Mr. Basketball Shoes

Mr. Basketball Shoes owns a factory in China and Vietnam
Where a 12 year old girl works for nothin'; he don't give a damn
Sixteen hours a day, seven days a week
When they break her malnourished body, just throw her out in the street

When the workers try to unionize or tell him they protest
Basketball Shoes calls the military and they come out and make arrests
Take the workers to the prisons and there they're left to rot
Bad food and dirty water behind prison bars is their lot

I said:
Justice is a wheel, turns slow but it grinds fine
My mama says that wheel turns full circle in due time

Now Mr. Basketball Shoes loves money; he'll do anything to succeed
He don't care about God, love, or human decency
This man has no compassion, his heart is filled with greed
Rules from a throne of darkness and dirty evil deeds

From the carpet mills in Pakistan to the sweat shops in Mexico
This is the age of lawlessness declare the CEOs
Republicans in Washington, they all love basketball shoes
It gives them campaign money; they turn their backs on what they do

Now I had myself a dream the night my poor old mother died
I saw that Wheel of Justice come fallin' from the sky
Oh, what beautiful light! It made the darkness run
No more death, no more slavery, disease or war or guns

Buddy Tabor
Juneau, Alaska

© 1998 Blinding Flash of Light

Buddy is a local songwriter who just keeps getting better. A lot of his songs is blues but he also writes some lyrical stuff- his Canyon de Chelly is gorgeous.

I would love to see other people's work here. I often look at the Mudcat Songbook and there are wonderful lyrics there but we never hear about them here. Is it frowned on because it takes too much room?

Wistfully,

Ebbie