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Here comes that alt-righteous American
With his MAGA hats and his loaded guns
Bringin’ Fox and Frenzy hell to pay
Carryin’ on like the end of days
I can still hear that rally cry
Shoutin’ “Lock Her Up!” and “Build that Wall!”
While Mar-a-Lago millionaires spending their tax cuts
Cry trickle-down prosperity for one and all
I wanna go to America
And spend my money there
Walk down the streets of America
And breathe that freedom air
But the bridges are burning
And the trade war’s comin’ on
I’ll find my way back to America
Just as soon as the walls are gone
Rifle-totin’ truth detractors
Calling victims “crisis actors”
Scripture-quotin’ baby jailers
Earning a new kind of fame
Preppers and birthers and crazy flat earthers
Science deniers, “fake news” criers
Open-carry boys down at the dairy queen
Holding ice cream cones and AR15s
I wanna go to America
And bring my family along
A holiday in America
It’s already been too long
But the bridges are burning
And the trade war’s comin’ on
I’ll spend my money in America
Just as soon as the walls are gone
Here’s to the ones not afraid to stand
Marching on the Mall speaking truth to power
With their pussy hats and their school backpacks
Shining a light in the darkest hour
Don’t call me anti-American
Believe me when I say
That some of my heroes and dearest friends
Are living in the USA
I wanna go to America
And see what I can see
Climb to the top of the Empire State
And the Statue of Liberty
But the children are missing
And the President’s wearing a frown
I’ll bring my loved ones to America
When the walls come tumbling down
I wanna go to America
And spend my money there
Walk down the streets of America
And breathe that freedom air
But the bridges are burning
And the trade war’s comin’ on
I’ll find my way back to America
Just as soon as the walls are gone
I’ll snowbird back down to America
Just as soon as the walls are gone
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I didn’t pay for no rent
No haircut or a shave
So I could make some music
With the time and the money I saved
Oh those songs were beautiful
But singing them made me sad
I couldn’t help remembering
The good times that we had
Do you remember the good times?
Yeah, here’s to the good times
Do you remember the midnight
We climbed over the wall?
Skinny dippin’ in the landlord’s pool
Splashin’ and a’ havin’ a ball
Must’ve got a little too rowdy
’Cause somebody turned on the light
The watchdog started howling
As we ran off laughing into the night
We had some good times
Yeah, sing a song for the good times
It’s too easy to dwell upon the hard luck and the pain
But if I could go back in time, I’d do it all over again
For the good, good times
I wander through these darkened streets
We used to walk together alone
But everything is different now
This town is not my home
Wish I could knock upon your door
And sing you this sad little song
But like a lonesome desperado
I’ve got to keep movin’ along
But I’ll remember the good times
Yeah, here’s to the good times
Do you remember the good times?
Yeah, sing a song for the good, good times
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3. |
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My father was a good man
He gave me his good name
And if I come up short, sir,
I’ve only myself to blame
He showed me what it takes to be a man
How to work an honest day
How to change a tire and build a fire
To keep the cold away
My mother was a beauty
From the wrong side of the tracks
My father crossed on over
He thought he brought her back
She made me mind my manners, say my prayers,
And she taught me how to sing
But living as a housewife
Well it was the damnedest thing
I have my mother’s temper
And boy did she get mad
When supper was on the table
But where the hell was Dad?
I’ll never forget that terrible Tuesday
When something must’ve broke inside
And in a righteous fury
She let those dishes fly
Whose side are you on boy,
Whose side are you on?
Whose side are you on boy?
Cut me down the middle
I can’t make a choice
I’ve got her fire in my belly
And his timbre in my voice
My father wasn’t a poet
He didn’t need to hold a pen
He held my mother for a while
And then he left again
And if I have something of his manner
You know I’ve got my mother’s style
And I’m a lucky man, sir,
To walk this world a while
Yes, I’m a lucky man, sir,
To walk this world a while
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4. |
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I cancelled my trip to America
Where everyone clutches a gun
And the president rates all the women
On a scale from ten down to one
Yes I've cancelled my trip to America
Where they're building a honkin' big wall
With a Nazi salute to the man in the suit
Who pays no damn taxes at all
The winters are long here in Canada
Sometimes it's nice to get away
From the ice and the snow, and the cold winds that blow
And head down to the old U.S.A.
