THE RECYCLED SONGBOOK
Dedicated to All Workers and their Families
Affected by MAXXAM Corporation’s
Takeover of Pacific Lumber, Kaiser Aluminum,
Simplicity Patterns, and other Subsidiaries
(all material herein intended for educational fair use)
http://www.houstonprogressive.org - etn 99
INTRODUCTION
NEW INTRO: "Send the World a Message"
One of the California Redwoods (in dark sunglasses and sneakers)
sings to the tune of "Heard it through the Grapevine"
In California, across the Bay,
Lies a bridge called the Golden Gate,
Where Woody Harrelson, a friend of mine,
Got in trouble when he hung a sign.
He didn't write no telegram
Intended only for Maxxam
Instead he sent the world a message
That our redwood trees are precious
No, oh, those trees cannot be cut and sold
So let's set the words to rock-n-roll
And let the truth be told
(Let's sing to classic records
Till we save the California redwoods!)
Down in Texas - a friendly state -
Lives a man we love to hate
In fact we visit there all the time
And salute him from our picket line
We like to call him up and fax 'im
At his office up at Maxxam
We won't stop
Till Hurwitz gets the message
That our redwood trees are precious
No, oh, those trees cannot be cut and sold
Cuz they're worth more than their weight in gold
So let the redwoods grow
(Send a message over Texas
To protect the California Redwoods!)
Now this issue's getting critical
There ain't no time to get political
Cuz the redwoods are everyone's
Like the moon and the shining sun
[So call up Washington D.C. So do a show on M.T.V.]
[And make the redwoods -- the National Tree! And declare ME -- the National Tree!]
Let's rock
Till Hurwitz gets the message
That our redwood trees are precious
No, oh, those redwoods can't be cut and sold
Cuz they're worth more then their weight in gold
So let's rock-n-roll . . . YEOW!
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STING
I. The Earth Police
Join Sting in global efforts to save rainforest communities in Africa and South America.
See Rainforest Foundation International at www.rainforestfoundationuk.org.
A. INTRO: (to the tune of "Roxanne")
MAXXAM - You don't have to cut down the redwoods
Why destroy Pacific Lumber
Once the trees are gone, they're gone for good
MAXXAM - You don't have to pay back Uncle Sam
By logging trees for money
In a multi-billion dollar scam
MAXXAM - You don't have to cut down the redwoods
MAXXAM - You don't have to cut down the redwoods
Don't clearcut the redwoods, Don't clear out the dead wood, MAXXAM . . .
Your favorite Earth Firsters
Are teaming up with workers
From men of steel to Julia Hill
Who wouldn’t hurt a butterfly
Let’s sing a bunch of music, distribute and produce it
Release CDs and save those trees, it's a better way . . .
MAXXAM - You don't have to cut down the redwoods
Why sell your soul for money
You'll do yourself more harm than good
MAXXAM - Corporate welfare hard at work
To rob the banks of Uncle Sam
And ransom Mother Earth
Join Sting in global efforts to save rainforest communities in Africa and South America.
See Rainforest Foundation International at www.rainforestfoundationuk.org.
B. "Don't Stamp Out Redwood Trees" (to the tune of "Don't Stand So Close to Me")
Old redwoods - the target - of careless corporate greed
Destroying - rainforests - whole trees have gone to seed
Extinction - approaching - for forest wildlife
Hey Houston - get hustling - come join our battlecry:
Don't stamp - don't stamp out -- don't stamp out redwood trees
Red tree voles - bald eagles - and marbled murrelets
Their homelands disappearing - to pay off business debts
The salmon - in the river - reduced to one percent
While Maxxam - fights battles - against the government
Don't stamp - don't stamp out - don't stamp out redwood trees
Please -- don't -- cut -- down -- old -- growth -- redwood trees
Tell Clinton - by e-mail: President @ whitehouse, gov
To save endangered species - in every redwood grove
Call Congress - at this number* - and even Governor Bush**
Stop logging - that lumber -- the more they pull, we'll push
Don't stamp - don't stamp out - don't stamp out redwood trees
Please -- don't -- cut -- down -- old -- growth -- redwood trees
[MTV lick]: "Help -- Save -- Our -- Redwood -- Trees . . ."
president@whitehouse.gov * 1-888-898-7717 ** 1-800-252-9600
To e-mail Congress, try: e-thepeople.com or see Montrose Radio's list.
