Perhaps I'll start and end this with verses of vocal polyphony, and then start the beat

I’m a carpenter by trade, for a solid union wage 
for contractors we build up the Twin Cities
And as summers come and went, my apprenticeship was spent 
Raising bridges across the Mississippi 
But before my station rose, I was deckhand on the tows
And the river and I have an understanding 
That I stay tied off up here, and away from her keep clear 
But if I fall she’ll mangle me on landing 

Chorus
I’ve built bridges and the byways from the river to the highways
Above the river and the traffic rolling 
 I’ve raised scaffolding and forms til my boots were wrecked and worn 
Now I whistle ‘cross the bridges as I’m strollin’

We were working in the sleet on the deck below 3rd street
And when break time came my bro took off his yo-yo
Then it whipped around and sped, and it clipped me in the head
And damn near left my partner working solo
I hung over the edge, ‘bove the waterfall and ledge
And the killer yo-yo snapped back to its anchor 
Thank God I still had mine and it held me on the line 
Lucky as the richest Wall Street banker 

When 10th street was re-decked, the whole span was almost wrecked 
When they tried to pull the Quik-Shield ‘cross the river 
We stretched cables there and back, and ratcheted the slack 
So tight that the steel would barely quiver 
Then we threw the deck on top, ‘til we got the word to stop
For the engineers re-did their calculations 
And the tension and the weight would pull the piers down straight 
And earn us all a ticket to damnation

One day as I built brackets I was startled by a racket 
Of a half a ton of treated timber landing
when a stack of 4x4s tumbled down 3 floors 
and fell onto the spot where I’d been standin’
Well the men up top were hushed for they figured I was crushed 
And the man who cut the bundle took the blame 
Be no sin, if I were pissed, but I shouted up “You missed!”
 And I hollered at the man to mind his aim 

Buildin’ spans from rim to rim we risked our lives and limbs
To keep the Minneapolis bridges standin’
So no more tragic days will come our city’s way
When infrastructure upkeep is abandoned 
From Northeast to the South Side they’re each my joy and pride 
Risin’ up above the city’s rubble 
For fortune took her shots, and I’ve taken all my knocks 
And taken home the paycheck for my trouble

Minneapolis Bridges

Diving deeper into drone folk with this one. Em. Shruti Box, DADGAD tuned guitar, low D whistle, jaw harp, bodhran drum.

Em D Em 
They hang the man and flog the woman
Em D Bm
Who steals the goose from off the commons
Em D Em 
But let the greater villain loose 
G D Em
Who steals the commons from the goose

When Adam sowed and Eve span, Nobody then was a gentleman
Nobody then was held in thrall, In this green common home of all,

But soldiers came, with orders strict To turn us out and to evict 
And built their walls around the fields Walls of stone, enforced in steel

We’re thrown from our garden home And set upon this world to roam, 
To earn our bread by sweat and toil Working the robber baron’s soil

So year on year on century In chattel or wage slavery
Under the bureaucrat and cop We’re reaping in the money crop

They take the water and the land  They take our crafts out of our hands
The seeds we plant, the songs we play They steal the commons still today

The law demands that we atone  When we take things we do not own 
But leave the lords and ladies fine  Who take things that are yours and mine

The Goose And The Commons

Folk musician, carpenter, and anarchist. Former member of the Wooden Shoe Ramblers. 
Website: https://edoylemusic.weebly.com/
Bandcamp: https://emmettdoyle.bandcamp.com/album/rust-belt-ballads
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/emmettdoyle
WSR: https://woodenshoeramblers.bandcamp.com/releases

The Goose And The Commons

Emmett Doyle

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Emmett Doyle

Marius S. Christensen

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