But lately it seems an American dream
vacation is something to dread
So the next time I roam, I'll stay closer to home
And visit Alberta instead
I cancelled my trip to America
Where democracy's under attack
With truth in retreat, enter fraud and deceit
And racism makes a comeback
Yes, I've cancelled my trip to America
The co-opted home of the brave
And though I'll not see the land of the free
Think of the money I'll save
Yes I've cancelled my trip to America
The co-opted home of the brave
And though I'll not see the land of the free
Think of the money I'll save.
Hey ho, Ho hey
Not gonna go to the U.S.A.
Hey ho, Ho hey
Stayin' away from the U.S.A.
Hey ho, Ho hey
Not gonna go to the U.S.A.
Hey ho, Ho hey
Stayin' away from the U.S.A.
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5. |
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Conversation is out of style
Negotiation a thing of the past
When compromise is a traitor’s game,
facts and lies seem one and the same
Lies, damned lies
Alternative facts
Conspiracy theories
Twitter attacks
Whatever it takes to make the base react
So many lies, damned lies
When his lips are moving
You’d better beware:
He either doesn’t have a clue,
Or he just don’t care
if the words he’s saying are false or true—
It’s safest to assume he’s lying to you.
Telling lies, damned lies
Alternative facts
Conspiracy theories
Cyber attacks
Whatever it takes to make the base react
So many lies, damned lies
Everywhere powerful men are shakin’
Called to account for liberties taken
Called to atone for a world of grief—
But what about the man they call the groper-in-chief
Who tells lies, damned lies
Alternative facts
Conspiracy theories
Twitter attacks
Whatever it takes to make the base react
So many lies, damned lies.
Lies, damned lies
Alternative facts
Conspiracy theories
Twitter attacks
Whatever it takes to make the base react
So many lies, damned lies,
So many lies, damned lies
Too many lies, damned lies
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6. |
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The President’s got the blues
From watchin’ the TV news
Enraged by a press that’s independent
He plots his revenge against the First Amendment
With the First Lady locked in a gilded tower
He’s dreamin’ about a Russian golden shower
And his tweets get crazier by the hour
The President’s got the blues
Bring all the kids, go get Grandma!
It’s time to watch the White House Daytime Drama
A new scandal in every episode
On the Great American Reality Show
The President can’t relate
To the members of the Fourth Estate
When reality hacks, he’s got alternative facts
And allegations of wiretaps
Screamin’ at the news in his silk pajamas
He’s tweetin’ out some serious propaganda
For the Russian bear and the Chinese panda
The President can’t relate
Bring all the kids, go get Grandma!
It’s time to watch the White House Daytime Drama
Fear and loathing in every episode
On the Great American Reality Show
The President gets his views
From the purveyors of the “alt-right” news
Before signing another executive order,
Repealing your health care, and sealing the border,
Condemning the work of the EPA
And the FBI and the CIA,
Then he heads to the golf course and calls it a day
The President gets his views.
Bring all the kids, go get Grandma!
It’s time to watch the White House Daytime Drama
A new scandal in every episode
On the Great American Reality Show
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7. |
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There’s power in the wind
Power in the sun
Power in the tides
and in the rivers as they run
Power in the people
and the songs they sing
With hearts and minds together
We can do most anything
The moon pulls at the tide
A stream moves in its bed
Toss a pebble into a pool
And watch the ripples spread
A spot forms on the sun
A butterfly flaps its wings
A distant star goes nova
And somewhere someone sings
Hello Paris
City of Love and Light
As nations gathered in your name
To share a planet’s plight
Although some may forsake you
Billions more unite
In the City of Love and Light
We share the seas and skies
We stand on common ground
We yearn and strive together
At the joys that can be found
The seas rise oh so slowly
Yet it won’t be long before
Atlantic waves are lapping
At Mar-a-Lago’s door
Hello Paris
City of Love and Light
As nations gathered in your name
To share a planet’s future
Although some may forsake you
Billions more unite
In the City of Love and Light
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8. |
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Flying in to JFK
Coming home to the USA
Ancient cities bombed and burning
Thousands homeless, hungry and yearning
Those who live to cross the sea
Blamed for all they're trying to flee
Somebody’s notion of law and order
Coming home, banned at the border
A world-wide welcome to the USA
Banned at the border, turned away
Heady days on the Western front
Where the border patrol is on the hunt
Tempest-tossed, tired and poor
Huddled masses reach the shore
Those who live to cross the sea
Blamed for all they're trying to flee
Somebody’s notion of law and order
No compassion, banned at the border
How to move this heart of stone
Banned at the border, coming home
Flying in to JFK, coming home to the USA
She was hoping just to see her kids today
But she was banned at the border anyway
Like those who live to cross the sea
Blamed for all they're trying to flee
Somebody's notion of law and order
Coming home, banned at the border
A world-class welcome to the USA
Banned at the border
Turned away, turned away
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9. |
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I used to be naïve and shy
Spent my days beneath a clear blue sky
Beautiful world, rose-tinted shades,
Life was one big escapade
Ah-ahh now I’m older
And the scales are falling from my eyes
Got a lot on my mind and a chip on my shoulder
’Cause I can’t stand living in a fool’s paradise
I learned my lesson long ago:
What you don’t know can hurt you so
Sweet ignorance that seemed like bliss
Was just a cold, deceitful kiss
Ahh, now I’m older
And the scales are falling from my eyes
Got a lot on my mind and a chip on my shoulder
’Cause I can’t stand living in a fool’s paradise
Fool me once, shame on you
Fool me twice, it’s my shame too
So why was it a shame to realize
The ugly truth behind the lovely lies?
