Talking Government Blues
May, 2017 - November, 2017
Songs:
1. It's a Very Old Line
2. Everything
3 Truth and Lies (Extended Version)
4. Truth and Lies Blues (Acoustic)
5. Talking Government Blues
6. I See Someone
7. Beneath the Dance Hall Floor
8 Almost There
9. Rain Maker (recorded previously)
10. Out Beyond The Moon
11. Trouble and Worry (Go Away from My Door)
It's a Very Old Line (10/29/17)
A cautionary tale. I like the words and they took a while to craft after putting down the initial idea. The music is simple. There are a few acoustics, the Gretsch 6120 electric with some distortion added and the lap steel and the upright bass.
There’s a very old line people in power use to keep the poor folks down, “There’s not enough to go around.”
There’s a very old line people in towers use to keep the dreamers on the ground, “If you were up here, you’d only want down.”
There’s a very old line people in power use to keep truth seekers in line, “There’s danger out there and the only truth to believe in is mine.”
It’s a very old line…
There’s a very old line told by those in control to those who would look to the stars, “You’re safer down here where you are.”
There’s a very old line told by those in control to those who think a different way, “Things were better back in our day.”
There’s a very old line told by those in control to those who question the state that they’re in, “That’s the way it always has been.”
It’s a very old line…
There’s a very old line those who take back their power tell to those who would take it away, “I have more than enough. Love will find a way.”
There’s a very old line those who take back their dreams tell to those who would keep them on the ground, “Love will rise up. Love won’t be kept down.”
There’s a very old line those who take back control tell to those who would keep them in line, “Love is free as the bird that won’t be confined.”
That's a very old line…
There’s a very old line people in towers use to keep the dreamers on the ground, “If you were up here, you’d only want down.”
There’s a very old line people in power use to keep truth seekers in line, “There’s danger out there and the only truth to believe in is mine.”
It’s a very old line…
There’s a very old line told by those in control to those who would look to the stars, “You’re safer down here where you are.”
There’s a very old line told by those in control to those who think a different way, “Things were better back in our day.”
There’s a very old line told by those in control to those who question the state that they’re in, “That’s the way it always has been.”
It’s a very old line…
There’s a very old line those who take back their power tell to those who would take it away, “I have more than enough. Love will find a way.”
There’s a very old line those who take back their dreams tell to those who would keep them on the ground, “Love will rise up. Love won’t be kept down.”
There’s a very old line those who take back control tell to those who would keep them in line, “Love is free as the bird that won’t be confined.”
That's a very old line…
Everything (9/16/17)
This lyric was written very quickly..must have had something to say I didn't know about.
Fire burning down the West
Flood water rising in the East
Just like these extremes in the weather
We can’t seem to pull it all together
Politicians push us to argue and fight
Over the difference between what’s fair and what’s right
The angels above us are weeping again
The cold and weary can’t find a room at the inn
Chorus:
Meanwhile everything is just everything
And everything is happening all at once at the same time
Just like it’s always been
Just like we happen to be
Someone is setting up her paints and her canvas
to capture the morning light in a field
Someone is taking her long journey home
to remember just how her childhood feels
Someone is helping her mother along
to make sure she’s not feeling alone
Someone is picking up a phone
to say hey it’s been a while what’s going on
Chorus:
Rockets flying from the East
Tanks from the West rolling in
The world's at war for every good reason
The conflict without shows the conflict within
Politicians pull at us to divide
Their money power only come from us choosing sides
The devils below us waiting for the next fall
Know that what happens to one is what happens to all
Chorus:
Flood water rising in the East
Just like these extremes in the weather
We can’t seem to pull it all together
Politicians push us to argue and fight
Over the difference between what’s fair and what’s right
The angels above us are weeping again
The cold and weary can’t find a room at the inn
Chorus:
Meanwhile everything is just everything
And everything is happening all at once at the same time
Just like it’s always been
Just like we happen to be
Someone is setting up her paints and her canvas
to capture the morning light in a field
Someone is taking her long journey home
to remember just how her childhood feels
Someone is helping her mother along
to make sure she’s not feeling alone
Someone is picking up a phone
to say hey it’s been a while what’s going on
Chorus:
Rockets flying from the East
Tanks from the West rolling in
The world's at war for every good reason
The conflict without shows the conflict within
Politicians pull at us to divide
Their money power only come from us choosing sides
The devils below us waiting for the next fall
Know that what happens to one is what happens to all
Chorus:
Truth and Lies Blues (Extended Version) 8/20/17 Arrangement and Performance Griffith/Bielunski
I recruited Dave to add a bass part to this extended version song and one thing led to another. Dave provided very fine bass guitar playing for this song and also played keyboards (solos 2 & 3). I played the guitars and provided the vocal. This one crosses a few musical genres. I think it's a nice sonic journey through time and space from acoustic to electric to synthesizer and back to find its way to the ending with the acoustic guitar.
