Saturday, July 18, 2009

Two Good Arms

(Song begins at 2:05 )
Ferdinando Nicola Sacco's and Bartolomeo Vanzetti's killing by the government was definitely a disgrace, and since it seems too late now for anyone to prove the truth of their case, I think it's only decent to assume that they were both innocent.

To see what a muddle it can be trying to figure out the real story, see Wikipedia's entry on them.

Words and music by Charlie King
Rise Up Singing chapter: Struggle, p. 219
C - Dm - / G - F C ://
C - Dm - / G - F C / F - C ↓ Dm - / C ↓ Dm - / G - C -

Or in G, as I play it here:
G - Am - / D - C G ://
G - Am - / D - C G / C - G ↓ Am - / G ↓ Am - / D - G -

I missed a verse. Sorry.

Lyrics:
Who will remember, the hands so white and fine
That touched the finest linen, that poured the finest wine?
Who will remember, the genteel words they spoke
To name the lives of two good men, a nuisance or a joke?
G - Am - / D - C G ://

Chorus:
All who know these two good arms
Know I never had to rob or kill
I can live by my own two hands and live well
And all my life I have struggled
To rid the earth of all such crimes
G - Am - / D - C G / C - G ↓ Am - / G ↓ Am - / D - G -

Who will remember Judge Webster Thayer
One hand on the gavel, the other resting on his chair?
Who will remember the hateful words he said
Speaking to the living in the language of the dead?

Who will remember the hand upon the switch
That took the lives of two good men in the service of the rich?
Who will remember the one that gave the nod, or the
Chaplain standing near at hand to invoke the name of God?

We will remember this good shoemaker,
We will remember this poor fish peddler,
We will remember all the strong arms and hands
That never once found justice in the hands that rule this land.

Last chorus:
And all who knew these two good men
Knew they never had to rob or kill
Each had lived by his own two hands and they lived well.
And all their lives they had struggled
To rid the earth of all such crimes
And all our lives we must struggle
To rid the earth of all such crimes

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