My Thirty Thousand
by Billy Bragg & Wilco
From the album: Mermaid Avenue Vol. III
Track 4 of 17 on Mermaid Avenue Vol. III (2012).
Duration: 2:36
Lyrics for My Thirty Thousand
Paul Robeson he's the man That faced the Ku Klux Klan On hollow grove's golfing ground His words come sounding! And all around him there To jump and clap and cheer I sent the best, the best I had My thirty thousand The Klansman leader said That Paul would lose his head When thirty five thousand vets Broke up that concert But less than four thousand came To side with the Klan! But around Paul's lonesome oak (My thirty thousand) A beersoaked brassy band Did snortle around the grounds Four hundred noblest souls (Westchester's manhood)! They looked exactly like Fleas on a tiger's back Lost fish in the waters of My thirty thousand! When Paul had sung and gone And the kids and babies home Cops came with guns and clubs And clubbed and beat them! I'd hate to be a cop Caught with a bloody stick (Cause you can't bash the brains out of thirty thousand!) Each eye you tried to gouge Each skull you tried to crack Has a thousand thousand friends Around this green grass! If you furnish the skull someday I'll pass out the clubs and guns To the billion hands that love My thirty thousand! Each wrinkle on your face I know it at a glance You cannot run and hide Nor duck and dodge them And your carcass and your deeds Will fertilize the seeds Of the men that stood to guard My thirty thousand!
Listen On
More from Mermaid Avenue Vol. III
- Bugeye Jim
- When The Roses Bloom Again
- Gotta Work
- My Thirty Thousand
- Ought To Be Satisfied Now
- Listening To The Wind That Blows
- Go Down To The Water
- Chain Of Broken Hearts
- Jailcell Blues
- Don't You Marry
- Give Me A Nail
- The Jolly Banker
- Union Prayer
- Be Kind To The Boy On The Road
- Ain'ta Gonna Grieve
- Tea Bag Blues
- I'm Out To Get