Truth and Lies Blues (Acoustic) 8/12/17
I wrote this on a motorcycle trip, returning from Montana to Phoenix as an attempt through song to separate the wheat from the chaff. I recorded this version fairly quickly. I like the overall feel of this recording, a few guitars (one with the vocal track) and the upright bass. An "extended" version collaborating with Dave B. is posted above.
The truth and the lies and the difference between can be hard to tell in these changing times.
Especially when so many hearts have turned to stone and the love people show is for the things they own.
To know the truth and the lies and the difference between, ask the king to part from his gold and see what that brings.
Lies can be bought and lies can be sold. The truth sets you free so we are told.
A king on his throne of silver and gold can’t buy the truth. The truth won’t be sold.
To know the truth and the lies and the difference between, ask the king to part from his gold and see what that brings.
Truth does not care if you are rich or you are poor. Lies only take and then take more.
A king with his armies at his command can’t force truth to be revealed, only love can.
To know the truth and the lies and the difference between, ask the king to part from his gold and see what that brings.
The truth and the lies and the difference between can be hard to tell in these changing times.
Especially when leaders deceive and tell us these lies and expect us to believe.
To know the truth and the lies and the difference between, ask the king to part from his gold and see what that brings.
Especially when so many hearts have turned to stone and the love people show is for the things they own.
To know the truth and the lies and the difference between, ask the king to part from his gold and see what that brings.
Lies can be bought and lies can be sold. The truth sets you free so we are told.
A king on his throne of silver and gold can’t buy the truth. The truth won’t be sold.
To know the truth and the lies and the difference between, ask the king to part from his gold and see what that brings.
Truth does not care if you are rich or you are poor. Lies only take and then take more.
A king with his armies at his command can’t force truth to be revealed, only love can.
To know the truth and the lies and the difference between, ask the king to part from his gold and see what that brings.
The truth and the lies and the difference between can be hard to tell in these changing times.
Especially when leaders deceive and tell us these lies and expect us to believe.
To know the truth and the lies and the difference between, ask the king to part from his gold and see what that brings.
Talking Government Blues (7/7/18) Arrangement and Performance Griffith/Bielunski
I wrote this one using a standard 12-bar blues as a template. The lyrics are variations on blues standards. "I woke up this morning...etc, etc." Dave B. collaborated with me to add instrumentation. Dave is handling the keys and bass while I have guitars, vocals and harmonica parts. Thanks to Dave for stepping up to record his parts over my simple guitar loops. No easy feat to hit record and keep it going for 8 minutes. This one was a bit of a production to mix, but I like the final version. It has that laid-back blues feel I was after to house the message of the song.
I woke up this morning had them government blues:/Government says they love me/But they could be jivin’ too.
I feel like a catfish swimming down beneath the sea:/I’m looking for my dinner/Government looking to get a hook on me.
I went to my mailbox found a check for twenty dollars and a penny:/I paid all my taxes dollars and I was lucky to get back any.
