DISPOSABLE LIVES
Music: Thad Binkley; Words: Lesley Calderon
Key: D

CHORUS:
        D                       A7           D
  Our fathers and mothers, our husbands and wives,
                                       A7
  Our sisters and brothers—disposable lives—
             G                       D
  Turned to pale rotting corpses, a thousand fold,
                                G          D
  And all for the sake of the thick black gold.

’Tis lies and deceptions that lead us to war,
And our armies are gleaned from the fields of the poor.
These flowers of our nation will never grow old,
They will sacrifice all for the thick black gold.

Yet our brave politicians dream, safe in their beds,
Of riches amassed on the backs of the dead.
And they offer up thanks as the bodies grow cold,
For profits they’ve made from the thick black gold.
Chorus

And so, in their greed, they can justify
The orphaned child and the widow’s cry;
Yet we mourn loud and long for the lives they’ve sold—
Sold just for the price of the thick black gold.

There are pools of blood on the desert sand,
Of our heroes slain in a heathen land.
Deny it you may, but the truth shall be told—
They died for the love of the thick black gold.
Chorus

2002
Words © Lesley Calderon, music © Thad Binkley


Thad's explanation:

Hi, Joe,

Here, as you requested Friday night, is a PDF of the song I sang, “Disposable Lives”.

A member of our writing class wrote the words as a poem almost twenty years ago and read it to the class.
It looked like a song to me, so I offered to write a tune for it.
Several years later, I actually did it and sang the song at a gathering where members of the class, including the poet, were present. It was well received.
I have no recorded copy of the tune and have not posted it to YouTube.

If you have further questions, let me know.

Stay safe,
Thad