Tag Archives: greed

The Corporation Blues

Corporate States of AmericaThe Corporation Blues

Copyright 1999 by Peter Bergel

 

You’ve heard of Gen’ral Washington and Valley Forge

You know he won our freedom then from ol’ King George

If he could see big bizness tryin’ to turn us into slaves

He’d freak out in his coffin and turn over in his grave

 

With the corporation blues, yes, the corporation blues

It’s mighty bad news,

‘Cause we’re losin’ our ability to choose.

 

When a president’s elected, folks, I feel just like a serf

‘Cause all I see that’s hap’ning is the power of the purse

They’re spendin’ so much money just to put their guy in office

You can’t get in the game unless your hand’s in some deep pockets

 

That’s the corporation blues, yes, the corporation blues

We’re payin’ more than dues,

‘Cause we’re losin’ our ability to choose.

 

They’re tearing up our planet just to sell what we don’t need

Their very highest values: makin’ profit, theft and greed

Now that big comp’nies have more power than a nation

Their tool for domination is the World Trade Org’nization

 

Got the corporation blues, yes, the corporation blues

Better wake up from your snooze,

‘Cause we’re losin’ our ability…

We’re payin’ more than dues,

‘Cause we’re losin’ our ability…

It’s mighty bad news,

‘Cause we’re losin’ our ability to choose.

 

A Whole Lot More Cooperation

Cooperating HandsA Whole Lot More Cooperation

Lyrics Copyright 2015

by Peter Bergel

Tune: A Whole Lot More of Jesus and a Lot Less Rock’n’Roll

From the album “Peace Is Where You Make It”

 

Domination is all around us

Takin’ shapes that are too many to name

It’s built right into our culture

And we’ve all gotta share the blame

 

Chorus

We need love instead of profits

And we got to make this our creed

We need a whole lot more cooperation

And a lot less corporate greed.

 

We got to put away the carbon-based power

We got to put away the nuclear bomb

We got to figure how to feed the hungry

Not blow the world to Kingdom Come

 

Chorus

 

I don’t work for a big corporation

Won’t let the fat cats steal my sweat

The system doesn’t work for poor folks

And I’m not about to work for it

 

Chorus

 

You know we’ve got to protect our planet

‘Cause it’s the only one that we’ve got

We can’t put poison into our water

And make our air radioactively hot.

 

Chorus

Never Enough

Man Eating the WorldNever Enough

Copyright Peter Bergel 2015

 

 

 

From the album “Peace Is Where You Make It

 

Holes in the ozone, old growth at the mill,

Israel and Palestine are screaming for a kill,

Oil on the ocean, critters dyin’ in the spill,

Maybe we could stop it, but we haven’t got the will.

Can’t even stop spendin’ to curb the deficit

If you can’t dig that, maybe you can dig this:

There’s plenty in the world for everybody’s need,

But there’ll never be enough for anybody’s greed.

 

 

Half of all our taxes go to build an iron fist

To strike against the enemy and now he don’t exist,

And still our leaders tell us we had better not desist,

In order to be safe you gotta be a pessimist.

I’m looking for some courage and a little leadership –

Someone up in Washington who hasn’t lost his grip –

Who’ll crack the books of history and there will plainly read

That there’ll never be enough for anybody’s greed

 

 

If you really love your country, if you love your Uncle Sam,

And you want to see us keepin’ up with China and Japan

Then you better raise your voices just as loud as e’er you can

And let ‘em know in Washington you want to see a plan

For doing something different, something braver than before,

Something more constructive than plannin’ for a war

Tell ‘em you won’t follow unless you see ‘em lead

‘Cause there’ll never be enough for anybody’s greed.

 

 

We gotta clean the water and we gotta clean the air,

Shelter all the homeless, get the streets in good repair,

Give the kids a reason to stay away from drugs

Like hope and opportunity and love and lots of hugs;

So don’t you ever tell me there’s not enough to do

Take the money from the war heads, it came from me and you;

But while you’re makin’ changes, be clean in thought and deed

‘Cause there’ll never be enough for anybody’s greed.