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After The Revolution

David Rovics
Language: English


David Rovics

List of versions


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[January 2003]
Lyrics and music by David Rovics
From the album, or song collection, "For the moment"
David Rovics' Official Website



"The way things could be, and hopefully will be soon, as soon as we get it together. We have a world to lose or a world to gain. Originally recorded on Return." -David Rovics.

April, 2005

I had a great show a while back in Olympia, Washington and met Pat Maley there. I was recording a few new songs at his studio to put on the web, and at some point he suggested that I put out my next CD on his label, Yoyo Records. Thinking that to be a great idea, I went about figuring out what I wanted to do about that, and this is the end result.

Four cities were involved in this decisively non-Luddite production. I recorded vocal and guitar tracks in Houston, and Kristine Pettersen (Thistle) did harmony vocals later in the same place, Sugar Hill Studios with John Griffin engineering. I sent the sound files up to Boston and in Tenitus Studios my friend Sean Staples laid down bass, mandolin, bouzouki, electric guitar, dobro and nylon string guitar tracks and Dave Westner engineered and also played bass, electric guitar and percussion on various tracks.

Professor D and I recorded "Falluja" with Spinister engineering at the studios of the Dope Poet Society in Toronto and we sent those tracks on to Pat in Olympia, and folks in Boston and Houston sent in their tracks, and then Pat mixed and mastered the whole thing to put out on his label.

Since I had it in mind to do a CD with a somewhat new musical treatment than previous recordings (maybe somewhere in between Return and Songs for Mahmud), I thought it would be cool to do new versions of a few songs from previous releases as well as 12 previously unrecorded (mostly new) songs.

It seemed too bulky to include all the lyrics in the liner notes, but you can read lyrics, download lots of free audio, video, and sheet music, buy CD's and songbooks, look at my calendar and links to other artists, sign up on my email list, etc., by going to www.davidrovics.com.

There are far too many people to thank, and I've never been very good at remembering the myriad of people out there I feel thankful for. (I sure do feel thankful for them, though, and I hope they all know who they are.) But I'll pick just one. The older I get, the more I think my songwriting seems to resemble Jim Page's stuff.

Maybe I'm the only one who hears that, I don't know. In any case, though I hardly ever see him out there on the west coast or wherever he is at the time, since I discovered Jim's music 15 years ago I have never been the same, and his brilliant musical lens is still the main one through which I view the craft of songwriting, and a fair number of other subjects as well.

Hope to see you on the road and in the streets!

--David

It was a time I'll always remember
Because I could never forget
How reality fell down around us
Like some Western movie set
And once the dust all settled
The sun shone so bright
And a great calm took over us
Like it was all gonna be alright
That's how it felt to be alive
After the revolution

From Groton to Tacoma
On many a factory floor
The workers talked of solidarity
And refused to build weapons of war
No more will we make missiles
We're gonna do something different
And for the first time
Their children were proud of their parents
And somewhere in Gaza a little boy smiled and cried
After the revolution

Prison doors swung open
And mothers hugged their sons
The Liberty Bell was ringing
When the cops put down their guns
A million innocent people
Lit up in the springtime air
And Mumia and Leonard and Sarah Jane Olson
Took a walk in Tompkins Square
And they talked about what they'd do now
After the revolution

The debts were all forgiven
In all the neo-colonies
And the soldiers left their bases
Went back to their families
And a non-aggression treaty
Was signed with every sovereign state
And all the terrorist groups disbanded
With no empire left to hate
And they all started planting olive trees
After the revolution

George Bush and Henry Kissinger
Were sent off to the World Court
Their plans for global domination
Were pre-emptively cut short
Their weapons of mass destruction
Were inspected and destroyed
The battleships were dismantled
Never again to be deployed
And the world breathed a sigh of relief
After the revolution

Solar panels were on the rooftops
Trains upon the tracks
Organic food was in the markets
No GMO's upon the racks
And all the billionaires
Had to learn how to share
And Bill Gates was told to quit his whining
When he said it wasn't fair
And his mansion became a collective farm
After the revolution

And all the political poets
Couldn't think of what to say
So they all decided
To live life for today
I spent a few years catching up
With all my friends and lovers
Sleeping til eleven
Home beneath the covers
And I learned how to play the banjo
After the revolution