My baby asked me where the money all went:/My pay from Monday Tuesday went to the government and my pay for the rest of the week you already spent.
Corporation gotta make a profit to pay shareholder dividend:/Politician gotta make a profit/We know whose pocket they in.
I feel like a stranger living in my own land:/The way that people treating people I don’t understand.
I don’t need a government to tell me whose my enemy:/I got a bible in my home that tells me to treat my neighbor as my family.
If I was the president I’d tell you what I’d do:/I’d pass a law against having these low down government blues.
I’m gonna leave this town walking and won’t stop until until I reach the sea: /I’d rather toss my money in ocean/Then have it spent on war and cruelty.
I woke up this morning with them government blues:/pick up my newspaper/looks like the whole wide world’s got them too.
I feel like a catfish swimming down beneath the sea:/I’m looking for my dinner/Government looking to get a hook on me.
I went to my mailbox found a check for twenty dollars and a penny:/I paid all my taxes dollars and I was lucky to get back any.
My baby asked me where the money all went:/My pay from Monday Tuesday went to the government and my pay for the rest of the week you already spent.
Corporation gotta make a profit to pay shareholder dividend:/Politician gotta make a profit/We know whose pocket they in.
I feel like a stranger living in my own land:/The way that people treating people I don’t understand.
I don’t need a government to tell me whose my enemy:/I got a bible in my home that tells me to treat my neighbor as my family.
If I was the president I’d tell you what I’d do:/I’d pass a law against having these low down government blues.
I’m gonna leave this town walking and won’t stop until until I reach the sea: /I’d rather toss my money in ocean/Then have it spent on war and cruelty.
I woke up this morning with them government blues:/pick up my newspaper/looks like the whole wide world’s got them too.
I See Someone (6/25/17) Arrangement and Performance Griffith/Bielunski
This a collaboration with my friend Dave B. I wrote the lyric and music sometime last year. Dave was generous as usual with his talents and agreed to collaborate on this one. Dave contributed bass, piano, "strings" and production recommendations. I'm handling guitars and vocals. We file shared versions (Dave is in Des Moines and I am in Phoenix) until we agreed it was done. Meanwhile, the sun rose and set several times as happens when locked away recording and producing music. Thanks to Dave for his musicianship and dedication to bring this one to the next level. Previous collaboration efforts between Dave and I are on this site under "Albums and Selected Songs/Collaborations."
Because I've lived a harder life than you I've got something to teach
Because you can on only see me like you do I can't reach your heart to
Change your point of view/So go on doing what you do/What you do best is turn away
But for the grace of God I hear you say/As you walk right on by
Listen to me when I pray open your eyes/I see something you don't
I know something you won't/Not because you can't/Because you won't try
Where you see a wall I see a way through
Where you see a fall I see a friend in need
Where you see tragedy I see love that could be
Where you see nothing at all I see someone:
Because I've lived a longer life than you/I've got a story to tell
Because you only hear the people who think like you do/You don't listen so well
Open up your mind/The truth will set you free
Is it better to be blind when you could see
Where you see a wall I see a way through
Where you see a fall I see a friend in need
Where you see tragedy I see love that could be
Where you see nothing at all I see someone:
Because you can on only see me like you do I can't reach your heart to
Change your point of view/So go on doing what you do/What you do best is turn away
But for the grace of God I hear you say/As you walk right on by
Listen to me when I pray open your eyes/I see something you don't
I know something you won't/Not because you can't/Because you won't try
Where you see a wall I see a way through
Where you see a fall I see a friend in need
Where you see tragedy I see love that could be
Where you see nothing at all I see someone:
Because I've lived a longer life than you/I've got a story to tell
Because you only hear the people who think like you do/You don't listen so well
Open up your mind/The truth will set you free
Is it better to be blind when you could see
Where you see a wall I see a way through
Where you see a fall I see a friend in need
Where you see tragedy I see love that could be
Where you see nothing at all I see someone:
Beneath the Dance Hall Floor (6/18/17)
Messing around with a different style. I had the tune first and then the first three words came later..."She to him." That got me thinking what they said to each other and where and why and here you have it.
