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Swamp Gas Messiahs

by Glenn Kaiser

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SimonM
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SimonM Yeah ! Glenn does the Barry McGuire over here. This was my first thought when listening. Indeed some parts remind of "Eve Of Destruction", but on repeated listening there is much more to dig. E.g. the industrial-like Principal Principle. Great protest-songs with an important message. Glenn is still bringing it ! Favorite track: Working Poor.
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1.
O Babylon! 02:05
Babylon - O Babylon! Wake up from your sleep! Ya babble on - babble on! God knows you're in too deep! No wall will hold - no wall will hold! Before God's judgment seat! The towers built - the towers built Will fall before His feet! Change your ways - change your ways! Feed My lambs and sheep!
2.
I Hear Talk 03:20
I hear talk about Chicago With our gangs and the violence of guns As I travel the rural states of this land The opioid crisis don't walk - no, it runs And the right and the left and the middle Don't want it on their front lawns While the most moneyed politicians Talk and talk while corporate mouths yawn Visit the jails and the prisons From sea to shining sea Visit the courtrooms and laws on the books And tell me that freedom is free When it's sold to the highest bidder When their bank account is kept safe Offshore, upscale, political cronies In these United States The talk I hear over and over Love takes a backseat to loot Money buys power and fascist prestige And the marginalized get the boot I write this song on Veteran's Day With the millions of flags over millions of graves And I wonder - who are the slaves? Those who whitewash the truth away
3.
Last night I heard tell of a patriot And mostly he is smilin' Like a president for the one percent Bank accounts in the offshore islands If I'm right I think I've been left Just an educated guess Conspiracy theories don't pay my bills Nor do trickle-down ethics heal my ills It's the talk of caring when outsourcing rules And they literally bank on a nation of fools Been a student of history, profit and loss The power of money regardless the cost The rich and the shameless focus on gain As long as we're buyin' they'll sell us the same
4.
Gonna tell you a story About a nation I love Some ain't gonna like it Want me to shut up From the east to the west The land grab came We sent them packin' Plenty to an early grave History ain't a liar When your face was red White man decided You were better off dead Might makes right y'all Manifest destiny Expand that empire Justice free Got to understand They had to expand With the power of weapons Got to get that land It's the history of humankind Unkind, subhuman Mercy gets left behind On the road to ruin Think what you like Say it loud and proud White covered in red Blood cries out from the ground
5.
Working Poor 01:48
Rustbelt trains keep rollin' on Movin' Chinese goods to every town The union songs ain't sung much more Wall Street barons closed the store Welcome to the ranks of the working poor Welcome to the ranks of the working poor College grads go back to school No livin' wage but you ain't no fool Women's pay is on the floor The boss man chooses, that's for sure The boss man chooses, that's for sure They told us if we worked real hard We'd own a fine house with a dog in the yard That we could be anything that we chose The emperor's wearin' his new clothes Hey hey ho ho activist No sense hangin' like a passive fist Most sit on the couch an' just complain Dance between drops in a soakin' rain Artful Dodgers at our core Or we hide inside an' lock the door Silent architects of the working poor Hail the architects of the working poor
6.
Fake 03:31
Fake you, fake them Fake us, fakin' it again Lyin' dogs in a fake sun Fake social media Political gun I’m so sick of it We’re in the thick of it Sleight-of-hand deflection Reality shows Bank account grows Fake wins election Fake love, real guile Fake news every once in a while Fake concern all across the aisle Little fake god with a phoney smile Fake this, and fake that If we don't like it It's fake, an' that's that Fake information from the father of lies Fake salvation shouldn't be a surprise
7.
You might be different You might be strange Probably come From some other place You dress pretty funny An' what an odd name Why don't you go back From wherever you came Give me your tired Give me your poor The wretched refuse Of your teeming shore Send these, the homeless To our golden door... But does the mother of exiles Shine anymore? They came from the north The south, east and west We welcomed them sometimes And near-passed the test But those differences That we might celebrate Seemed to challenge our power And made us irate It seemed competition To who we'd become It was never an issue ‘Cuz we always won The broken, the orphans Returning vets Minority people And the tribes that are left The foreigner, addict And those we don't like They boil up our fears Challenged our way of life To share became odious Taxing us raw Enough is enough... We ain't open no more Does the mother of exiles Matter anymore?