Contributed by Riccardo Venturi - 2006/1/8 - 22:57




Language: Italian

Versione italiana di Kiocciolina
DOPO LA RIVOLUZIONE

Fu un periodo che ricorderò sempre
Perché non potrei mai dimenticare
Come la realtà cadde intorno a noi
Come i set di alcuni film Western
E una volta che tutta la polvere si fu posata
Il sole brillò così forte
Ed una grande calma si impossessò di noi
Come se tutto stesse per andare a posto
Ecco come ci si sente ad essere vivi
Dopo la rivoluzione

Da Groton a Tacoma
Sul pavimento di più di una fabbrica
I lavoratori parlavano di solidarietà
E si rifiutavano di construire armi da guerra
Non faremo più missili
Abbiamo intenzione di fare qualcosa di diverso
E per la prima volta
I figli furono orgogliosi dei loro genitori
E da qualche parte a Gaza un ragazzino sorrise e pianse
Dopo la rivoluzione

Le porte delle prigioni si aprirono
E le madri abbracciarono i loro figli
La Campana della Libertà stava suonando
Quando i poliziotti posarono le loro pistole
Un milione di persone innocenti
Accese nell'aria primaverile
E Mumia e Leonard e Sarah Jane Olson
Fecero una passeggiata a Tompkins Square
E parlarono di ciò che avrebbero fatto ora
Dopo la rivoluzione

I debiti furono tutti cancellati
In tutte le neo-colonie
E i soldati lasciarono le loro basi
Tornarono dalle loro famiglie
E un trattato di non aggressione
Fu firmato con ogni stato sovrano
E tutti i gruppi terroristi si dispersero
Senza alcun impero da odiare
E tutti cominciarono a piantare alberi d'olivo
Dopo la rivoluzione

George Bush e Henry Kissinger
Furono mandati alla Corte di Giustizia Internazionale
I loro progetti per il dominio globale
Furono preventivamente interrotti
Le loro armi di distruzione di massa
Furono esaminate e distrutte
Le corazzate vennero smantellate
Per non essere mai più spiegate
E il mondo tirò un sospiro di sollievo
Dopo la rivoluzione

Pannelli solari si trovavano sui tetti
I treni sui binari
Cibo organico nei mercati
Nessun OGM in vendita
E tutti i miliardari
Dovevano imparare a condividere la ricchezza
E a Bill Gates fu detto di cessare il suo lamento
Quando disse che non era giusto
E la sua casa divenne una fattoria collettivizzata
Dopo la rivoluzione

E tutti i poeti politici
Non riuscivano a pensare a qualcosa da dire
Così tutti insieme decisero
Di vivere la vita giorno per giorno
Ho passato qualche anno cercando di congiungermi
Con tutti i miei amici e le mie amanti
Dormendo fino alle undici
Ed ho imparato a suonare il banjo
Dopo la rivoluzione

Contributed by Kiocciolina - 2007/12/29 - 15:11




Language: French

Versione francese di Caroline Harvey
French translation by Caroline Harvey
Version française de Caroline Harvey
http://www.davidrovics.com
APRES LA REVOLUTION

C’est une époque dont je me souviendrai toujours
Parce que je ne pourrais jamais oublier
Comment la réalité est tombée sur nous
C’était comme sur le plateau de tournage d’un western
Quand la poussière est retombée
Le soleil est apparu si brillant
Et un grand calme s’est emparé de nous tous
Comme si tout allait très bien se passer
C’est ce sentiment que nous procurait le fait d’être en vie
Après la révolution

De Groton à Tacoma
Sur les planchers des usines
Les travailleurs parlaient de solidarité
Et refusaient de fabriquer des armes de guerre
Nous ne fabriquerons plus de missiles
Nous allons faire des choses différentes
Et pour la première fois
Les enfants étaient fiers de leurs parents
Et quelque part à Gaza un petit garçon a souri et pleuré
Après la révolution

Les portes des prisons se sont ouvertes
Et les mères ont serré leurs fils dans leurs bras
La cloche de la liberté sonnait
Quand les policiers ont posé leurs fusils
Un million d’innocentes personnes
Enivrées dans l’air du printemps
Et Mumia, Leonard et Sarah Jane Olson
Marchèrent ensemble dans Tompkins Square
En parlant de ce qu’ils allaient faire maintenant
Après la révolution