She to him said, “What’s it been…five years to the day…looks like you’re doing okay.” He to her said, “You know..the best laid plans as it were…but it’s good to see you here tonite anyway.” The clock struck nine, the band struck up a tune and old ghosts filled up the room. He pulled her close just like he’d done all those years before. They had met as agreed, but five years late out of need. The cash was stashed beneath the dance hall floor.
His time inside, her love he’d been denied. He knew that when you're caught stealing other people's money sacrifices must be made. What caused him trouble is that she had crossed him double. He laid awake each night thinking of the price to be paid. Now he whispers in her ear, “I don’t understand” She looks up through her tears says, “That’s only because your a good hearted man.”The clock struck eleven. He felt he'd been locked out of heaven. The cash was stashed beneath the dance hall floor.
The letters she’d sent, unopened they went in a shoebox beneath his bed. The one guy who tried to look inside walked away looking black and blue instead. When he finally read the words she wrote, he told his only friend Sam, “I know I have to meet her but I don't know if I’ll take her by her by her hand or by her throat.” The clock in his room struck four and she said, “Honey, let’s get that money like we never did before.” The cash was stashed beneath the dance hall floor.
He to her said, “Would that it were, but the cops the got the dough in a plea to cut my time. When she thought he was asleep, out the door she did creep. When he saw she was gone, he switched the lamp twice and felt like dying. Meanwhile Sam in the car saw the lamp light flicker and knew the rest of the plan. She got in the car and said said. “Pass me that liquor and Sam get me as far way from here as you can.” Before the clock struck ten, Sam had held up his end and was holding his share of the cash that was stashed beneath the dance hall floor.
This long sad game had all been pre-arranged. He needed to know if she could be true. And in case she proved false, then that that’d be her own fault and he’d be her judge and jury too. She thought Sam was just some man she’d picked up to drive her around. She had no idea that she’d been set up to be taken down. When that lamp light flickered twice, she had sealed her fate evermore The cash was stashed beneath the dance hall floor.
His time inside, her love he’d been denied. He knew that when you're caught stealing other people's money sacrifices must be made. What caused him trouble is that she had crossed him double. He laid awake each night thinking of the price to be paid. Now he whispers in her ear, “I don’t understand” She looks up through her tears says, “That’s only because your a good hearted man.”The clock struck eleven. He felt he'd been locked out of heaven. The cash was stashed beneath the dance hall floor.
The letters she’d sent, unopened they went in a shoebox beneath his bed. The one guy who tried to look inside walked away looking black and blue instead. When he finally read the words she wrote, he told his only friend Sam, “I know I have to meet her but I don't know if I’ll take her by her by her hand or by her throat.” The clock in his room struck four and she said, “Honey, let’s get that money like we never did before.” The cash was stashed beneath the dance hall floor.
He to her said, “Would that it were, but the cops the got the dough in a plea to cut my time. When she thought he was asleep, out the door she did creep. When he saw she was gone, he switched the lamp twice and felt like dying. Meanwhile Sam in the car saw the lamp light flicker and knew the rest of the plan. She got in the car and said said. “Pass me that liquor and Sam get me as far way from here as you can.” Before the clock struck ten, Sam had held up his end and was holding his share of the cash that was stashed beneath the dance hall floor.
This long sad game had all been pre-arranged. He needed to know if she could be true. And in case she proved false, then that that’d be her own fault and he’d be her judge and jury too. She thought Sam was just some man she’d picked up to drive her around. She had no idea that she’d been set up to be taken down. When that lamp light flickered twice, she had sealed her fate evermore The cash was stashed beneath the dance hall floor.
Almost There (5/18/17)
A reminder that apathy has a price.
