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East Tennessee

from Ten Thousand Miles Away by David Rovics

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Solo acoustic version of a song that was recorded with decidedly more gusto on the CD I made with a band a year later, Big Red Sessions. True story about an act of what they might later call "ecoterrorism," way back in 1968. The culprit was never caught, so I had to make up the details...

lyrics

I grew up on this mountain
Came back here to dwell
Maybe have a family
Plant some corn and dig a well
I was all done with the Army
Back from Vietnam
Where I learned how to shoot a rifle
And how to set a bomb

I grew up on this mountain
It's in my very soul
So when the company moved next door
Started digging for the coal
Tearing up the mountain
With drillers and draglines
I knew then what needed
To happen to those mines

10, 9, 8 Sometimes that's just how it goes
3, 2, 1 Get out before it blows

The guard, he was sleeping
On duty thru the night
I stepped gently on the ground
And stayed well out of sight
I tied sticks to the equipment
Switched the timer on
Then I knew that in ten seconds
These dozers would be gone

Chorus

I had to leave the mountain
I headed to the west
The cops were on my trail
And I figured it was best
And I figured I did my small part
To make the world free
In my humble manner
In East Tennessee

Chorus

credits

from Ten Thousand Miles Away, released January 25, 2015

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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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