Les dettes ont toutes été oubliées
Dans toutes les néo-colonies
Et les soldats ont quitté leur base
Pour retourner dans leur famille
Et un traité de non-agression
A été signé par tous les États souverains
Tous les groupes terroristes se sont démantelés
Alors qu’il n’y avait plus d’empire à détester
Et ils se sont tous mis à planter des oliviers
Après la révolution

George Bush et Henry Kissinger
Ont été envoyés à la Cour pénale internationale
Leurs plans de domination totale
Ont été court-circuités
Leurs armes de destruction massive
Ont été inspectées et détruites
Les navires de guerre désarmés
Pour ne plus jamais servir
Et le monde a respiré de soulagement
Après la révolution

Des panneaux solaires ont été mis sur les toits
Les trains sur les rails
Les aliments biologiques dans les marchés
Pas d’OGM sur les tablettes
Et tous les milliardaires
Ont dû apprendre à partager
Et Bill Gates s’est fait dire d’arrêter de se plaindre
Quand il a dit que ce n’était pas juste
Son château est devenu une ferme collective
Après la révolution

Tous les poètes politiques
N’avaient plus rien à dire
Alors ils ont décidé
De vivre pour l’instant présent
J’ai moi-même passé quelques années à rattraper le temps perdu
Avec mes amis et mes amours
À dormir jusqu’à 11h00
Chez-moi blotti sous les couvertures
Et j’ai appris à jouer le banjo
Après la révolution.

Contributed by Riccardo Venturi - 2006/1/8 - 22:59




Language: Portuguese

Versione portoghese di Ciro Biggi
Portuguese version by Ciro Biggi
Versão portuguesa por Ciro Biggi
http://www.davidrovics.com
Depois da Revolução

Sempre haverei de lembrar daquela época
Como poderia esquecer
Da realidade desabando sobre nós
Feito cenário de filme de faroeste
Mas assim que a poeira assentou
O sol brilhou tão intenso
E uma grande calma nos envolveu
Como se tudo então fosse dar certo
Assim é a sensação de estar vivo
Depois da revolução

De Groton a Tacoma
Para muitos em assembléia de fábrica
Os operários falavam de solidariedade
Recusavam-se a fabricar armas de guerra
Não mais construiremos mísseis
Faremos alguma coisa diferente
E pela primeira vez
Filhos orgulhavam-se de seus pais
E em algum lugar de Gaza um menininho sorria e chorava
Depois da revolução

Abertas, as portas das prisões balançavam
Mães abraçavam seus filhos
Soava o Sino da Liberdade
Quando policiais abaixaram as armas
Um milhão de pessoas inocentes
Alegravam-se ao ar da primavera
Mumia, Leonard e Sarah Jane Olson
Fizeram uma caminhada ao Tompkins Square
E trocaram idéias sobre o que fariam agora
Depois da revolução

Dívidas foram perdoadas
Em todas as neocolônias
Soldados abandonaram suas bases
Retornaram à suas famílias
Um tratado de não agressão
Foi assinado entre todos os estados soberanos
Grupos terroristas se desmantelaram
Não sobraram impérios para gerar ódio
E todos começaram a plantar oliveiras
Depois da revolução

George Bush e Henry Kissinger
Foram enviados ao Tribunal de Justiça Internacional
Seus planos de dominação global
Foram antecipadamente interrompidos
Suas armas de destruição em massa
Inspecionadas e destruídas
Navios de guerra foram desmantelados
Para nunca mais serem utilizados
E o mundo suspirou aliviado
Depois da revolução

Painéis solares sobre telhados
Trens sobre trilhos
Comida orgânica em todos os mercados
E nada mais de transgênicos nas prateleiras
Todos os bilionários
Tiveram que aprender a compartilhar
A Bill Gates foi dito que parasse de se lamentar
Quando alegava que aquilo não era justo
E sua mansão se transformou em fazenda coletiva
Depois da revolução

Aos poetas políticos
Faltavam idéias para se expressarem
Então decidiram todos
Viver somente o momento presente
Passei alguns anos recuperando o tempo perdido
Com amigos e amantes
Dormindo até as onze
Meu lar protegido
Aprendi a tocar banjo
Depois da revolução.

Contributed by Riccardo Venturi - 2006/1/8 - 23:01




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