8.
You impress the rich an' shameless With millions in the bank But silver, gold to have an' hold Don't put love in their tank Shoes ya wear to yer underwear Won't put out the heat For widows, orphans, mentally needy Ya left out in the street The stranded empty-handed You gilded-caged ignore Unless they pay homage An' at your feet adore Much is given, will be required But to you more ain't enough One above sees every deal An' He will call yer bluff Build bigger barns or towers Executive privilege thick Ain't real love or power Just a little business trick You talk like they're important But only to your brand The heart of the heartless Is buried in the sand There's One name under heaven Which ought to cause concern Yes One Who's up in heaven Who ought to cause concern The sickest truth some among us Never seem to learn That mountain of money It's all gonna burn It was just, only just All just money to burn
9.
Great Again 02:43
Money, power, all contain Great temptation, lots to gain Lookin' great in shameless fame But it won't erase a common stain Walk with Him in the cool of day Gardeners with feet of clay Feast on every sweet but one Walk in faith or be undone Humbly serve as you take Mind the lies of talkin' snakes I'm the answer to your cry Launchin' codes, suit and tie Emperor in serpent’s threads Cull the living, curse the dead Much is given, much required Spent for heaven, spin for fire Emperors in serpent’s threads Cull the living, curse the dead No one gets the best of me All are false who disagree Walk with Him in the cool of day Gardeners with feet of clay Feast on every sweet but one Justice, mercy, humbly won
10.
Self Defense 03:33
Go on take it off the rack Tuck in, hear the action klack Take aim and never once look back In self defense Drink deeply of the anger, fear Tell yourself this is why you're here Beam of light on the wounded deer Trapped within the fence You murdered him in self defense Pulled the trigger every bullet spent Not considering the pain, lament Sucking smoke for air This murder in self defense No love nor kindly sense Blood cries out What do you care? Find political will Effective drugs to kill Bullets, gas and still History mocks your work Shout the lie of your innocence Self righteousness, ignorance Your page at the end of time Filthy rags and dirt We murder in self defense Pull the trigger with the words we sent Divorce ourselves from the hell we fed our enemies 'Til every mouth and door are shut We murder in self defense Law for them, grace for me Death for them, deaf for me
11.
Loser's Game 02:25
As we love the mountains An' the hollows where you roam Near the railroads and the rivers Where you have made your home We love you, yes we do! Without you we grow pale No cake no wake no funeral Early piney box or nails You're in our heart and in our lungs Black and thick and fine We breathe you as our daily bread Ol' wineskins with old wine Daddy and grand daddy too Addicted to the work For long years their women feared But a man ignores the hurt You may be the death of us But we'll love you jus' the same Ol' king coal you take your toll No matter who's to blame Ol' king coal you'll win the roll ‘Cuz change is a loser's game We'll love you with all our heart Love you 'til death do us part
12.
Thug 02:02
Ya love a fight Live spite Must win Ya love a beat-down No mind Mad kind No time To put your feet down All about control Three piece suit, flag on lapel Just like thug gang-bangin' The bitter pill gonna rot you whole Gotta channel Rage, fear Play married With every babe you leer Top dog In the vomit Shout 'til burn-out Hot like a comet It's all about control If they don't like it, heads gotta roll It's all about you Emperor dressed red, white an' blue
13.
Straw Man 03:24
Headlights are on We hit the high beams The margins crowd Our American dream You cannot trust The underclass While atlas shrugged They ate our trash O destiny, sweet destiny Manifest your hold on me O providence Play our winning hand Light the match So burns the straw man We are the kings And queens of right We back it up With our sovereign might Predestined lords In this corrupt earth Our noses long By royal birth We came we saw And we conquered all For God and man Kings of the hill We shall prevail On blood-soaked land Banking spoils of war So burns the straw man How dare the peasants disagree We were born to rule And them to poverty Let justice roll From our holy hand Our might makes right As we burn the straw man In endless night We keep command Bright as our skin We burn the straw man
14.
Oil Today 01:50
Black is beautiful, when we strike with luck Black is wonderful, when it makes a buck Texas, Oklahoma, oh, you know it well Fossil fuel the golden rule An' send the earth to hell Numb the pain All is bright, all is gain Sinkhole sweet, little quakes Bankers grin, Trojan lakes Oil today, gone tomorrow Wealth, prestige, paves the sorrow Climate change don't mean much In an ivory tower power lunch Jobs for the hungry mob You worked for it, you did not rob Silver, gold and sweetest crude While you win the world will lose Less for them, more for you Black rainfall, environment blues
15.
Market Value 03:45

