1. |
The Breaking Point
03:11
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Maintain opposition, turn up the heat till we see some contrition
Cash for the dead work, abolish the scrip
Keep my family safe from the mine owners whip
8 hours for work, 8 hours for play, 8 hours for rest at the end of the day
These concessions are fair when yer risking yer life
For a roof over yer head and a meal for yer kids and wife
Armed thugs watch out camp and decide who can leave
While the company store, decides what we need
The only personal decision we get, is to work for the mine or rot in a ditch
CF&I own the state and the state owns the land, without personal wealth, there's no way I can
Relocate my family and start new again
So my options are scab or join in the strike campaign
Against corporate statehood, unfettered profits that won't see our pockets
Supply side economics leave us in want cold hungry and gaunt
John D. bought the national guard, to quell the dispute
But the pressure is rising, the lines gonna break.
The match has been put to the fuse of this powder keg
The men take position on Water Tank Hill, the signal 3 blasts and the orders to kill
Ludlow is bustling, confusion and fear sweep the campsite and poison the dark atmosphere
A man he comes running with white flag in hand, unable to prevent whats soon to begin
The charges are set and the first 2 are heard, but bullets and screams cover the third
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2. |
Death Special
03:14
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Bullets flying, children crying
Tearing through the canvas marking up the earth
Women screaming, men are bleeding
Echo through the canyons exposing the outburst
Fire reigns down upon the dusty plains below the hills
More troops arrive to fight from Aguilar to Rameyville
10 hours straight, we sit and wait
For the hail storm to subside
Down in the well, trapped in this hell
Silently counting the moments till we're dead by yer side
News is spreading, grabbing headlines
Battle on the field of the Ludlow mines
Ammo depleting, strikers retreating
Abandoning posts at the front of the line
The orders given, drive the people out and burn the village
The Guard becomes a mod, they terrorize and start to pillage
A train comes riding down the tracks
Creating lulls in the attacks
Families disperse while out of sight
The flames dance long into the night
The fires swell as they reach for the sky
And burn all night long before they start to subside
Poor Mary wakes from her nightmarish sleep
Delirious, thirsty and weak at the knees
She stumbles drunkenly out of the debris
Looking for comfort amongst refugees
A woman asks of the fate of her children
Surely they've passed for I tried but can't stir them
Beyond the Black Hills a group of men gather their guns
And plan to repay them with blood
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3. |
Ten Day War
04:05
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Bodies lay lifeless, alongside the train tracks
With more in the ruins where Ludlow stood
Now telegrams make their way out of state
A mass call to arms with intent to retaliate
These bloody crimes will not go unanswered
We aim to bring them the wrath they deserve
A bullet named for every life taken
Tear through the hillsides burning the mines to the ground
As they fall we will dance to the sound
Striking miners arrive from every surrounding town
Finding strength in our numbers we'll tear this whole structure down
You said you'd fight to protect yer business
You'd go to war to preserve yer assets
For 10 days, we owned this land
From north Louisberg down to Trinidad
Crying for help, from President Wilson
Before it spreads to the great Denver Basin
Federal troops are boarding the train
A desperate last effort to protect the mines that remain
From the fate that the others have faced
60 lives sacrificed, and just for the strike to break
A century later and still we are forced to beg
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