Street Dogs Album

I'm tired of American socialite culture
God it makes me sick
I've got so much fire burning deep inside
The time has come to face the truth and bring about a change

I don't care about all your books and magazines
All these new evolving scenes or plastic teenage dreams
Want to sing for all the angry kids up on the block
The kids are fighting dope, the people time forgot
These things are the things that stir my soul, impassion me to sing
Got so much frustration, really starting to sting
See so many faults, got things to vent and lose
All fed up with everything so this is what I choose

We have had, had enough
The time has come to call their bluff

This is a battle cry for the common people
The forgotten nowhere kids stuck in the middle
We're singing this song for all of the common people
Who've given up so much and gotten back so little

And another thing that bothers me is the black gold gang and how they use the poor
With arrogance and lies, all those fake smiles
The time has come to call them out so let the gloves come off

Us lower class kids get stuck inside a rich man's war
Seems like less about the freedom and more like mining with the world
And we're not born of entitlement, we hump down in the dirt
Sometimes it makes us wonder what we're really fighting for
These are things that light my fuse and make me wonder why

Losing my grip on the handle, off it I might fly
See so many faults, got things to vent and lose
All fed up with everything, so this is what I choose

We have had, had enough
The time has come to call their bluff

This is a battle cry for the common people
The forgotten nowhere kids stuck in the middle
We're singing this song for all of the common people
Who've given up so much and got back so little

Got a lot on my mind, too much something I think
Pretty damn opinionated, make me swim or sink
Should I give it up? Close my mouth for good?
Go back to work, I should... hell no!

This is a battle cry for the common people
The forgotten nowhere kids stuck in the middle
We're singing this song for all of the common people
Who've given up so much and got back so little
(x2)

Got no more to talk about, this is where we are
Not a damn expert only sing what's in my heart
This is what we have to say and this is what we do
And if you don't like it... fuck you!

Not without a purpose and it's not without a fight
I've got three tales to tell you so please sit tight
It's the story of three underdogs who've grown to see their light
Not without a purpose, not without a fight

Been away for far too long, you're on my mind
Got your picture and I stare at it all the time
Minutes turn to hours, hours into days
And as each one passes by it feels all the same

But the lights they go dark, Man In Black on the P.A.
Walk up the stairs as one again to decimate the stage

Not without a purpose and it's not without a fight
Our spirit lives forever blinded by the city lights
If we keep our act together we might make another night
Not without a purpose, not without a fight

Hey, I was always just another average kid
Looking up to the Pistols, idolizing Sid
I guess my parents never really felt the same
Spikes and leather jackets hurt my family name
Now I'm on the streets, now I've been locked out
Friends and punk rock music were the only way out

Started as a firm believer, now I own my doubts
As it's pretty clear a civil war has broken out
A Southie iron worker leaving work behind
As W.M.D. propaganda warped my fragile mind
But now I've lived the truth, my eyes are open wide
E.T.S. to Boston leave an oil war behind

Not without a purpose and it's not without a fight
Another poor kid caught up in a fire fight
I don't believe in Jesus but I pray to God tonight
Not without a purpose, not without a fight

Never give up, never give in, never walk away, always fighting
Never give up, never give in, never walk away, always fighting

Been away for far too long, you're on my mind
Got your picture and I stare at it all the time
Minutes turn to hours, hours into days
And as each one passes by it feels all the same

Not without a purpose and it's not without a fight
Our spirit lives forever blinded by the city lights
If we keep our act together we might make another night
Not without a purpose, not without a fight

Not without a purpose and it's not without a fight
Our spirit lives forever blinded by the city lights
If we keep our act together we might make another night
Not without a purpose, not without a fight
Not without a purpose, not without a fight

Shame and anger in his mind
They torture and this shit's unkind
Everyone pointed and laughed
Growing up this kid in school was everybody's hatred tool
His suicidal thoughts would always pass

There's just one thing I want to know
When you have nowhere to go
How many times did you stand and cry?
Through thick and thin you made it through
While no one even cared for you
How many times did you want to die?

A new school was your second chance
But when she ripped your underpants
Your parents wonder why you're so withdrawn
They terrorized your neighborhood
You did everything you could
Still you got beat up on your front lawn

There's just one thing I want to know
When you have nowhere to go
How many times did you stand and cry?
Through thick and thin you made it through
While no one even cared for you
How many times did you want to die?

Do you remember back in high school
That kid we all picked on?
No one backed him, ever liked him
He carries that with him today

There's just one thing I want to know
When you have nowhere to go
How many times did you stand and cry?
Through thick and thin you made it through
While no one even cared for you
How many times did you want to die?

