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Each Couch By the Street

from Notes from a Failed State by David Rovics

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Although there has been a suspension on evictions for the duration of the crisis in Portland and Multnomah County, at least, you'll find many couches on the sidewalks of the city, especially at the beginning of the month. Whose were they? Where did they go?

lyrics

Each Couch By the Street

Each couch by the street has a story
Some were brand new just last year
It looks like days ago, someone had a door key
And it was in a living room – not here
Getting covered in leaves falling down
Getting soaked each time it rains
Did someone split quickly, head out of town
Perhaps whoever left these coffee stains

Each couch by the street has a story
I wonder what this one may be
Another one too dry to have been out for long
It once was someone's property
Did they leave their home and move into a car
Or find a sofa to sleep on at a friend's place
Did they stay near, or go away far
Disappear with hardly a trace

Each couch by the street has a story
One that ended without a yard sale
No one's buying much in the pandemic
Most any such plans are derailed
Along with the crashing economy
All the people who just got the sack
Could just be a time for society
To have one another's back

Each couch by the street has a story
And those stories will soon multiply
Once the ban on evictions is lifted
Once thousands more people have died
While we're here in a country that's failed
When the moratorium is through
When they come to evict your neighbors
What will you do?

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from Notes from a Failed State, released June 4, 2020

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David Rovics Portland, Oregon

Singer/songwriter, writer, podcaster (on Spotify, Substack & Patreon), anarchist, dad, lover of life.

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