Great song! on target! Lets stand together!

Provided by the Property Rights Alliance, which stands in opposition to the Mid-States Corridor project, urging Jasper leaders to protect the livelihoods, safety, and future of all citizens — along with our farmland, community heritage, and rural Indiana values. Visit https://praindiana.org/ for more info.

Lyrics

My granddad plowed this land with calloused hands
Built a barn in '49 and the corn still stands
Now they say it’s progress rollin’ in with steel
But all I see’s a graveyard from a government deal

They drew a line through my family name
Through the fields and the creek and the old porch swing
Said, "We’ll pay what it’s worth" with a wink and a grin
Then Braun bulldozed a century so his trucks could move in

So wave goodbye to Jasper lights
The towns that fade into construction’s night
It’s a road to nowhere through the flood plain and the lies
Built on the backs of our last goodbyes
A golden path for the chosen few
While the rest of us bleed red, white, and bruised
They’re paving the fields where our children played
Tell me, Mike, is it worth what you'll get paid

Messmer won’t meet us, cause he don’t have the time
Too busy watching land values climb
They'll slice up our farms like they’re pieces of meat
Leave families stranded on dead-end streets

They’ll rip out the heart from the county roads
We'll pay the bill but our crops won't grow
No detour signs for the towns they go by
Just boarded up windows and our dreams passin' by

So wave goodbye to Jasper lights
The towns that fade into construction’s night
It’s a road to nowhere through the flood and lies
Built on the backs of our last goodbyes
A golden path for the chosen few
While the rest of us bleed red, white, and bruised
They’re paving the fields we worked with our hands
Tell me, Mark, who's gonna buy all your land

Now the silence rolls where the tractors hummed
And the courtroom doors are coming undone
What once was whispered quiet behind oak and glass
They sign right out in the daylight, bold as brass
But we ain’t just ghosts in their profit game
We’ve got voices, and we’ve got names

So stand up tall on your daddy’s land
Don’t let em' take our soul for a ribbon of sand
This road won’t stop if we bow our heads
Raise your voice before it’s your homestead

Wave goodbye to their power plays
To the golden handshakes and backroom praise
But hold on tight to what’s still yours
Don’t let ‘em lock your future behind closed doors
It’s time we rise, not just kneel and pray
We’re the roots, not the ones who paved the way
They’re paving the fields where our children played
But we’re not done, we’ve got something to say

Broken Acre

Wave Goodbye to Jasper Lights

Provided by the Property Rights Alliance, which stands in opposition to the Mid-States Corridor project, urging Jasper leaders to protect the livelihoods, safety, and future of all citizens — along with our farmland, community heritage, and rural Indiana values. Visit praindiana.org/ for more info.

[Verse 1]
Granddad’s fence posts lean like tired bones,
They mapped a highway through our home.
Floodplain fields where the herons feed,
No more plantin' turnups, but I'm gonna bleed.

[Verse 2]
Braun smiles wide in a TV glow,
Says this abomination is how we’ll grow.
Messmer’s quiet, won’t face the crowd,
Property line sitting pretty now.

[Chorus]
A billion dollars for a road to pass us by,
Jasper, can’t you see the price's too high?
If they can spend that much to beat our future down,
We can stand together; we can hold this ground.

[Verse 3]
Old two thirty one gets stripped for parts,
We pay the bill while they depart.
Farms cut open like a page,
Homes condemned for someone’s gain.

[Verse 4]
Warehouse talk about “jobs” and “hope,”
But they can move when the numbers choke.
Take off down the road where labor’s cheap,
Leave us dust and promises to keep.

[Bridge]
This isn’t just dirt; it’s time and names,
Picnic trees and high school games.
You don’t get to pave your heart and mean to stay,
You have to either fight or fade away.

[Chorus]
A billion dollars for a road to pass us by,
Is it really in the budget for our town to die?
If they can spend that much to beat our future down,
If we all stand together; we can save this town.

[Outro]
Though I may end up forced to leave this place some day.
If it were all up to me I think I'd stay.
Please raise your voices up before we're gone,
This land and town are ours; so we’re holding on.


Billion Dollar Road

Providing facts and information about various projects that touch on the lives of Hoosiers, with a focus on Southern Indiana.

Wave Goodbye to Jasper Lights

Mid-States Update

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Katrina Kieffner-Buse

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