James McMurtry’s “We Can’t Make It Here” (mp3)

[paineinthearse]

Very powerful song dealing with globalization, unemployment, returning Iraq / other vets, struggling single moms, billionairs vs the poor........

Received by email from Bernie Sanders' campaign.

Every now and then a song comes out that kind of knocks you out. When Bernie heard James McMurtry’s tune, “We Can’t Make It Here”, he was very moved. On McMurtry’s website (http://www.jamesmcmurtry.com) Bernie is quoted as saying,

“Whether you’re a veteran, a worker who has lost a job due to outsourcing, or a young mother trying to get by, this song tells it like it is. How refreshing to have an artist connect with the realities facing working folks. Thank you James.”

Bernie will be introducing James at Higher Ground in South Burlington, Vermont when he plays on October 25th - it will be a great show.

[texastoast]

1. I love him

Favorite "Safe Side." Enjoy the show.

[Fridays Child]

2. That song is inspirational. The lyrics are relevant to both...

...the Peace and the Labor Movements.

[paineinthearse]

3. Lyrics

http://www.jamesmcmurtry.com/#concerts

"We Can't Make it Here"
Lyrics

Vietnam Vet with a cardboard sign
Sitting there by the left turn line
Flag on the wheelchair flapping in the breeze
One leg missing, both hands free
No one's paying much mind to him
The V.A. budget's stretched so thin
And there's more comin' home from the Mideast war
We can't make it here anymore

That big ol' building was the textile mill
It fed our kids and it paid our bills
But they turned us out and they closed the doors
We can't make it here anymore

See all those pallets piled up on the loading dock
They're just gonna set there till they rot
'Cause there's nothing to ship, nothing to pack
Just busted concrete and rusted tracks
Empty storefronts around the square
There's a needle in the gutter and glass everywhere
You don't come down here 'less you're looking to score
We can't make it here anymore

The bar's still open but man it's slow
The tip jar's light and the register's low
The bartender don't have much to say
The regular crowd gets thinner each day

Some have maxed out all their credit cards
Some are working two jobs and living in cars
Minimum wage won't pay for a roof, won't pay for a drink
If you gotta have proof just try it yourself Mr. CEO
See how far 5.15 an hour will go
Take a part time job at one of your stores
Bet you can't make it here anymore

High school girl with a bourgeois dream
Just like the pictures in the magazine
She found on the floor of the laundromat
A woman with kids can forget all that
If she comes up pregnant what'll she do
Forget the career, forget about school
Can she live on faith? live on hope?
High on Jesus or hooked on dope
When it's way too late to just say no
You can't make it here anymore

Now I'm stocking shirts in the Wal-Mart store
Just like the ones we made before
'Cept this one came from Singapore
I guess we can't make it here anymore

Should I hate a people for the shade of their skin
Or the shape of their eyes or the shape I'm in
Should I hate 'em for having our jobs today
No I hate the men sent the jobs away
I can see them all now, they haunt my dreams
All lily white and squeaky clean
They've never known want, they'll never know need
Their sh@# don't stink and their kids won't bleed
Their kids won't bleed in the da$% little war
And we can't make it here anymore

Will work for food
Will die for oil
Will kill for power and to us the spoils
The billionaires get to pay less tax
The working poor get to fall through the cracks
Let 'em eat jellybeans let 'em eat cake
Let 'em eat sh$%, whatever it takes
They can join the Air Force, or join the Corps
If they can't make it here anymore

And that's how it is
That's what we got
If the president wants to admit it or not
You can read it in the paper
Read it on the wall
Hear it on the wind
If you're listening at all
Get out of that limo
Look us in the eye
Call us on the cell phone
Tell us all why

In Dayton, Ohio
Or Portland, Maine
Or a cotton gin out on the great high plains
That's done closed down along with the school
And the hospital and the swimming pool
Dust devils dance in the noonday heat
There's rats in the alley
And trash in the street
Gang graffiti on a boxcar door
We can't make it here anymore

[paineinthearse]

6. Bleeped and gagged in Ohio

http://www.jamesmcmurtry.com

BLEEPED AND GAGGED in OHIO

Niki Dakota, Music Director at WYSO-FM in Dayton, OH, was suspended without pay for one week by the FCC for playing the unedited version of "We Can't Make it Here." More about the DJ and the station WYSO-FM: www.wyso.org/excursions.htm

To listen to the song go to http://bernie.org/wordpress/media/podcasts/pod_8-25-05/WeCantBand.mp3

If you are in/near Vermont, Rep. Bernie Sanders will be introducing James McMurtry at Higher Ground in South Burlington, Vermont when he plays on October 25th.

More about McMurtry and the song at http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x2043870
===========

www.wyso.org/excursions.htm

Back in the late 60s there was free-form FM radio. Great music was bursting out of San Francisco, New York City, and London. Bell bottoms, tie-dye, and psychedelia were emblems of that generation. FM radio provided the soundtrack for some really groovy times.

