The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #16599   Message #802094
Posted By: Joe Offer
13-Oct-02 - 02:17 AM
Thread Name: Origin: Two Good Arms (Charlie King)
Subject: ADD: Two Good Arms (Charlie King)
Well, I wasn't satisfied with any of the transcriptions we've had, so I'll try my own. This is from the Carry It On songbook, by Pete Seeger & Bob Reiser.
-Joe Offer-

TWO GOOD ARMS
(Charlie King)

Who will remember, the hands so white and fine
That touched the finest linen, that poured the finest wine?
Who will remember, the genteel words they spoke
To name the lives of two good men, a nuisance or a joke?

CHORUS
All who know these two good arms
Know I'd never had to rob or kill
I can live by my own two hands and live well
And all my life I have struggled
To rid the earth of all such crime.



Who will remember Judge Webster Thayer,
One hand on the gavel, the other resting on his chair?
Who will remember the hateful words he said,
Speaking to the living in the language of the dead?
CHORUS

Who will remember the hand upon the switch
That took the lives of two good men in the service of the rich?
Who will remember the one that gave the nod
Or the chaplain standing near at hand to invoke the name of God?
CHORUS

We will remember this good shoemaker,
We will remember this poor fish peddler,
We will remember all the strong arms and hands
That never once found justice in the hands that rule this land.

FINAL CHORUS
And all who knew these two good men
Knew they never had to rob or kill.
Each had lived by his own two hands,
And they lived well.
And all their lives they had struggled
To rid the earth of all such crime.
And all our lives we must struggle
To rid the earth of all such crime.


© 1978, Pied Asp Music (BMI)

The MIDI is here (click). I know this song by a recording by Holly Near - her tune is just a bit different. I find both versions of the tune difficult to sing. I sing with Gail, so I'll make sure she gets a copy.
-Joe Offer-