Get all 30 Fred Gillen Jr releases available on Bandcamp and save 50%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Kaaterskill (Winter Instrumentals), Turn Off The Lights, Birds, See The Light, Into the Darkness, All In, If I Woke Up This Morning and Died, If I Woke Up This Morning and Died (Unplugged), and 22 more.
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I'm walking down that freedom highway
I'm walking down that freedom highway
I'm walking down that freedom highway
taking my time, taking my time
if you run they get suspicious
if you run they shoot you down
you've got to walk, your head held high
when you're freedom bound
I'm walking down that freedom highway
I'm walking down that freedom highway
I'm walking down that freedom highway
taking my time, taking my time
if you fight then they will beat you
if you fight then you will die
you've got to stand and speak the truth
if you're freedom bound
I'm walking down that freedom highway
I'm walking down that freedom highway
I'm walking down that freedom highway
taking my time, taking my time
if you complain, no one will listen
if you complain no one will care
you've got to work, and do what's right
if you're freedom bound
I'm walking down that freedom highway
I'm walking down that freedom highway
I'm walking down that freedom highway
taking my time, taking my time
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2. |
Election Day
03:50
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As the truth hides in darkened doorways
politicians take the stage
and the people desperately believe in the champion of their choosing
the rain falls down, a flood ensues
pneumonia finds the hiding truth
no hospital will treat her
so silently she dies
look beyond the lighted stage
deep into your secret rage
don't believe the pretty words of
men who come to fool you
they will fool you
legends born of circumstance
nothing to lose, you take a chance
the truth may die in oblivion
but her story will be told
in whispered tones in secret rooms
the people shine a light on doom
movements spring from desperation
shared in darkened basements
look beyond the lighted stage
deep into your secret rage
don't believe the pretty words of
men who come to fool you
they will fool you
waking on election day, ready to do my part
head full of misinformation but hope in my heart
walking with my neighbors down to the middle school
but as we line up to pull the lever, money changes hands forever
deals are made and empires built and we are none the wiser
as the truth puts up her final fight
someone grasps at what is right
and finds the words to help the truth
to finally overcome
look beyond the lighted stage
deep into your secret rage
don't believe the pretty words of
men who come to fool you
they will fool you
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3. |
Ghost Of Joe Hill
03:28
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Joe Hill stood on an empty box
in the squares and on the docks
trying to organize the men
'cause you've got power if you've got friends
Joe Hill, Joe Hill
your ghost is in us all
Joe Hill, Joe Hill
in every worker standing tall
The salvation Army band showed up
with trumpets and tubes to shut Joe up
to drown him out they played real loud
and when they were done they dispersed the crowd
Joe Hill, Joe Hill
your ghost is in us all
Joe Hill, Joe Hill
in every worker standing tall
Joe was discouraged but he wouldn't quit
he had an idea and he worked on it
he wrote and he wrote and he learned to sing
songs of his struggle to the square he'd bring
to the tunes of the salvation army band
simply so the people could understand
he sang the words of organization
and they were repeated all over the nation
augmented by trumpets and tubas they rang
the message grew stronger as the people sang
the workers organized and fought
and the country was changed forever
Joe Hill, Joe Hill
your ghost is in us all
Joe Hill, Joe Hill
in every worker standing tall
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4. |
Fall Down
03:25
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Malcolm said the chickens would
come to roost and now there's proof
the farce election hit home with
the dust in New York City
they heard the echoes ringing
in Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan
but they're accustomed to the din
whereas we've lived in sin
we all fall down
we always hit the ground
some hit running some just hit
but we all fall down
I grabbed my gun and hit the street
'cause there's no glamour in retreat
false honor calls the sleeping
as prayer calls the righteous
the bombs arrived before the ink
had dried on any paper
paving the way for endless war
a one-way road
we all fall down
we always hit the ground
some hit running some just hit
but we all fall down
how far will we go before admitting our mistakes?
when the ashes of our brothers
make it hard to see our wake
the road we've paved leads us away
from fixing what we've broken
and now that path's not safe because of
the beast that we've awoken
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5. |
Cost Of War
03:03
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the cost of war
can't be figured in dollars
the cost of war
can't be fathomed with sense
the cost of war
cannot be paid forward
for every generation
it leaves only debt
the cost of war
you can find it in wards
of VA hospitals
trying to get home
the cost of war
is counted in families
mothers and fathers
who will never come home
the cost of war
isn't honor or duty
these things thrive
in the people who fight
the cost of war
isn't in the proving
of what is fair
or what is right
the cost of war
is starving in doorways
at the edges of cities
strewn with rubble and blood
the cost of war
if it could be counted
would make us stop fighting
and surrender our guns
the cost of war
the cost of war
the cost of war what are we fighting for?
the cost of war what are we fighting for?
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6. |
The American Dreamer
00:55
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The American dreamer
finally slips into deep sleep
his rapid eye movie over
this land ominously silent
black ribbons rippling
cobblestones shining
like crooked teeth through the gaps
the last gasp of gasoline
unnoticed in the night
all is quiet on the western hemisphere
The End
a gentle fade to black
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7. |
Killing Machine
03:55
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They decorated me ceremoniously, the governor was there and 3 generals too
I got my medals, I was on TV, but now what am I supposed to do?