Tell me how many times did you want to die?
How many times did you stand and cry?

Morality patrol
First amendment she's coming down
First amendment she's coming down
First amendment she's coming down
First amendment she's coming down

Agents of morality, clean America for you and me
Fundamentalist authorities judging dirt from clean
Cloaked in a flag and bible disguise, gonna clean our ears and eyes
Better not speak up, don't you realize it's in God we trust?

Freedom take cover they're gunning for you, the decency police
Extend their reach with know-all speech, the decency police
Watching out for us, who needs freedom when you have them?

From the 700 Club to Capitol Hill, imposed agenda to instill
Mad with their self-righteous lies to clean our ears and our eyes
Little do they know we're catching on to them
Clock will strike 11, voters wake up rid us of them

Freedom take cover they're gunning for you, the decency police
Extend their reach with know-all speech, the decency police
Watching out for us, who needs freedom when you have them?

They got a brand new bible waiting for you, yes they do
They are gonna change everything you say and do
The decency police they know what's right
Freedom of choice they aim to fight
You better wake up, you better close down
Before it gets too late

Freedom take cover they're gunning for you, the decency police
Extend their reach with know-all speech, the decency police
Watching out for us, who needs freedom when you have them?

(Originally by Billy Bragg)

There is power in a democracy, power in the land
Power in the hands of a worker
But it all amounts to nothing if together we don't stand
There is a power in a Union

Now the lessons of the past were all learned with workers' blood
The mistakes of the bosses we must pay for
From the cities to the farmlands in the trenches full of mud
'cause war has always been the bosses' way sir

The Union forever defending our rights
Let's fight the Right Wing, all workers unite
With our brothers and our sisters from many far off lands
There is power in a Union

Now I long for the time that they realize
Brutality and unjust laws cannot defeat us
But who'll defend the workers who cannot organize
When the GOP send their attorneys out to cheat us?

Money speaks for money, the Devil for his own
Who'll come speak for the skin and the bone?
What a comfort to widow, a light for the child
There is power in a Union

The Union forever defending our rights
Let's fight the Right Wing, all workers unite
With our brothers and our sisters from many far off lands
There is power in a Union

With social justice and equality
For every man and woman who wants it
There is power in a Union

We were always drunken roustabouts
Had our ups, downs, and near throwdowns
You were the center of attention
That mayor of party town
But that ended forever more
When your Les Paul crashed the Troubadour floor
Tobe's got a drinking problem

You started a wayward teen
Joined every late night drinking team
The life of every party, first to show the last to go
How that reputation grew, until everybody knew
Tobe's got a drinking problem
Tobe's got a drinking problem

As the years they move along
And all your chaos carries on
Remember down in Florida we had to bail you out
Maybe now's the time to choose
Between serenity or booze
Tobe's got a drinking problem
Tobe's got a drinking problem

"Hey, give the guy a break, he wasn't that bad.
It isn't make or break, so give him his bottle back."

Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey

Tobe's got a drinking problem
Tobe's got a drinking problem

I swear by almighty God
That I'm never drinking again
I'm gonna get back my girlfriend
I'm gonna get back my job
I'm never drinking again

Tobe's got a drinking problem
Tobe's got a drinking problem
Tobe's got a drinking problem

Tobe's got a drinking problem
Tobe's got a drinking problem
Tobe's got a drinking problem

So when the smoke and the fire of anther attack slowly drift away
Can anyone seem to find the appropriate words to say?
When the pain of loss and sudden change conjure family strife
Is there any hope at all for a return to normal life?

Is there solace in condolence or just deeper pain dug up?
The sad truth is victim's families have nothing to look forward to
And I'm sick of picking up the Boston Globe and seeing painful days of loss
Question everything without apology about the horror and the cost

Shards of life are left behind, no easier, kinder path to find
With a loss so bitter, so incomplete, with it hopes and plans crash in defeat
And hope is a foggy and distant memory no hope for normalcy
Cling close to the legacy of loss and shards of life, of life

We see a new war in the offing as we're challenged by a new plight
It's media handle is terrorism, it's the same old ideological fight
The debates will rage on, are we handling this thing right?
Can't turn away reality, can't push it out of our mind's eye

Shards of life are left behind, no easier, kinder path to find
With a loss so bitter, so incomplete, with it hopes and plans crash in defeat
And hope is a foggy and distant memory no hope for normalcy
Cling close to the legacy of loss and shards of life, of life

