]> http://benfrank.net/patriots/taxonomy/term/26/0 en http://benfrank.net/patriots/what_free_trade_really_means <p>"We Can't Make it Here"<br /> by James McMurtry</p> <p><a href="http://www.compadrerecords.com/downloadpages/wecant.html">Download the <img class="l" src="http://benfrank.net/nuke/images/mp3a.gif"> MP3 here</a></p> <p>Vietnam Vet with a cardboard sign<br /> Sitting there by the left turn line<br /> Flag on the wheelchair flapping in the breeze<br /> One leg missing, both hands free<br /> No one's paying much mind to him<br /> The V.A. budget's stretched so thin<br /> And there's more comin' home from the Mideast war<br /> We can't make it here anymore</p> <p>That big ol' building was the textile mill<br /> It fed our kids and it paid our bills<br /> But they turned us out and they closed the doors<br /> We can't make it here anymore</p> <p>See all those pallets piled up on the loading dock<br /> They're just gonna set there till they rot<br /> 'Cause there's nothing to ship, nothing to pack<br /> Just busted concrete and rusted tracks<br /> Empty storefronts around the square<br /> There's a needle in the gutter and glass everywhere<br /> You don't come down here 'less you're looking to score<br /> We can't make it here anymore</p> <p>The bar's still open but man it's slow<br /> The tip jar's light and the register's low<br /> The bartender don't have much to say<br /> The regular crowd gets thinner each day</p> <p>Some have maxed out all their credit cards<br /> Some are working two jobs and living in cars<br /> Minimum wage won't pay for a roof, won't pay for a drink<br /> If you gotta have proof just try it yourself Mr. CEO<br /> See how far 5.15 an hour will go<br /> Take a part time job at one of your stores<br /> Bet you can't make it here anymore</p> <p>High school girl with a bourgeois dream<br /> Just like the pictures in the magazine<br /> She found on the floor of the laundromat<br /> A woman with kids can forget all that<br /> If she comes up pregnant what'll she do<br /> Forget the career, forget about school<br /> Can she live on faith? live on hope?<br /> High on Jesus or hooked on dope<br /> When it's way too late to just say no<br /> You can't make it here anymore</p> <p>Now I'm stocking shirts in the Wal-Mart store<br /> Just like the ones we made before<br /> 'Cept this one came from Singapore<br /> I guess we can't make it here anymore</p> <p>Should I hate a people for the shade of their skin<br /> Or the shape of their eyes or the shape I'm in<br /> Should I hate 'em for having our jobs today<br /> No I hate the men sent the jobs away<br /> I can see them all now, they haunt my dreams<br /> All lily white and squeaky clean<br /> They've never known want, they'll never know need<br /> Their sh@# don't stink and their kids won't bleed<br /> Their kids won't bleed in the da$% little war<br /> And we can't make it here anymore</p> <p>Will work for food<br /> Will die for oil<br /> Will kill for power and to us the spoils<br /> The billionaires get to pay less tax<br /> The working poor get to fall through the cracks<br /> Let 'em eat jellybeans let 'em eat cake<br /> Let 'em eat sh$%, whatever it takes<br /> They can join the Air Force, or join the Corps<br /> If they can't make it here anymore</p> <p>And that's how it is<br /> That's what we got<br /> If the president wants to admit it or not<br /> You can read it in the paper<br /> Read it on the wall<br /> Hear it on the wind<br /> If you're listening at all<br /> Get out of that limo<br /> Look us in the eye<br /> Call us on the cell phone<br /> Tell us all why</p> <p>In Dayton, Ohio<br /> Or Portland, Maine<br /> Or a cotton gin out on the great high plains<br /> That's done closed down along with the school<br /> And the hospital and the swimming pool<br /> Dust devils dance in the noonday heat<br /> There's rats in the alley<br /> And trash in the street<br /> Gang graffiti on a boxcar door<br /> We can't make it here anymore</p> <p>Music and lyrics © 2004 by James McMurtry</p> Jobs Sun, 04 Jun 2006 16:26:50 -0400