Listen close for the hot stock tip
Just to get to the top quick
And that's it
Now get back in your cage
poem by Renda Writer
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Life can be so surreal
When he first clapped eyes on her
you could have heard the clapping
in the next ballroom.
Then his eyes danced.
They disengaged themselves gracefully
as from a group of friends,
cut and coiled their stalks
as if some umbilical cord,
and danced.
They danced at eye-height, which seemed
appropriate, considering;
you'd have thought they'd danced together
all their lives, they danced so well together.
They danced the quickstep first, then
the foxtrot; then a sparkling jive. At
the end, they bowed to her, respectfully,
yet in a way as if they knew the score,
had an eye or two to the future.
Then, quite simply, they returned,
picked up where they had left off.
No hint of what had gone on, except perhaps
a whiter shade of white around their irises,
and still clearly lit up from their first fill of her;
for she was, we all agreed, an eyeful.
poem by Michael Shepherd
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Do You Still Dance?
The whispers in my mind are here again.
I know you don't hear them
but you're where they began.
I should have turned them off
when I had the chance
But the music played and then we danced.
*** Do you still dance baby without me in your arms?
Do you still dance without me?
Can you still hear the music whenever you're alone?
Can you hear the music without me?
I want to dance again, dance with you.
When I feel that beat all that I can do
is remember how it felt
when I danced with you
when the music played and we danced.
And those whispers from the past are still with me.
I know you don't hear them
'cause they're where you can't be
I should have turned them off
when I had the chance.
But the music played and then we danced
REPEAT *** Twice
Words and Music by
EDWINA REIZER
poem by Edwina Reizer
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Old Joe The Black Cattle Dog
Old Joe the black cattle dog has known a better day
Around his jaws he is looking rather gray
He still works cattle but at a much slower pace
A young dog is being trained to take his place,
Old Joe a great cattle dog from a great working line
Is getting old for working cattle at nine
Though still keen to work nowadays he easily tire
The old legs tiring though he still has the desire
To work at cattle but his owner Jimmy say
That Joe is nearing his final working day
He will retire him he has done enough
At his age working cattle for him is too tough
He was a renowned working dog in his prime
But dog and master must bow to father time.
poem by Francis Duggan
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White Cliff
There we were, side by side,
White cliffs in your eyes crashing waves in mine
Close together despite the great divide.
Walking along,
the edge of the world in one straight line.
You were affraid to fall but I enjoyed the view.
together we could,
have started anew.
I was affraid to leave, you had become my all
Together we could have jumped in the deep,
before the summer would fall.
Before you would have been submerged in the water,
Before the leaves lost their green,
We could have stayed there, we could have been,
In the place where white walls rise above, and nothing below,
But us and our love.
Sally Cant Dance
Sally dances on the floor
She says that she cant do it anymore
She walks down st. marks place
And eats natural food at my place
Now sally cant dance no more
She cant get off of the floor
Sally cant dance no more
They found her in the trunk of a ford
Ooohhh, she cant dance no more
Sally is loosing her face
She lives on st. marks place
In a rent-controlled apartment, eighty dollars a month
She has lots of fun, she has lots of fun, but
Sally cant dance no more, ooohhh
Sally cant dance no more
She took too much meth and cant get off the floor
Now sally, she cant dance no more
She was the first girl in the neighborhood
To wear tied-dyed pants, ah, like she should
She was the first girl that I ever seen
That had flowers painted on her jeans
She was the first girl in her neighborhood
Who got raped on tompkins square, real good
Now she wears a sword, like napoleon
And she kills the boys and acts like a son
Sally cant dance no more, ooohhh, now
Sally cant dance no more
She cant get herself off the floor, ah, huh
Sally, ooohhh, she cant dance no more
Watch this, now
Sally became a big model
She moved up to eighties and park
She had a studio apartment
And thats where she used to ball, folk singers
And thats where she used to ball, folk singers, but
Sally, she cant dance no more
Sally, she cant dance no more
Sally cant get herself off of the floor
Now, sally, she cant dance no more
(sally cant dance)
(sally cant dance)
She knew all the really right people
She went to le jardin
She danced with picassos illegitimate mistress
And wore kenneth lane jewels, really its trash, but
Sally cant dance no more, ooohhh
Sally cant dance no more
She cant get herself off of the floor
Now, sally, ooohhh, she cant dance no more, no more
Dance, no more cant ...
