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From the family farm, to the factory floors
To working part-time, in the superstores
They say go to school, they say get a job
They gotta lotta rules, they gotta lotta gall
On Colonial Street, nineteen Seventy Three
I came into this world, Woodbury, Tennessee
Under the smoke and the hue, from the Shirt Factory flutes
Where my Grandparents worked, by the old Grammar School
Third Treaty of Tellico, eighteen O’ Five
Settlers took this land, from the Cherokee Tribe
So a Scotch-Irish kid, could dig up and arrowhead
Play Cowboys and Indians, bang you’re dead
I was outta town, when I got the news
Grandpa had passed, weren’t nuthin' they could do
I tried to hurry home, for the rifle salute
Full Military funeral, a thank you for World War II
They say Jesus came down, was a big affair
Everybody was talking, out on the Roman Square
After he went back home, forty years they talked
Till somebody wrote it down, or the best they could recall
Then the Church weighed in, on all the words passin' round
St. Peter was in, St. Thomas was out
A Canon was formed, Holy Spirit they saw
You gotta have some rules, you gotta have some gall
Now it's the 21st Century, we can fly to Mars
We can dance on the Moon, we can number the stars
We could blow up the Earth, we got those kinda balls
We got that kind of knowledge, we got allota gall
So I got many jobs, I went to many schools
I played my guitar, I broke all of their rules
How much I couldn't give a damn, man would drop your jaw
I’m proud of who I am, I gotta lotta gall
words & music by Stephen Simmons /SESAC/Shiny Geode Music copyright secured / all rights reserved
credits
from Gall,
released July 28, 2018
Stephen Simmons: lyrics, music, vocals, acoustic guitar, keys
Stephen Simmons was raised in the small town of Woodbury, Tennessee. As a songwriter and Ten years as a Road Dog, Stephen’s
vision has grown to entail more than just reflections of rural America. Stephen’s records (which were compared to everyone from Johnny Cash to Ryan Adams) combine virtuosic songcraft and musicianship with unparalleled artistic honesty....more
Title track was the first I'd ever heard of Jeff's work and it struck me like a ten-ton hammer.
Was a perfect fit for the small-town college I was attending at the time, not far from train tracks itself.
Every time I hear this, I can see the amber light of the street lamps and think about a few walks I made around campus in the dead of night.
Still haven't grabbed hold of the life I've been given as firmly as I ought to, but this song soothes my regret...and the chorus reminds me.... moonandstar8765
West Virginia country-folk singer-songwriter Trae Sheehan aims to find a balance between the traditional and the modern on his new LP. Bandcamp New & Notable Sep 29, 2020