words & music: Polar Levine P/1: track, guitars, vocals
D.A.V.: vocals, trombone
produced by Polarity/1
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The shine on America's shoes got dulled
When Wall St. stepped into the Fuld
Congress paid off, workers laid off
Stanford, AIG and Madoff
Credit swaps and credit stops
Empty wallets, empty shops
Dead bank walking is triple A
Grampa loses 401k
Chorus: Plunder It’s a capital crime
Plunder Will anybody do the time?
Money for nothing. Nothing for money
The housing bubble and the Easter bunny
The free market, Santa Claus
Fairy tales and a nation of laws
Bankruptcies, commodities
Retention bonus, credit freeze
We’re all paying for the bailout
Shakin the pitchfork, calling for a jailout Chorus
Clueless experts, clueless news
Waitin for the sound of dropping shoes
One shoe drops, the other shoe drops
One parachute drop ahead of the cops
Over-levereged, over-paid
Hard cash too easily made
Easy credit for easy crime
For the American dream - death by sub-prime
Chorus
Greenspan serving up the Kool Aide
Timebomb ticking on every trade
The mirror flatters; the razor - sharp
On the company jet tootin' up the TARP
Masters of the universe - the master's voice
Greed is the creed, the drug of choice
Toxic assets - the master plan
Greed is the asset of the toxic man
Chorus
Audioplasm (P/1 & Rubio)- I'm So Broke
for Danny Schechter’s film, In Debt We Trust
words & music: Polar Levine Rubio: Vocals, drum programming, bass
P/1: Guitars
produced by Polarity/1
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Ain’t no joke For real I’m broke
I got a ways to go and no dough
Nothing to show
Up all night. Can’t sleep right My head’s tight
Gotta buy food, clothes, books
And it looks like there’s holes in my shoes
What to do?
My credit card’s full and it’s due
No job, no time no reason, no rhyme
Gotta get it together before I’m a mess
Walk the line between ruin and success
I confess, no joke, for real, I’m broke
Chorus: I’m so broke (4x)
They signed me up for credit. I already regret it
Drove home with my Honda
Now the bank comin' to get it
The fool from the bank knows just where I am
Gimme a ham and cheese
Wait a minute, hold the ham
Waiting on tables just to pay for the cable
And what’s left in my pocket
Goes to keep me off the docket
Credit’s a scam, led me on like a John
Just a tool for the con
Five grand poorer since the laste time we spoke
And it ain’t no joke. I’m so fucking broke
Chorus
Winter In America
words & music: Polar Levine D.A.V.: vocal
P/1: track
produced by Polarity/1
----------------------------------------------- He had time. Had the world in his pocket
You never rock it chilly chilly smooth
Never tip the tip the ship the ship
If it ain't broke, don't fix it
20 years drinkin' beers, slappin' backs
One vacation one heart attack
Honest work, honest pay, honest town
Just an American lad and his lassie
20 years poppin' rivets in a chassis
American dream died in its sleep
Kids go hungry when you get the pink sheet
Your luck is down they closed the plant
We get laid off Bob gets paid off
Whatcha gonna say when you get home
It's winter in America chills to the bone
Chorus: It's winter in America Chills to the bone It's winter in America You're on your own The devil wants you on the phone
You walk the streets all day Three months no job no pay
You believe the system works for you
But it's power lunch and you're the beef stew
Your wife out lookin' for a slave Four kids sittin' home alone You tried to raise em right
Before you know they'll be suckin' on a crack pipe
Feelin' weak like a gun at your back Kids go hungry while Bob's kids have a Big Mac
Ok just chill You know this won't last long Word to the president He says there's nothing wrong Chorus
Birth to your fifth child Her hunger screams are wild What's 20 years in the union for?