(sally cant dance, sally cant dance)
(sally cant dance, sally cant dance)
(sally cant dance, sally cant dance)
(sally cant dance, sally cant dance)
... repeat and fade out
song performed by by Lou Reed
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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White Line
(Emmylou Harris Paul Kennerley)
It seems like I was there from the start
A witness to your wild and reckless heart
You showed me the way but now you're gone
Quicker than the trigger of an outlaw's gun
Living fast and dying young
A victim of this road you left me on
White line took my baby
Led him down that dark highway
Headlight blind driving crazy
If my wheels keep turning
Gonna roll that white line away
We worked the road as hard as we could drive her
But now I am the only survivor
From night to night at every place I play in
The sweetness of your song remains
I'll be the keeper of the flame
Til every soul hears what your heart was saying
White line took my baby
Led him down that dark highway
Headlight blind driving crazy
If my wheels keep turning
Gonna roll that white line away
All the nights you spent alone
All the love I'd never shown
All the words I could not say
Till that white line took you away
White line took you away
I'll follow this white line down where it's winding
Cause somewhere up ahead your light's still shining
The sound of the silver strings will guide me
I've stood and watched the bridges burn
I'm past the point of no return
Oh how I wish that you were here beside me
song performed by by Emmylou Harris
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Line
Can U talk 2 me with your body, baby?
Can U tell me what I wanna hear?
Can U lay on me a good enough reason 2 cross the line?
Yeah, ho! {x2}
Can U be my lover and still be my friend? (Can U be my friend?)
Can U stick with me till the bitter end? (The bitter end)
Can U lay on me a good enough reason 2 cross the line?
Yeah, ho! (Cross the line)
CHORUS:
The line, line - it's a happy step 2 make
It takes time, time - all is what it takes
The line, line - and soon your life is so much better
The water's so much better on the other side (Cross the line)
Can U tolerate? Why am I not so free?
How I did the plan
Can U understand I'm a free man?
But will I stop the dam if I don't cross the line?
Yeah, ho! {x2}
Ow!
Hey
Cross the line sugar, cross the line {x2}
Cross the line
CHORUS
(Cross the line)
Cross the line sugar, cross the line {x3}
I want U 2 cross the line, hey! {sample used in "Acknowledge Me"}
Talk 2 me, say the things I wanna hear, oh!
Cross the line
Cross the line
Cross the line
Baby, baby, baby, can U make me cross the line?
Cross the line, sugar, cross the line
U know U got 2 cross the line!
(New dance) {repeat in BG}
People, people, I got a brand new dance {x2}
Ain't talkin' 'bout Housequake! No!
Ain't talkin' 'bout Shake 'N' Bake! No!
Ain't talkin' 'bout Rice-O-Roni! No!
I'm talkin' 'bout Macaroni? No!
Lord have mercy
Boni? (What?)
On the 2 (Yeah!)
What we gonna do? (Kangaroo!)
Say it! (Kangaroo!)
Come on
Boni? (What?)
On the 2 (Yeah!)
What U wanna do? (Kangaroo!)
Do the do (Do the do!)
Cross the line {repeat}
Baby, baby, baby, cross the line {repeat 2 fade}
Precious Lord, take my hand
Lead me on, help me stand
I try, I have need, I am whole
Through the door, through the shore
Precious Lord, I believe in your name
song performed by by Prince
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Admiration... For Those Who Work!
i have a deep admiration
for the common working people
of the world...
having lived among them,
worked and sweated with them,
i sing their struggle!
farmers toiling day and night,
nurses pulling double shifts.
factory workers doing time and again,
carpenters and masons building.
black and white and all colors,
working their lives by faith.
and immigrants, often called illegal,
(though no human beings are illegal!) ...
who come here and work for whatever wage,
trying to build a dream for their families.
let us not forget women,
too often underpaid and treated as less...
truckdrivers, and those who work the docks,
steel workers, cooks, and trash collectors...
all leave me in awe...
there are many who cant work,
these should always be taken care of.
but the ones that could work if they would work,
who can work, and wont...
well... i have a problem there!
i was taught to work as a child...
taught respect, dignity, and honesty...
and so i believe, and so i live...
in admiration for those who work!
poem by Eric Cockrell
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Your Hero Is A Well Known Local
The one who is hailed by the masses will never be a hero to you
Your hero is a quiet achiever to his dedications he's true
An honest and a hard working person and one of high integrity
You have placed him on a pedestal to you there's none greater than he.
Your hero is a well known local and in his work he takes great pride
He is admired and respected by many but he'll never be known far and wide
He's one who leads by good example one to help you out if he could
And for the local community he is one who has done so much good.
