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Empty Pockets
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Single   $1
Album   $10
That guy standing in line at the umeployment office? This is what's running through his head.
blues rock cherri violato
Artist picture
A unique mix of barroom bluesrock and soft American rock.
The cultural soil that made the blues great has all been plowed down to sterile ground and eroded away down the long Mississippi. So the challenge for a band like Cherri and the Violators is to reinvent the blues and bring something fresh to the table. Happily, even triumphantly, the band has done just that on an album that manages to be both experimental in its reach while saying something new. The Benzie/Manistee County-based band labels their music "contemporary blues," and you have to hand it to them: they have succeeded in slapping the paddles on the old zombie blues and reviving it as their own personal creation with songwriting that is exceptionally strong.
Song Info
Genre
Blues • Blues General
Charts
Peak #41
Peak in subgenre #10
Author
Cheryl Bendig / Cherri & the Violators
Rights
2004
Uploaded
December 23, 2004
Track Files
MP3
MP3 3.7 MB • 128 kbps • 3:59
Story behind the song
Commentary on the economy in Northern Michigan.
Lyrics
Got empty pockets And old shoes Got a threadbare coat Got the unemployment blues Where are all the factories? I can’t make it if I’m making Fast food deliveries. Got a nice clean record I can’t deliver any place Been knocking on doors See them slamming in my face Don’t want no state clerk lookin down on me I’d rather spend my last dollar Bettin on the lottery Don’t want to serve their drinks Don’t want to operate their slots Don’t want to clean their rooms Bag groceries at the Save a Lot Good paying jobs are going overseas Can’t make a decent living In the tourist industry.
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On 14 Playlists
Comments 1
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Strummergurl
Oct 30, 2008
Awesomely kick _ss blues tune! 5 stars all the way. Lived this song....too much, so really feelin it. Love the lyrics, that voice ROCKS, and love the slinky guitar lines. Do you guys ever play in Wisconsin at all? Bet you are great live. Take care and keep on keepin on! ;) ~strummergurl~