Congratulations you're one of the poor
Pray to the lord for a friend Empty pockets tell you to fend for yourself Your self respect on a shelf
It's the last of your wealth you'll get no help Initiation to the welfare line
Emasculation complete you're beat Broke down cryin'
Chorus
Two years pass, your pride is gone Your wife is silent, the bank took your home
Remember times when her body felt warm Now the look in her eyes could scare away a snow storm
Children cryin' pounds your brain Politician says, "The union's to blame"
You dream about politicians one night You blast em with an Uzi like 1,000 points of light
Wake up from the dream feelin' fine Spend your last dollar on a nine
Chorus: It's winter in America Chills to the bone It's winter in America You're on your own The devil wants you on the phone It's winter in America You lose your home The devil wants you on the phone
There ain't no time to grieve Your kids look crazy they tug at your sleeve
Your wife's eyes stab at your heart You're up like a bomb, smack her down - depart
It's the first time you ever hit your girl You think about the gun the mother of pearl
Your brain's on fire your legs can't stand Is this really you with a gun in your hand?
Chorus
Seven winds blow through the town Seven shots and the flesh is torn
Seven people dead in the Detroit dawn Somewhere out there, 7 new people born
Chorus: It's winter in America Chills to the bone
It's winter in America Chills to the bone
St. James Infirmary
public domain; new lyrics: Polar Levine P/1: vocals & track
produced by Polarity/1
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I went down to St. James Infirmary
60 people were waiting there
It was 8 AM in the morning
And we barely had the cab fare
First they handed me a pile of papers
The first page was easy to do
It said who is your health insurer
I wrote ‘none’ and turned to page 2
All the same old questions
I answered 20 times before
Did they ever hear of computers?
This is what they were invented for
By noon my little girl is bent over
The pain was getting really bad
Babies screamed, people spittin blood
The worst morning we ever had
The whole emergency unit was spinning
We had nothing to eat all day
By 3:45 she was barely alive
Nobody seemed to look our way
They finally examined her that evening
They wanted to operate
We can barely pay the mortgage
So the operation had to wait
I went down to St. James Infirmary
To see my baby there,
She was lyin' on a long white table,
So sweet, so cool, so fair
We’ll take her out to the graveyard
We’ll all be dressed in black
A family of three driving to a park
Only two of us are coming back
Free Money (But You Have To Pay)
words & music: Polar Levine for Danny Schechter’s film, Plunder P/1: Vocals, surdos, tamborims & track
produced by Polarity/1
------------------------------------------------ Chorus: Got free money But you have to pay Free money But you have to pay Shop till you drop The American way Got free money But you have to pay
From the sea to shining sea Got free money But you have to pay
Signing up for bankruptcy Got free money But you have to pay
The credit was easy, small print sleazy
The devil in the detail designed it to fail
We all got punked by the sub-prime junk
The sign on the lawn says the house is gone
Chorus
Late fee, Fi Fo Fum Got free money But you have to pay
I smell the work of a congressman Got free money But you have to pay
Being landed gentry sure feels comfy
But 2 jobs at Walmart won’t pay the monthly
Mama Mama did you come up short?
The fine print - read about it in court Chorus
Abuse it; excuse it
Got free money But you have to pay
It's all ours til we lose it
Got free money But you have to pay
Buy buy buy til we die die die
Pay pay pay and get gray gray
Bumma Bumma Bumma Gotta tow away the Humma
Living on the street til another con cumma
Chorus
Home Sweet Home
John Howard Payne & Sir Henry Bishop, new lyrics by Polar Levine P/1: vocals & track
produced by Polarity/1
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Some live by religion
Some of us common sense
Some love their neighbors
Some want to build a fence
Half of life is spirit
The rest is skin and bone
They all come together
In the place that we call home
Chorus: Home Home sweet, sweet Home
There's no place like Home
There's no place like Home
I work hard to make a living
It’s hard from nine to five
But it’s home that does the giving
It’s where I am alive
The world is very hungry
Sometimes it eats its own
I’m going where I’m someone
I’m on my way home Chorus
My house ain’t no cash cow
Ain’t no golden goose
It don’t flip like a gymnast
Ain’t liquid like juice
I watch my kids sleeping
They’re real, not Kodachrome
Not living on some property
They’re growing in our home