He is such a down to earth person and none more hard working than he
One who derives much satisfaction in each sporting local victory
A generous and a likeable fellow and a familiar face of the Town
He's happy to be a well known local and he does not yearn for World-wide renown.
I do like your sort of a hero a person that you do know well
Of any huge business adventures he does not have stories to tell
When you say you'll follow in his footsteps you are walking on solid ground
Why look up to a World renowned hero when there's a local hero to be found.
poem by Francis Duggan
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The Last Line
The last line
By: keith sykes
1977
Given my life for songs that I sing
Matter of fact, Ive given everything
Time has come to not make a sound
Time has come to lay my burdens down
Whoa oh oh (woe oh woe oh woe oh)
Whoa oh (woe oh woe oh woe oh)
Its come from behind
Now is the time
For the last line (last line)
Managed to keep some friends on my side
To live through the times of the rumors and lies
Now its time to rest my heart
Let some other innocent fool take my part
Whoa oh oh (woe oh woe oh woe oh)
Whoa oh (woe oh woe oh woe oh)
Its come from behind
Now is the time
For the last line (last line)
( saxophone solo)
Whoa oh oh oh (woe oh woe oh woe oh)
Whoa oh (woe oh woe oh woe oh)
Its come from behind
Now its the time
For the last line (last line)
So dont pay me no mind, Im walkin away
Youll see me again on some other day
Youll see me again, Ill be ready to go
And pour out my songs with my heart and my soul
Whoa oh oh (woe oh woe oh woe oh)
Whoa oh (woe oh woe oh woe oh)
Its come from behind
Now is the time
For the last line (last line)
Yes its come from behind
Now is the time
For the last line (last line)
Ah the last line (last line)
- notes:
Background vocals: deborah mccoll, penny nichols
Tenor sax solo: harvey thompson
song performed by by Jimmy Buffett
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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A fraction of the mental sphere
dawdle a line over white
a meteor has shuttled
through space,
a fraction of the white
the distance the time
it travels from your mind
to the piece of white
two inches in one's mental sphere
equal two million miles in space
space steals its way from mental sphere
the way you chart the line in white,
that catches only a fraction of the mind
put space and mind side by side
the latter would convulse as it
charts its own boundlessness
beyond the former
poem by John Tiong Chunghoo
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Ode to the Wobblies
I am decent college student
Who does like to roam
To travel many a mile around
And to go and go
I like to roam everywhere I can
Without rime or reason
I will go ever I can go and roam
In the summer season
To roam is to go and go some more
And to leave thy home behind
To go out here and everywhere
To ride to ride to ride
I will I say go near and far
To every mine and mill
To help to roam and a ways know
That the union lives still
That I will help every union man
Striking on the line
That they may go and organize
out with their picket sign
Telling the boss that they want
To get their fare share
To get every thing that they need
Here there everywhere
Oh this I will say to you
That I will be there
When worker start to organize and strike
It’s I who will share
in the triumph and in the fight
in the beatings that come
I will stand among us you all
Standup now endure
For working men across this land
I will say once again
That where men organize that ‘s were we win
At ever river bend
That we may win the good fight
All across this land
That we may stand and fight
All across the dessert sand
That we may win this great battle
All across this land
From California to New York
To the beaches and
From north to south east to west
And everywhere in between
When working men organize and fight
That’s were the Wobbllies will be
Am I in ballad meter?
poem by Timothy Young
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Zombie Zoo
All down the street they're standin' in line
With white lipstick and one thing on their mind
Hey little freak with the lunch pail purse
Underneath th e paint you're just a little girl
Dancin' at the zombie zoo, dancin' at the zombie zoo
Painted in a corner and all you wanna do
Is dance down at the zombie zoo
Cute little dropout, how come you pack a rod
Is your mother in a clinic ? has your father got no job ?
Sometimes you're so impulsive,
You shaved off all you're hair
You look like boris karloff and you don't even care
You're dancin' at the zombie zoo,
Dancin' at the zombie zoo
Painted in a corner and all you wanna do is
Dance down at the zombie zoo
She disappears at sunrise, i wonder where
She goes until the night
Comes fallin' down again
She shows up with her friends half-alive
You can make a big impression or
Go through life unseen
You might wind up restricted and over seventeen
It's so hard to be careful, so easy to be lead
Somewhere beyond the pavement
You'll find the living dead
Dancin' at the zombie zoo, dancin' at the zombie zoo
Painted in a corner and all you wanna do
Is dance down at the zombie zoo
Yeah dancin at the zombie zoo
Yeah dancin at the zombie zoo
song performed by by Tom Petty
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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