Only a pawn in their game

Chimes of Freedom

Chimes of freedom 1 from BobbyLeong on Vimeo.

Chimes of Freedom

Far between sundown's finish an' midnight's broken toll
We ducked inside the doorway, thunder crashing
As majestic bells of bolts struck shadows in the sounds
Seeming to be the chimes of freedom flashing
Flashing for the warriors whose strength is not to fight
Flashing for the refugees on the unarmed road of flight
An' for each an' ev'ry underdog soldier in the night
An' we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing.

Through the city's melted furnace, unexpectedly we watched
With faces hidden while the walls were tightening
As the echo of the wedding bells before the blowin' rain
Dissolved into the bells of the lightning
Tolling for the rebel, tolling for the rake
Tolling for the luckless, the abandoned an' forsaked
Tolling for the outcast, burnin' constantly at stake
An' we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing.

Through the mad mystic hammering of the wild ripping hail
The sky cracked its poems in naked wonder
That the clinging of the church bells blew far into the breeze
Leaving only bells of lightning and its thunder
Striking for the gentle, striking for the kind
Striking for the guardians and protectors of the mind
An' the unpawned painter behind his rightful time
An' we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing.

In the wild cathedral evening the rain unraveled tales
For the disrobed faceless forms of no position
Tolling for the tongues with no place to bring their thoughts
All down in taken-for-granted situations
Tolling for the deaf an' blind, tolling for the mute
For the mistreated, mateless mother, the mistitled prostitute
For the misdemeanor outlaw, chased an' cheated by pursuit
An' we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing.

Even though a cloud's white curtain in a far-off corner flashed
An' the hypnotic splattered mist was slowly lifting
Electric light still struck like arrows, fired but for the ones
Condemned to drift or else be kept from drifting
Tolling for the searching ones, on their speechless, seeking trail
For the lonesome-hearted lovers with too personal a tale
An' for each unharmful, gentle soul misplaced inside a jail
An' we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing.

Starry-eyed an' laughing as I recall when we were caught
Trapped by no track of hours for they hanged suspended
As we listened one last time an' we watched with one last look
Spellbound an' swallowed 'til the tolling ended
Tolling for the aching ones whose wounds cannot be nursed
For the countless confused, accused, misused, strung-out ones an' worse
An' for every hung-up person in the whole wide universe
An' we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing.



SINOS DA LIBERDADE

Bem depois do por do sol, antes do badalar pungente da meia noite
Nos atiramos pelo umbral da porta em meio a trovões que desabavam
Enquanto os sinos majestosos dos raios lançavam sombras nos sons
Como se fossem os sinos da liberdade cintilando
Cintilando pelos guerreiros cuja força está em não lutar
Cintilando pelos refugiados em seu caminho indefeso de fuga
E para cada soldado oprimido naquela noite
Olhamos, maravilhados, o cintilar dos sinos da liberdade.

Na fornalha derretida da cidade, olhamos inesperadamente
Rostos ocultos, as paredes como que querendo nos esmagar,
Enquanto o eco dos carrilhões confrontado com a chuva que assoviava
Dissolvia-se no som dos sinos dos relâmpagos
Os sinos dobravam para os rebeldes, dobravam para os torturados
Para os infelizes, abandonados e desamparados
Dobravam para os párias, sempre queimados na fogueira.
E olhamos, maravilhados, o cintilar dos sinos da liberdade.

Pelo martelar místico e louco da tempestade selvagem
O céu chicoteava seus poemas em maravilha pura
Que o som dos carrilhões das igrejas sumia longe na brisa
Deixando apenas os sinos dos trovões e relâmpagos
Os sinos dobravam para os gentis, dobravam para os bondosos
Para os guardiões e protetores das mentes
E para o pintor independente que sobrevive além de seu tempo
E olhamos, maravilhados, o cintilar dos sinos da liberdade.

Por toda a noite, qual igreja selvagem, a chuva descortinava histórias
Para os seres deslocados, sem rosto e sem agasalho
Os sinos dobravam para as bocas sem lugar para serem ouvidas,
Sempre inferiorizadas com essa situação assumida
Os sinos dobravam para os surdos e cegos, dobravam para os mudos,
Dobravam para os mal tratados, mães solitárias e prostitutas
Para os proscritos, caçados e derrotados pela captura.
E olhamos, maravilhados, o cintilar dos sinos da liberdade.
Apesar de uma cortina branca de nuvens brilhar ao longe
E do nevoeiro hipnótico ir subindo lentamente,
As luzes dos raios eram como flechas, disparadas para todos, menos para aqueles
Condenados a vagar ou então, até disso, impedidos.
Os sinos dobravam para os que procuram algo, em sua trilha silenciosa
Para os amantes de coração solitário com suas histórias muito pessoais
E para cada alma gentil e inofensiva, deslocada em uma cela.
E olhamos, maravilhados, o cintilar dos sinos da liberdade.

