So I wrote a new song inspired by current events.  My wife says it sounds like The Monkees–OK, I can live with that.  I was going for a Clash-meets-Archies type sound (check the tambourine and oohs and ahs), for what that’s worth.  Anyway, I thought it might be fun to provide some links to the things mentioned in the lyrics, so away we go…

1st VERSE

“They won’t let you live in your house”

This line is of course inspired by the foreclosure fraud that has run rampant across the country for the last several years, reaching more than 7 million foreclosures since 2006.  If you assume that families of four occupy all these homes, that’s 28 million people directly affected by the situation.  That’s approximately 10% of the entire population of the U.S. (give or take 314 million as of 2012).

However, as we have covered here (i.e., “Who Owns What: Banks And The New Feudalism“) and has been covered very well in other outlets, the foreclosing entities don’t own these properties even though they claim in court that they do (i.e., “Conspiracy Fact, Not Theory: Wells Fargo’s Manual“)  In other words, homeowners are being thrown out of their own houses on the strength of forged documents, hence “They won’t let you live in your house.”

“They won’t let you live in your car”

Inspired by this story–“Homeless Lose a Longtime Last Resort: Living in a Car“:

“For months now, Mr. Smith has feared he might lose his current home, which is stationed on a street near a quiet Palo Alto park. An ordinance passed by Palo Alto last year would punish people cited for living in a vehicle with as much as a $1,000 fine or six months in jail. ”

Unbelievable.

“They won’t let you sleep on the street”

Here is one example:

“A ban on homeless people sleeping on the streets has overwhelmed Phoenix social-service agencies, forcing up to 250 people a night to bed down in a makeshift camp in a parking lot next to the downtown Human Services Campus.”

“They won’t let you camp in a park”

Example from San Francisco:

“City Supervisor Scott Wiener has proposed legislation to close down San Francisco’s parks and plazas between the hours of midnight and 5am. If passed, the law would primarily impact the city’s 6,436 homeless people, many of whom find respite in the parks at night.

Sleeping in parks is already prohibited, but that regulation is not strictly enforced. If Wiener’s proposal is ultimately enacted, it could refocus efforts on sweeping homeless people out of parks and give police another tool to crack down on their presence.”

BRIDGE/CHORUS

“They’re taking liberties with your liberties”

This bridge lyrics sums up all the above.  America is not, in any way, a free country.  Biggest indicator: America has the most people in prison of any country in the world.  America ranks 46th in press freedom; 12th in economic freedom.

“When freedom’s illegal, gotta be an outlaw”

Speaks for itself…

2nd VERSE

“They want you to be disarmed”

“And have no privacy”

“They want you in debt”

“They keep taking more of your money”

Feel free to share and sing along…