Seemed like we were almost there/seemed like we had it in our sights/seemed like it was just within our reach/seemed like we would make it through the night/seemed like we were walking that final mile/with ten thousand more left behind/all we had to do was keep moving forward/and we'd all make it there just fine/That's when the street signs started shaking/That's when the cracks in the sidewalk first appeared/That's when the pavement buckled underneath our feet/and we came face to face with our own fears/That's when the doors were blown off their hinges/That's when the wind blew the shingles into the air/And that branch on that old oak tree was broken/And not a word was spoken/The highway bridge swayed and gave way/and crumbled and fell below into the river in flood that washed the wheat field away in a torrent of rock and mud/And the locals were out for blood/And the dogs were off their leash/And she who expected most walked away with least/What will happen next is anybody's guess/Though the judge's gavel is poised to silence the din/The verdict is not yet in.
Rain Maker (4/29/11)
I recorded this several years ago, but it never found an album. I did the horns on a keyboard. I think Forrest added a trumpet overdub if I am remembering correctly. I had the sense that it belonged in this collection. This one did come in a dream that the song was an attempt to capture. The first title was "Salt the Sky" before I revised it to "Rain Maker."
I had a dream last night /I was your rain maker/I had a dream last night/I was your earth shaker/We waited on the storm/We waited on the thunder/That was just before the ground shook and we fell under/The vanity of humanity to try to change what we don't understand/I had a dream last night.
Out Beyond the Moon (9/8/17)
I wrote this during a walk this morning and recorded it tonight. The music and the lyric evolved while recording. It's a cosmic perspective type of lyric that took a serious turn through the revision process. This is recorded with me playing guitar while singing and then adding a backup track doing the same, following none of the proper recording etiquette. I like the sound so keeping it this way...until I decide to change it.
Out beyond the moon looking back to this point of blue out in the black where everything we’ve been, all we have to show is on a world passing by gone in the blink of an eye …and so… we look to the stars for some other sign of life ...to tell us who we are …and we look across the bar for some trace in a face that love might be there.
Every once in a while, there’s a moment of reflection like the recollection of the … credits rolling by…after the television show when we look up and we know… that was one perfectly good hour that we’ll never, that was one perfectly good life that we’ll never, that was one perfectly good world that we’ll never get back. Out beyond the moon looking back…out beyond the moon.
Every once in a while, there’s a moment of reflection like the recollection of the … credits rolling by…after the television show when we look up and we know… that was one perfectly good hour that we’ll never, that was one perfectly good life that we’ll never, that was one perfectly good world that we’ll never get back. Out beyond the moon looking back…out beyond the moon.
Trouble and Worry (11/21/17)
Wrapping up this group of songs with an acoustic blues. I wrote the first two verses while walking and the 3rd verse came together while recording. The last line about California came out of the blue and surprised me so I kept it as it was delivered so to speak without editing. Instrumentally, 2 guitars, lap steel and an upright bass. Overall, it's an optimistic song ...I think ...in a time when some optimism is needed.
Trouble oh Trouble, go away from my door/Worry oh Worry, I can’t use you no more.
I’ll tell you both now that you must go away/ Left on your own, you’d both stay here until my last day.
Trouble oh Trouble, I know why you’re here/You're that train in the night that carries my fear.
Worry oh Worry, you're that old engineer /I’m switching that track so you won’t be back.
Trouble oh Trouble, you fall drop by drop like rain in a bucket all the way to the top.
Worry oh Worry, will the rain ever stop/ I think it just might in California where the sun’s shining bright.
I’ll tell you both now that you must go away/ Left on your own, you’d both stay here until my last day.
Trouble oh Trouble, I know why you’re here/You're that train in the night that carries my fear.
Worry oh Worry, you're that old engineer /I’m switching that track so you won’t be back.
Trouble oh Trouble, you fall drop by drop like rain in a bucket all the way to the top.
Worry oh Worry, will the rain ever stop/ I think it just might in California where the sun’s shining bright.