Olhos brilhando e sorrindo, lembro de como ficamos parados
Sem sentir o passar do tempo, que para nós ficou congelado
Ao escutarmos ainda uma vez mais, ao darmos uma última olhada
Tomados pela emoção, nó na garganta, até o fim do soar dos sinos
Que dobravam para os feridos sem quem cuide de suas chagas
Para os incontáveis acusados,
E para cada pessoa impedida em todo este vasto mundo
E olhamos, maravilhados, o cintilar dos sinos da liberdade.

Maggie's Farm - Rage Against the Machine

Rage Against the Machine: Maggie's Farm from Ninja Libre on Vimeo.

Cover by Rage Against the Machine with film footage from Sergei Eisenstein's 1931 film 'Que Viva Mexico' showing the oppressive and exploitative feudal agricultural conditions under dictator Porfirio Diaz's regime which lasted until 1910 and the present day maltreatment of the native indigenous populations in Mexico.

Maggie's Farm

I ain't gonna work on Maggie's farm no more.
No, I ain't gonna work on Maggie's farm no more.
Well, I wake in the morning,
Fold my hands and pray for rain.
I got a head full of ideas
That are drivin' me insane.
It's a shame the way she makes me scrub the floor.
I ain't gonna work on Maggie's farm no more.

I ain't gonna work for Maggie's brother no more.
No, I ain't gonna work for Maggie's brother no more.
Well, he hands you a nickel,
He hands you a dime,
He asks you with a grin
If you're havin' a good time,
Then he fines you every time you slam the door.
I ain't gonna work for Maggie's brother no more.

I ain't gonna work for Maggie's pa no more.
No, I ain't gonna work for Maggie's pa no more.
Well, he puts his cigar
Out in your face just for kicks.
His bedroom window
It is made out of bricks.
The National Guard stands around his door.
Ah, I ain't gonna work for Maggie's pa no more.

I ain't gonna work for Maggie's ma no more.
No, I ain't gonna work for Maggie's ma no more.
Well, she talks to all the servants
About man and God and law.
Everybody says
She's the brains behind pa.
She's sixty-eight, but she says she's fifty-four.
I ain't gonna work for Maggie's ma no more.

I ain't gonna work on Maggie's farm no more.
No, I ain't gonna work on Maggie's farm no more.
Well, I try my best
To be just like I am,
But everybody wants you
To be just like them.
They say sing while you slave and I just get bored.
I ain't gonna work on Maggie's farm no more.

Lyrics Bob Dylan

Love Minus Zero

BOB DYLAN - Love Minus Zero/No Limit from Miguel Angel on Vimeo.

My love she speaks like silence
Without ideals or violence
She doesn't have to say she's faithful
Yet she's true like ice like fire
People carry roses
And make promises by the hours
My love she laughs like the flowers
Valentines can't buy her

In the dime stores and bus stations
People talk of situations
Read books repeat quotations
Draw conclusions on the wall
Some speak of the future
My love she speaks softly
She knows there's no success like failure
And that failure's no success at all

The cloak and dagger dangles
Madams light the candles
In ceremonies of the horsemen
Even the pawn must hold a grudge
Statues made of matchsticks
Crumble into one another
My love winks she does not bother
She nows too much to argue or to judge

The bridge at midnight trembles
The country doctor rambles
Banker's nieces seek perfection
Expecting all the gifts that wisemen bring
The wind howls like a hammer
The night blows rainy
My love she's like some raven
At my window with a broken wing

Bob Dylan

The times they are a'changing

Bob Dylan - The Times they are A-changin' -1965


Come gather 'round people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You'll be drenched to the bone
If your time to you
Is worth savin'
Then you better start swimmin'
Or you'll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin'

Come writers and critics
Who prophesize with your pen
And keep your eyes wide
The chance won't come again
And don't speak too soon
For the wheel's still in spin
And there's no tellin' who
That it's namin'
For the loser now
Will be later to win
For the times they are a-changin'

Come senators, congressmen
Please heed the call
Don't stand in the doorway
Don't block up the hall
For he that gets hurt
Will be he who has stalled
There's a battle outside ragin'
It'll soon shake your windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin'

Come mothers and fathers
Throughout the land
And don't criticize
What you can't understand
Your sons and your daughters
Are beyond your command
Your old road is
Rapidly agin'
Please get out of the new one
If you can't lend your hand
For the times they are a-changin'

The line it is drawn
The curse it is cast
The slow one now
Will later be fast
As the present now
Will later be past
The order is
Rapidly fadin'
And the first one now
Will later be last
For the times they are a-changin'

Bob Dylan