Another Age: "We were born in a revolution...died in a wasted war..."

[AlienGirl]

Another Age
By Phil Ochs


There's a man walking round the island with a snake cane
He picked it up in Thailand from a hurricane
And you know he's not gonna go there
He's been one time too long

Now all the gods are gone
The younger boys are drowning in a shallow sea
The night belongs to snipers in palm trees
And their sabres flashed like lightning
In the charge of the last brigade
They must have been afraid

Soldiers have their sorrow
The wretched have their rage
Pray for the aged it's the dawn of another age
Of another age
Of another age
Of another age

The blood running down the blackboard on a blank screen
The convicts shake their cages of a bad dream
And they'll coach you in the classroom that it cannot happen here
But it has happened here
I remember nothing that I memorized
I got my education from a black eye
And they'll teach you law and order
If you dare to raise your hand
Spare the glove and spoil the man
Soldiers have their sorrow
The wretched have their rage
Pray for the aged
It's the dawn of another age
Of another age
Of another age

Thomas Paine and Jesse James are old friends
And Robin Hood is riding on the road again
We were born in a revolution and we died in a wasted war
It's gone that way before
The dogs are chasing chicken bones across the lawn
If that was an election, I'm a Viet Cong
So I pledge allegiance against the flag
and the fall for which it stands
I'll raise/raze it if I can (Pledge allegiance to the land)
Soldier have their sorrow
The wretched have their rage
Pray for the aged
It's the dawn of another age
Of another age
Of another age
Of another age
Of another age

[Mojambo]

1. Absolutely one of my favorite Ochs songs

Great post AlienGirl!

I'll reciprocate with one of his that could very easily be re-written for today.

Another Country

Oh, a rifle took its aim and a man fell to the ground.
He tried to stand again but everybody held him down:
A time of terror when the bullet pierced the air --

I know that couldn't happen here.
Oh, it must have been another country --
Yes, it must have been another land.
That couldn't happen in the U.S.A.
We'd never treat a man that way.

And a migrant worker sweats underneath the blazin' sun.
He's fallen on his knees but his work is never done.
He begs someone to listen but nobody seems to care,

And I know that couldn't happen here.
Oh, it must have been another country --
Yes, it must have been another land.
That couldn't happen in the U.S.A.
We'd never treat a man that way.

And a man is working steady, it's good money he receives
But he's thrown out of work for the wrong things he believes.
He didn't have the thoughts most everybody shares.

I know that couldn't happen here,
so it must have been another country --
Yes, it must have been another land.
That couldn't happen in the U.S.A.
We'd never treat a man that way.

And a man is sent to prison to wait until he dies.
He fights to save his life, for years and years he tries.
Even though he changed himself he dies upon the chair.

I know that couldn't happen here.
Oh, it must have been another country --
Yes, it must have been another land.
That couldn't happen in the U.S.A.
We'd never treat a man that way.
Oh, I know we'd never treat a man that way.

[enigmatic]

2. Ochs was touched

I need to put a couple cuts on my show; I'm going to put that and "Crucifixion" on tonight..