And civilian loss on the other side, is that something that we try to hide?
What about the human condition, I'm sick of all these justifications
Where is the real outrage? My god, there's got to be a better way
Is this how we solve problems? I guess we haven't really evolved much

Shards of life are left behind, no easier, kinder path to find
With a loss so bitter, so incomplete, with it hopes and plans crash in defeat
And hope is a foggy and distant memory no hope for normalcy
Cling close to the legacy of loss and shards of life
And cling close to the legacy of loss and shards of life
Cling close to the legacy of loss and shards of life

Our beloved democracy is now six feet under, yes it is
Cause you got perception managers selling war blunder, they do
There is not an outlet they can't reach
Follow along just like good sheep
They alter, manipulate info that you read

Sell it on the TV, they sell it to the press
Sell it to the right wing, sell it to the left
Make us believe what they say is the truth
Mr. Rendon, f**k you for selling your lies
For selling your lies

Yeah I know that it is really nothing so new
Follow along with the government red, white, and blue
Better wake up, it's running out of time
They control every single f**king dime
The N.S.A. is watching everything you do

Sell it on the TV, they sell it to the press
Sell it to the right wing, sell it to the left
Make us believe what they say is the truth
Mr. Rendon, f**k you for selling your lies
For selling your lies

Sell it on the TV, they sell it to the press
Sell it to the right wing, sell it to the left
Make us believe what they say is the truth
Mr. Rendon, f**k you for selling your lies
For selling your lies

Walking on a summer day down in Warland Square
When we came upon a begging flower with dreadlocks in her hair
A younger girl, cyanotic too soon
She shoots us back a look, keep that pity to yourself
Then she turns away so violently and fixes up again
Life-stealing chill digging into her

Why have you turned out this way?
Have all those cheap shots got you running so far away?

Because it owns, owns the rights to your soul
Numb like a mortician, funeral parlor cold
Somewhere beneath the rot lies a rose
Before the poison stream stole the rights to your soul
Rights to your soul, rights to your soul

Reluctantly I throw some cash and pity in her can
Knowing full well that the money is earmarked for a bad plan
Admit kindness to a fault, I guess
She half smiles, half cries, catch that pity in my eyes
Then she looks away within a hurry for her begging cry
Christ, she looks on her last leg

Why have you turned out this way?
Have all those hot shots got you running so far away?

Because it owns, owns the rights to your soul
Numb like a mortician, funeral parlor cold
Somewhere beneath the rot lies a rose
Before the poison stream stole the rights to your soul
Rights to your soul, rights to your soul

How do you concede young life to a dragon?
How about kicking your demons loose for a ride on the wagon?

Why have you turned out this way?
Have all those hot shots got you running so far away?

Because it owns, owns the rights to your soul
Numb like a mortician, funeral parlor cold
Somewhere beneath the rot lies a rose
Before the poison stream stole the rights to your soul
Rights to your soul, rights to your soul

Owns, owns the rights to your soul
Numb like a mortician, funeral parlor cold
I remember such a little rose
Before the heroin stole the rights to your soul
Rights to your soul, rights to your soul

Seems to me you were snake-bitten from day one
Absent somehow when they shot off the right from the wrong gun
Always swimming in the deep end of your troubled pool
Opted for that asphalt as your chosen school

Then you got shipped off to DYS
Threw your life into a great big mess
But you could care less.

It's a tale of increasing woe
You know how the story goes
Hard Luck Kid has us all asking, why?
Once a shine in your mother's eyes
Failed attempts now make her cry
Hard Luck Kid when will you ever learn?
When will you ever learn?

From Southie to Walpole you went from small to bigger crime
Hanging out with cross colors crews, promoted to full time
Kept up in step, upped your rep, by pulling those hold-up jobs
Now you find yourself locked up with Cedar Junction mobs

Murphy boy is locked down in the can
Probably not part of the big plan
Does he understand?
It's a tale of increasing woe
You know how the story goes
Hard Luck Kid has us all asking, why?
Once a shine in your mother's eyes
Failed attempts now make her cry
Hard Luck Kid when will you ever learn?
When will you ever learn?

And I heard you just broke free from institution
Will you turn on to the right path for solution?
Cause I know inside there lies one more shot
Do not be the guy redemption had forgot about, left behind, got passed over by a criminal mind
Back to wrong, same old song
Pete wake up, get back on top, while you still own some hope

It's a tale of increasing woe
You know how the story goes
Hard Luck Kid has us all asking, why?
Once a shine in your mother's eyes
Failed attempts now make her cry
Hard Luck Kid when will you ever learn?
When will you ever learn?