‘cause there is no job for a killing machine back here in civilization
the army said they’d train me and give me a skill,
then they gave me a gun and sent me to kill
and now I’m home, but there is no home
for a newly retired killing machine
and nobody wants to hear my story
now the war is over and they want to forget
but how can I forget the people I killed and the friends I’ve lost?
So I walked into my bar unceremoniously, I was a regular here not so long ago
But now to some I’m a bit of a celebrity and to the rest I’m just a jar-head, a G.I. Joe
I buy a couple rounds but it ain’t the same, I’ll never again be one of the guys
So I sit at home and watch TV and try to forget what I know I can’t
There’s no escape, and no reprieve
For a newly unemployed killing machine
and nobody wants to hear my story
now the war is over and they want to forget
but how can I forget the people I killed and the friends I’ve lost?
They arrested me ceremoniously, they read me my rights like a reading at a mass
I’ll get 3 square meals and an orange jumpsuit,
but at least I will no longer be out on my ass
I’ll make dog-tags and license plates- the irony, I’ll take orders again like I did before
They say I can take classes and learn a trade, I’ll lift weights and drink cool aid
But there’s no honor to be had in this place
For a newly incarcerated killing machine
and nobody wants to hear my story
now the war is over and they want to forget
but how can I forget the people I killed and the friends I’ve lost?
Killing machine
I guess I’ll always be a killing machine
I don’t want to be a killing machine
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8. |
4 a.m. Walk Home
01:32
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9. |
Occupy Your Own Mind
03:18
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When he was in school they told him he could be anything
even the President of these United States
one day he realized this was a lie
he never got over it or other lies they told him
confusion blinded him
empty words were ringing
so he ran fast and straight to nowhere
occupy your own mind
take it back, take it back
don't believe the lies
no matter who told them
when she was a girl they told her
certain things she couldn't be
she dreamed about biology
but believed what she was told
at 65, retired
being a grandma was
the one thing she could have and hold
occupy your own mind
take it back, take it back
don't believe the lies
no matter who told them
we lie to our children
we pretend and we amend
then we wonder why they struggle
we wonder why they doubt
so many deceptions we could do without
if we just had the courage to be real
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10. |
We The People
03:18
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The declaration of independence
said God created us
equal in his eyes
with certain basic rights
that can't be compromised
that you get for being human
and therefore equal in his eyes
We the people equal in God's eyes
we the people equal in God's eyes
our constitution
also starts with the word we
it lists no exceptions
it includes everybody
if anyone is missing
there is space to write them in
we the people equal in God's eyes
we the people equal in God's eyes
we the people, beautiful and strong
we can't change the past but we are the future if we try
we the people equal in God's eyes
People are hope machines
Woody Guthrie wrote that
the money changers still own the world
but here we are gathered in this place
singing songs of hope and peace
in voices torn by grief
who really runs things here
if you really think about it?
we the people equal in God's eyes
we the people equal in God's eyes
we the people, beautiful and strong
we can't change the past but we are the future if we try
we the people equal in God's eyes
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11. |
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I dreamed I saw Pete Seeger
he was standing on a hill
singing to the moon and clouds
the world was cool and still
there was not a soul around
to hear his freedom song
no one to carry on the tune
after Pete was gone
old Peter didn't shed a tear
did not complain or cry
he slowly walked down that high hill
and turned his face from the sky
he found some folks who'd listen
in the classrooms and the streets
he sang his song for anyone
and everyone he'd meet
soon his song was everywhere
in the air like oxygen
when Peter climbed up that high hill
it rang and called him down
when Peter climbed up that high hill
it rang and called him down
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12. |
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We're gathered here tonight G
to do a sacred thing D
sing sing sing, sing sing sing C G Am, C G Am
sing sing sing, sing C G Am, G
It says in the Bible somewhere G D
that singing is praying times two C G
and whenever angels show up G D
it always seems that's what they do C G
We're gathered here tonight
to do a sacred thing
sing sing sing, sing sing sing
millions of pilgrims every day
visit Mecca and I've heard it said
when you hear their song
millions singing all at once
it's a sound you'll never forget
We're gathered here tonight
to do a sacred thing
sing sing sing, sing sing sing
the Navajo and Cherokee
Lakota and Cheyenne
Shawnee, Pawnee, Crow and Cree
all have one common thread
beside the one Great Spirit and the one Mother Earth
they all raise their voices for all that they are worth
We're gathered here tonight
to do a sacred thing
sing sing sing, sing sing sing
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Fred Gillen Jr Athens, New York
NYFA grant recipient Fred Gillen Jr has released 12 solo albums, and 6 ep’s, has toured all over the U.S. and Europe solo, and Nepal/ India with Greenheart. His songs have been on ABC's "All My Children," NPR's "Car Talk," CMJ, and his version of Woody Guthrie's "I Ain't Got No Home" was featured on Pete Seeger's "Pete Remembers Woody." He is also a founding member of THE TRIKE rock trio. ... more
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I've been a fan of Chris' for 20 years. Check out all of his albums!
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