CHRISTMAS IN WASHINGTON
(Steve Earle)

It's Christmas time in Washington, Democrats rehearsed.
Gettin' into gear for four more years, things not gettin' worse.
Republicans drink whiskey neat and thank their lucky stars,
They say, "He cannot seek another term, they'll be no more FDRs."
I sit home in Tennessee, just starin' at the screen
With an uneasy feeling in my chest, and I'm wonderin' what it means.

So come back, Woody Guthrie, come back to us now,
Tear your eyes from paradise and rise again somehow.
If you run into Jesus, maybe he can help us out.
Come back, Woody Guthrie, to us now.

I followed in your footsteps once back in my travelin' days.
Somewhere I failed to find your trail, now I'm stumblin' through the haze.
But there's killers on the highway now, and a man can't get around,
So I sold my soul for wheels that roll; now I'm stuck here in this town.

Come back, Woody Guthrie, come back to us now,
Tear your eyes from paradise and rise again somehow.
If you run into Jesus, maybe he can help us out.
Come back, Woody Guthrie, to us now.

There's foxes in the hen house, cows out in the corn.
The unions have been busted, their proud red banners torn.
To listen to the radio, you'd think that all was well,
But you and me and Cisco know it's goin' straight to hell.

So come back, Emma Goldman, rise up, old Joe Hill.
The barracades are goin' up; they cannot break our will.
Come back to us, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King -
We're marchin' into Selma as the bells of freedom ring.

So come back, Woody Guthrie, come back to us now.
Tear your eyes from paradise, and rise again somehow.


Somehow relevant for this past Christmas... Hmm...