Fast forward 30 years. Radio is now a wasteland. Huge corporations have glommed on to most of the stations. Many people think that nobody is making compelling music any more because radio as a whole has become sterile and homogenous. Miami Valley listeners are quite lucky. They still have WYSO at 91.3 on their dials.

There is so much amazing music being made these days. You won't hear it on most radio stations in the Miami Valley. Here at WYSO we have the freedom and the desire to share this incredible music with our listeners. Niki Dakota spends six hours every weekday crafting a melange of sounds ranging across the musical spectrum. Blues. jazz, folk, salsa – one never knows what musical treat will come next.

Niki Dakota comes to WYSO after a decade at greater-Cincinnati's WNKU-FM where, among other distinctions, she was voted "Favorite Public Radio Voice" in 2001 by the readers the Cincinnati weekly newspaper, CityBeat.

Comments or questions about Excursions: Send your message to Niki Dakota at [e-mail].

[paineinthearse]

4. National tour schedule

http://www.jamesmcmurtry.com/#concerts



9/8
In-store performance
Waterloo Records
Austin, TX
5pm
www.waterloorecords.com/

9/9
In-store performance
Cactus Records
Houston, TX
6pm
www.cactusmusicandvideo.com/



The Continental Club, Austin, TX
August | 31
September | 14, 21,28
October 5

The Continental Club,
Austin, TX
September 14
James McMurtry
release party for
Childish Things
@ 12


Sat., Sept. 3
Santa Fe, NM
Thirsty Ear Festival


Sun, Sept. 4
Floore'sin Helotes, TX
for tickets:
www.liveatfloores.com
(San Antonio suburb)


September 9
Houston, TX
The Continental Club


Sat Sep 10 '05 (9:30 PM)
Dallas, TX Poor David's Pub

Sat Sep 17 '05 (9:30PM)
Madison, WI Cafe Montmartre

Fri Sep 23 '05 (TBA)
Austin, TX Jovita's


Sat Sep 24 '05 (9pm)
San Marcos, TX
Cheatham Street
Warehouse

Sat Oct 1 '05 (9pm)
Austin, TX Threadgill's

Sat Oct 8 '05 (9:30 PM)
Denton, TX
Dan's Silverleaf


Back in Texas by mid November
Texas Schedule continued below

_________________
Heading EAST

Mon Oct 10 '05
Kansas City, MO
Knuckleheads


Wed Oct 12 '05 (9:00 PM)
Minneapolis, MN
400 Bar local support


Thu Oct 13 '05 (8:00 PM)
Ames, IA
The Maintenance Shop

Fri. Oct 14, Sat Oct 15
Chicago, IL
Martrys

Mon Oct 17 '05
Lexington, KY
The Dame n/a

Tue Oct 18 '05
Louisville, KY
Uncle Pleasants

Wed Oct 19 '05 (8:30 PM)
Indianapolis, IN
The Music Mill local support

Thu Oct 20 '05 (9:00 PM)
Columbus, OH
Little Brother's

Fri Oct 21 '05
Pittsburgh, PA
Club Cafe

Sat Oct 22 '05
& Sun Oct 23 New York, NY
The Mercury Lounge

Mon Oct 24 '05
Northampton, MA
Iron Horse Music Hall


Tue Oct 25 '05
South Burlington, VT
Higher Ground Showcase


Wed Oct 26 '05 (7:30 PM)
& Thu Oct 27
Ellsworth, ME
Grand Auditorium

Fri Oct 28 '05
Somerville, MA
Johnny D's

Sun Oct 30 '05 (8:30 PM)
Arlington, VA
IOTA

Fri Nov 4 '05 (9:00PM)
Greenville, SC
The Handlebar tba

Sat Nov 5 '05
Atlanta, GA
The 5 Spot

Tue Nov 8 '05 (8:15 PM)
Little Rock, AR
Sticky Fingerz

Thu Nov 10 '05 (10:00PM)
Fort Worth, TX
The Aardvark

Fri Nov 18 '05 (TBA)
Helotes, TX
Floores Country Store

[paineinthearse]

5. Is McCurty on *'s iPod?

If so, maybe his head will explode when he hears "We Can’t Make It Here."

http://www.jamesmcmurtry.com/#concerts

Valley Road among sampling of Pres. Bush's ipod

nytimes

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/11/politics/11letterbox.html

IS HE REALLY LISTENING TO ME? I'LL TAKE IT

TUCSON (AP) -- James McMurtry says his politics may not be the same as another Texan's, but he's pleased to learn that one of his songs, "Valley Road," is on President Bush's iPod. McMurtry says "It's actually been a pretty good piece of promotion so far, people are noticing it, so I'll take it."

Still, McMurtry isn't sure whether Dubya is really listening to his work, or whether the President's publicity team is -- as he puts it -- "just image-crafting." But McMurtry says he won't predict that one of the tracks on his next CD will end up in the President's ear. It's titled "We Can't Make It Here," and outlines many of America's problems -- although without naming any specific leaders by name.

McMurtry's newest CD should be out in August or September.

[ihaveaquestion]

7. Nice! Thanks for sharing. n/t

[paineinthearse]

8. YQW nt