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Go Down You Broken Old Man
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A song of renewal and hope
peace war protest
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Paul Arenson is a sometimes singer, songwriter, teacher and political activist, born in NY, resident physically in Japan and Boston. Puccini and Seeger were bot
. You can listen to 2 minute excerpts here. And then, if you feel motivated to do so, you can buy singles, an MP3 album, or a physical CD below. Why do I offer several options, free or pay? Because I believe music is the property of us all. My compensation is knowing that someone personally felt moved to tears or anger or laughter, that someone takes my song and plays it for others, changes it or adds to it, and does so without a profit motive. If you want to support the work of the TokyoProgressive website (free space and assistance to socially progressive initiatives), then your payment will help me do that. That said, here are the links. The CD version has updated arrangements of most songs here on Soundclick, plus a few new ones: . . . You can help support the Internet Activism of TokyoProgressive by paying for the MP3 album ($5.99). Individual songs are also available at 75 cents each, too. A newer CD is also available, which contains most of the songs on this album, plus a few others. Most of the songs on the CD have been recorded with new arrangements. . I am a sometimes singer, songwriter, teacher and political activist, born in NY, resident physically in Japan and Boston. Puccini (Yes, I became an opera singer) and Seeger were both influences. Also Phil Ochs, Joan Baez...I am not sure how much potato latkes played a part in my early development, but for those who care, I thought I would mention it. Being mostly away from the U.S. since the late 70s, I was very glad a few years ago to get aquainted with the work of such diverse musicians as Dar Williams (I love her song work here: using PAYPAL: TokyoProgressive is an educational and activist resource in the spirit of and . We have donated space to, among others, the following groups: You can contact us here: You can get on our mailing list or receive other information by accessing the above site, or by sending an email to us at the following address:
Song Info
Charts
Peak #2
Peak in subgenre #1
Author
Paul Arenson
Rights
Paul Arenson
Uploaded
May 14, 2006
Track Files
MP3
MP3 2.5 MB 128 kbps 2:08
Story behind the song
I wrote this cira 1970 at the age of 18. It probably had as much to do with education as with the notion in the song that freedom stolen from a prisoner is not automatically returned at the end of the sentence. I believe I was arguing against the defeatism suffered by some when the struggle for justice is stymied. As Howard Zinn once said, the changes that we effect are not always visible in the context of our own lives, at least not entirely, as the borders of history are wider than that.
Lyrics
Twilight has blanketed old country jail The prisoners ain't sleeping, they're quietly waiting And counting the days till the door is swung wide And summertime welcomes them home REFRAIN Go down you broken old shell of a man Down where the young river rolls The cage that has sprung you has robbed you of sight And you are still caught in the night To keep all our children from going to crime We'll lock them in schoolrooms and structure their time And we'll give them their freedom when lessons are learned So life will not lead them astray
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