Ahh, now I’m older
And the scales are falling from my eyes
Got a lot on my mind and a chip on my shoulder
’Cause I can’t stand living in a fool’s paradise
I used to be naïve and shy
Spent my days beneath a clear blue sky
Beautiful world, rose-tinted shades
Life was one big escapade
Ah-ahh now I’m older
And the scales are falling from my eyes
Got a lot on my mind and a chip on my shoulder
’Cause I can’t stand living in a fool’s paradise
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10. |
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The hawks are on the wing
Where doves would never fly
As barrel bombs and sarin
Are falling from the sky
Tyranny and terror
A generation gone
While back home in America
The parties carry on
We fuss and fight
and argue through the night
Each angry word
takes us farther from the light
Where is the love
in this sorry circumstance?
And where are the voices singing
Give peace a chance?
Where is the love,
Where is the romance,
Where are the voices singing
Give peace a chance
And no more war, na na na na no
The doomsday clock is ticking
A new arms race begun
All options on the table
Politics under the gun
Leaders full of bluster
Great armadas turn,
Like the final stand of Custer
What lessons shall be learned?
We fuss and fight
and argue through the night
Each angry word
takes us farther from the light
Where is the love
in this sorry circumstance?
And where are the voices singing
give peace a chance?
Just across our red lines
May the battles cease
Stop the bombs from falling
Negotiate the peace,
Put an end to famine,
Poverty and strife
And lend a hand to those who seek
To find a better life
We fuss and fight
and argue through the night
Each angry words takes us
farther from the light
Where is the love
in this sorry circumstance?
And where are the voices singing
give peace a chance?
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This album is the product of a long-distance collaboration – and a budding friendship – between a European multi-instrumental recording artist and a Canadian singer-songwriter. We met online a few years ago over a set of lyrics Kevin wrote in the wake of the 2016 U.S. federal election, and the resultant song – “Cancel My Trip to America” – led inevitably to the cultivating of our transatlantic ties and the making of this record.
Our world has changed a lot since the recent arrival of the “post-truth” political era, and seven of the songs recorded here offer a musical commentary on events that have shaped that change. These songs are thus a sort of musical journalism, each one an op-ed reflection on a particular political moment – and an embodiment of our urgent need to respond to that moment in our work as musical artists. We didn’t deliberately set out to write nearly an album’s worth of protest songs; on the contrary; each song came spontaneously, arriving in real time on a flood of sadness and outrage. Sometimes in the creation of art there’s no resisting circumstance: when the Muse announces a song’s arrival, the song must be free to write itself.
Although we put our hearts and souls into this project, we would be happy to see most of these songs – these too-contemporary folk-pop responses to an expanding culture of fear and loathing – become irrelevant, forgotten musical footnotes to a dark history that will soon vanish into the light of a coming better day. So we hope. We want to write far different songs – and we hope to do so now that this project is completed – but we needed to work our way through these ones first. Our album’s title, Truth to Power, is taken from the opening track, “I Wanna Go to America,” in which we sing “Here’s to the ones not afraid to stand / Marching on the Mall speaking truth to power.”
And so, although many of our songs express a protest against recent American policies and political practices, Truth to Power is not anti-American. On the contrary, we offer our songs as a heartfelt tribute, sent from Canada and the European Union, to our many friends and heroes in America, fearless souls who work, march, take a knee, and otherwise speak out for peace and love.
