Ballad of Birmingham
(On the bombing of a church in Birmingham, Alabama, 1963)
"Mother dear, may I go downtown Instead of out to play, And march the streets of Birmingham In a Freedom March today?"
"No, baby, no, you may not go, 5
For the dogs are fierce and wild,
And clubs and hoses, guns and jails
Aren't good for a little child."
"But, mother, I won't be alone.
Other children will go with me, 10
And march the streets of Birmingham
To make our country free."
"No, baby, no, you may not go,
For I fear those guns will fire.
But you may go to church instead 15
And sing in the children's choir."
She has combed and brushed her night-dark hair,
And bathed rose petal sweet,
And drawn white gloves on her small brown hands,
And white shoes on her feet. 20
The mother smiled to know that her child
Was in the sacred place,
But that smile was the last smile
To come upon her face.
For when she heard the explosion, 25
Her eyes grew wet and wild.
She raced through the streets of Birmingham
Calling for her child.
She clawed through bits of glass and brick,
Then lifted out a shoe. 30
"O, here's the shoe my baby wore,
But, baby, where are you?"
--Dudley Randall (1914-2000)
Bouncing Souls: “Ballad of Johnny X”
Johnny says he's bound by only six strings to this world
Johnny says he keeps them always one turn out of tune
Johnny never listens to the kids that say
Johnny X ain't never done the right thing anyway
Johnny wears his leather like a crown of thorns
Johnny spends a lot of time wishing he was never born
Johnny waits at Journal Square and tells himself again
Johnny you're the patron saint of spittin' in the wind
Johnny's got all the right scars but he'll never learn from them
Johnny's past is his guide but he can't remember where he's been
Johnny looks up through the steam of his caffeine and says,
"Life’s a train I barely caught just to find out I ain't got the fare"
I got my records of The King to keep me
the red red wine in the air is drifting
four chords and the spite to use them
and just enough wisdom to ignore the truth