www.barsuk.com/to/whenhistorycomes

rough trade, talk minus action equals zero compilation, volume two, focus on the election

my contribution is a protest song, a get out the vote song, will any republicans hear this outside of my liberal music bubble? i don’t know, i want them to, maybe there’s a way, ok what should a protest song say? i protest the dismantling of the postal service, which right now means the dismantling of democracy, i protest the denial and protection of systemic racism, i protest the dismantling of regulations that protect public lands, i protest the dismantling of the trust between a country and its media, am i naive enough to think that naively expressing these things can change anyone’s mind? YES, i’m naive and a dreamer but also ambitious, i believe in people, i believe in change, i’ll say this: i vote democrat but i don’t hate republicans, i just hate this administration

when history comes and it sticks out its thumb
asking you for a ride
i hope that you see how fast it can be
it goes by in the blink of an eye
we’re stuck in this boat
it’s barely afloat
watching the water rise
history’s ill
it needs some good will
and we’re so tired of the lies

we’re all canaries in the coalmine, we have to say what we see, we’re all the band on the titanic, don’t stop when the ship goes down, let’s be cheerleaders for postal workers, cheerleaders for voters, for bravers of long lines and the maskless, we implore that you nurture YOUR inner artist, that you make something for yourself, so that you have fulfilment, so that you don’t seek satisfaction in the hot flame of mockery, the perversity of trolling, the thrill of baiting and fishing. i believe that we’re all made out of love and good things we just get sick

when history comes and it sticks out its thumb
asking you for a ride
i hope that you see how fast it can be
it goes by in the blink of an eye
we’re stuck in this boat
it’s barely afloat
watching the water rise
history’s ill
needs some good will
we’re so tired of the lies
come out of your shell
the country’s unwell
we really need you to vote

i’m an atheist and i had a friend in college who was christian, he belonged to a christian group, i can’t remember which one, but he wore a lapel pin with its name on it, anyway really lovely guy, we were both in a film class and we’d get together once in awhile to study and one day we were saying goodbye before winter break, in front of the library, the sky was dramatic, a whirlwind of leaves was nearby, and he gave me the hard sell, he said “think about it, eternal life,” it was moving, i knew he wanted the best for me, and in that spirit, i’d like to say to you “imagine that the left don’t want to destroy america,” because we don’t, we just want it to be more fair, we want it to live up to its promise, and that’s because we love it so much, don’t be afraid, we’re alright, i’ll tell you what’s fake news, it’s that we’re bad people, we’re not, that we want trump to fail, i didn’t want him to fail, i wanted him to do great, he didn’t, but i wanted him to, he makes me feel bad, he makes other people feel bad too, that doesn’t set a good example, sometimes it just comes down to that, don’t make people feel bad, and for every decision, think about how it affects poor people the most, think about how it affects children, you know? alright, go register, go vote, it’s important.