Tyranny and fear Hooded in the night Grinning, lynching mobs Stark in broad daylight Selective memory A privilege of white 
Who say "How far we've come!" Selective memory A privilege of white With ignorant eyes shut tight
Sold at market value The root of evil grows 
From ancient shores of promise To brutal heat and cold You say all lives matter But you know who matters most The black and brown Not in your town You say all lives matter But you know who matters most
 The black and brown Not in your town So many whipping posts
Black or brown or "other" They are "the least" Cells, bars, razor wire Like racist acts, increase
 So who does Jesus value? Each and all "the least" God will not be mocked What we sow, we’re gonna reap Sold at market value The root of evil grows From ancient shores of promise To brutal heat and cold You say all lives matter But you know who matters most 
The black and brown Not in your town So many whipping posts Sold at market value The root of evil grows From ancient shores of promise To brutal heat and cold You say all lives matter But you know who matters most So many whipping posts Sold at market value Continues to this day
16.
All eyes on you - gotta be the main Nobody comes close to you - can't beat you at your game Ain't nothin' to be sorry for - as long as you're first You're the winner, even when you lose - an' the truth gets worse You're a person of principle - an' the principal is you An ethical trainwreck - play the king, be the fool You scold and belittle - don't dare disagree But when the end comes around Gonna be on your knees At the sound of the last trump Pride before the fall The most powerful liar in the world Will have nothin' to say at all Could've cared about the widow The homeless and the hurt Could've cared for the planet Took your pay from scorched earth Made a fortune off a name Bought a trophy wife Built towers of babble In exchange for a life
17.
You Ain't 03:25
Over the river Middle of the night Hunger in your belly Violence an' fright Speak a different language Cook a different meal They don't care what you think They don't care how you feel Add up the numbers They will make it clear They don't like your kind You ain't welcome here They love law When it deals them a winnin' hand Justice for the Natives and Blacks in their land Asians, Hispanics Everybody's rights Clean, bright, tidy 'Specially if you're white Just so you'll understand They will make it clear Unless you're just like them You ain't welcome here A nation of immigrants Civilized and armed Saw the goods and conquered Few became alarmed But when time came to share the wealth It was time to fight Do before it's done to you Might determines right And they’re sayin' one more time Rage, fear or tears Mercy, justice, take a hike You ain't welcome here
18.
Mud and Spit 03:29
We need mud and spit for our eyes And eyes to see, as you see We need ears, to hear with our heart Love to set, the captive free Money won't do it Power won't do it Fear won't do it Lies won't do it We must go and wash like you said We got to turn away from destruction Move beyond vengeance and war Lord how we need Your instruction To do justice, to love mercy To walk humbly with our God

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released October 2, 2020

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Glenn Kaiser Chicago

After 40+ years of playing music, Glenn Kaiser is known for his raw, bluesy vocal, fiery guitar chops as well as his harmonica work, Glenn is comfortable playing traditional and modern blues, original worship music and R&B.

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