Working hard from day to day now, I get a check that barely lasts
I'm just another no choice member in Uncle Sam's desperation class
Finding it hard to face my wife, new kid born out of shotgun life
Twenty years old and I love them both, see no sunshine in our skies

Silently we pray for turbulence to break
How much more financial stress can we all take?

Getting closer to our limit
We chase the penthouse from the basement
Our current rat race, we run to stand still
This is our fading American Dream

Bad news coming in, these higher rent rates gouge us thin
The sands of time are running down as we slip further behind

Bleeding my family, they're stretched too
Eviction notes, what can I do?
Twenty years old, feel my life's on hold
Yell at a school-taught God, oh why?

Silently we pray for turbulence to break
How much more financial stress can we all take?

Getting closer to our limit
We chase the penthouse from the basement
Our current rat race, we run to stand still
This is our fading American Dream

Have we ever been above water?
Do we ever see ourselves coming out of it alive?

Getting closer to our limit
We chase the penthouse from the basement
Our current rat race, we run to stand still
This is our fading American Dream

I got no time no to go and cry now
Leave for a second job, don't want to go poor
I'm just searching for my dignity
This is our fading American Dream
This is our fading American Dream
This is our fading American Dream

He had just turned nineteen yesterday
Wanted to be a school teacher someday
Came from a small and modest town
Had never before traveled abroad

He signed on the promise of a college fund
Pop and Mom begged him to stay at home
The last time they saw him was at an airport
He hugged his distraught mother a final time

He went abroad to serve when he was only nineteen
Reality caught up with him, stole a heart full of dreams

He's never gonna get a chance to chase all those hopes
Lost them all amidst this war and smoke
Can you hear the sound of youth negated?
Watch on TV names are taken
Mother, Mother
My final transmission

Paris Island was plain hell on earth
Got gunny yelling at him, "better prove your worth"
Moved on to Baghdad about six months on
Caught an IED today, now he is gone

He went abroad to serve when he was only nineteen
Reality caught up with him, stole a heart full of dreams

He's never gonna get a chance to chase all those hopes
Lost them all amidst this war and smoke
Can you hear the sound of youth negated?
Watch on TV names are taken
Mother, Mother
My final transmission

Dad and Mom I am your only loving son
Hid a written final transmission under my helmet
Love you both in heart and mind
A better set of parents no boy could ever find
Weep for me and say thy prayers
Remember me through all your years
Only got to serve for six months on and
If you're reading this I have passed and gone

So I harbor my final request
A letter in my memory please send
Off to the President and all his men
Begging him with others to bring the troops back home
He's never gonna get a chance to chase all those hopes
Lost them all amidst the war and smoke
Can you hear the sound of youth negated?
Watch on TV names are taken

He's never gonna get a chance to chase all those hopes
Lost them all amidst this war and smoke
Can you hear the sound of youth negated?
Why are all those young lads taken
Mother, Mother
My final transmission

When I graduated high school
College not my scene
So I got a job at home for me
Feeling good about my opportunity
It's got benefits and decent pay... but they say

We hit a stalemate, looks bleak for us
A strike or lock-out or wholesale bust
Think to myself what a hell of a start
As we file down to Kate's Tavern

Katie, bar the door, we are jumping off the rails
Any hope for calm went John B. Sails
We're in your pub tonight to sing of good days left behind
And raise a glass to better times

The rumor mill's dispelled the official word comes down
They're gonna move our jobs real far away
Settle to another country where mistreatment for the workers is so commonplace... the judge says

"We cannot stop them, they're free to go"
He looks me in the eyes he says "I can't help you son"
Whatever happened to America?
She was sold twenty-six f**kin' long years ago

Katie, bar the door, we are jumping off the rails
Any hope for calm went John B. Sails
We're in your pub tonight to sing of good days left behind
And raise a glass to better times

Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey
Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey

Why sing about the unions again?
They have all died away
We are now in the midst of a brand new world economy

I don't believe them, I won't despair
They are regrouping, they're coming back to stay
Twelve percent can climb back up to fifty percent
Once again, my friend, a message we'll send

Katie, bar the door, we are jumping off the rails
Any hope for calm went John B. Sails
We're in your pub tonight to sing of good days left behind
And raise a glass to better times

Katie, bar the door, we are jumping off the rails
Any hope for calm went John B. Sails
We're in your pub tonight to sing of good days left behind
And raise a glass to better times
We'll raise a glass to better times
We'll raise a glass to better times