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about

Townes van Zandt wrote this bleak story of an ordinary man who tries his best, but loses everything and then blames himself. Blaming the powerless for their lack of power is a favourite trick of the powerful. The characterisation of refugees, the unemployed and the homeless as worthless losers with only themselves to blame shows a lack of compassion which ignores the economic realities, debases the finer side of human nature, and shames us all.

lyrics

Marie.

I stood in line and left my name,
Took about six hours or so
The man just grinned like it was all a game,
Said they’d let me know
I put in my time till the opencast mine
Shut down two years ago
I was staying at the mission till I met Marie
Now I can’t stay there no more

Fella ’cross town said he’s lookin’ for a man,
To move some old cars around
Maybe me and Marie
could find a burned-out van
and do a little settlin’ down
Aw, but I’m just dreamin’, I’ve got no ride,
And the yard’s a fair long way,
That job’s a few days old besides
It’d be gone now anyway

Jobcentre said they stopped my payments,
And they showed me to the hall
My brother died in Bristol little while ago,
I got no one left to call
Summer wasn’t bad below the bridge,
A little short on food that’s all
I got to get Marie some kind of coat
We’re headed down into fall

I used to play the fiddle pretty good,
Busk up a little dough
But I got drunk and I woke up rolled,
A couple of months ago
They got my fiddle and they got my coin,
Them low life so and so’s
Fiddles cost money and I ain’t got it
It’s my own fault I suppose

I can’t afford a train
but I could always hitch a ride,
I could easy get away tonight,
If it was just me I’d be headed south,
But Marie says it’s not right,
She’s got some pain
says she thinks it’s a baby,
Says we gotta wait and see
In my heart I know it’s a little boy,
Hope he don’t end up like me

Well, the man’s still grinnin’
says he lost my file,
I gotta stand in line again
I want to kill him but I just say no,
I had enough of that, my friend
Back to the bridge, it’s getting kinda cold,
I’m feelin’ too bad to lie
I guess I’ll just tell Marie the truth,
Hope she don’t break down and cry

Marie she didn’t wake up this morning
She didn’t even try,
She just rolled over and went to heaven,
My little boy safe inside
I laid them in the sun
where somebody’d find them
Hitched a lift out on the fly
Marie will know I’m headed south
So’s to meet me by and by
Marie will know I’m headed south
So to meet me by and by

credits

from Heavy Duty - Ballads of the Unfree, released February 1, 2018
song by Townes Van Zandt

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Bill Lloyd Kendal, UK

Bill Lloyd is a folk singer and multi-instrumentalist from the Lake District in northern England. He plays 5 string banjo and Galician gaita bagpipes, uilleann pipes and whistles, He is a versatile singer in the ‘high lonesome’ mountain style, delicate ballads, and ‘come-all-ye’ folk styles. Bill is an experienced storyteller, compere, music promoter, record producer and festival organiser. ... more

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