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TINA TURNER
II. Tina "Mad Maxxam" Turn-over the Land
A. INTRO:
Beyond Headwaters Grove (to the movie theme from Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome)
Dedicated to the generations of loggers who had been working at
sustainable jobs until Maxxam started clearcutting instead.
Redwoods held hostage
By Maxxam in Houston
Can't grow as fast as they're tearing them down
Just ask the loggers
At Pacific Lumber
Forced to leave stumps that cover the ground
Knowing someday their jobs are gonna hafta change
If they clear off the land till nothing else remains
You don't need to work for Hurwitz
Just to get the ax from Maxxam
Making money by exploiting
Headwaters Grove
Wiped out their pension
All 68 million
Raided the company looking for gold
Hey Maxxam headquarters
Stay out of Headwaters
Give up the land, and you'll win back your soul
While the workers of the world are organizing change
For our young boys and girls the forest must remain
They deserve an equal say
You don't have to work for Hurwitz
Just to get the ax from Maxxam
Let us learn to look beyo-ond
Headwaters Grove
The same God, the author of life,
Gives us heavenly wealth
So we can't abuse our freedom and rights
To bring destruction and death
Or it's all for nothing
You don't need to work for Hurwitz
Just to get the ax from Maxxam
We must protect the lands surrounding
Headwaters Grove . . .
B. "Can't Make a Living" (to the tune of "One of the Living")
dedicated to all Buddhists seeking the Right Livelihood
As September comes,
Soon the redwoods will lose their protection
The Spotted Owl, perched on the verge of destruction
You can't steal the pension of loggers 20 years on the job
Will the banks of the rivers be the next ones you rob
[Will the workers of Kaiser be the next ones you rob]
You know you gotta stop cutting down redwoods
And show respect for Ol' Mother Nature
Ya gotta stop stealing her dead wood
With only 60,000 acres left
Let's recall the land, and forget your debts
Because you can't make a living
When you're killing the planet (killing the planet)
And the hopes of the children
What are you leaving for them
No, you can't make a living
When you're killing the redwoods (killing the redwoods)
And the hopes of the children
What are you leaving for them
MAXXAM -- Watch out for freshwater salmon
Swap Out! -- Pre-serve Headwaters, not Mammon
Nature can't be replaced no matter how much you're worth
Don't lose heart, soul, and face by destroying the earth
You know ya gotta stop chopping those redwoods
For love of God and WILD Mutha Nature
You gotta stop hauling off dead wood
There's only 60,000 acres left
So let's preserve the land, and erase your debts
Because you can't make a living
When you're killing the planet (killing the planet)
And the hopes of the children
What are you leaving behind
No, you can't make a living
When you're killing the redwoods (killing the redwoods)
And the hopes of the children
What are you leaving for them
ELVIS
IV. Elvis the King of the Redwoods
A. INTRO: "Corporate Welfare" (to the tune of "Heartbreak Hotel")
It took over a billion dollars
From crashing an S & L
To buy the redwoods I control
From my hi-rise hotel
That's corporate welfare for ya
That's corporate welfare
Now you know where all your money goes
Now economic scholars
Are asking around the world
Why liquidate the redwood trees
To subsidize a squirrel
That's corporate welfare, baby
That's corporate welfare
Now you know where all your money goes
B. "Old Growth Trees" (to the tune of "Blue Suede Shoes")
Click here for info on boycotting old growth redwood products.
If you log for a living,
Then take it slow
Gotta wait, gotta let those redwoods grow
Oh please, don't cut down the old growth trees
You can reap what you sow
But not the old redwood trees!
The number of species
That live in the tops
Of the trees will drop if the choppin' don't stop
[Don't go, pick on the red tree vole]
Oh please, don't cut down my redwood trees
It's a shame and a waste
To take what you can't replace
As wide as a house, as old as the Word
Natural home of beautiful birds
As tall as the length of a football field
Who cares what patio chairs they yield
Oh please, don't cut down the redwood trees
You can reap what you sow
But don't touch the old growth trees
You can reap what you sow
But let's keep the old growth trees!
See www.ran.org/ran/ran_campaigns/old_growth for info on boycotting old growth redwood products.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
MARILYN
V. Marilyn "My Heart Goes Out to Hurwitz"
A. INTRO: "Corporate Raider" (to the tune of "Big Spender")
[originally by Darryl Cherney, edited by Emily Nghiem]
When you walked in the woods
I could tell you were a man of destruction
A real clear-cutter
Corporate raider, Texas-size
You bought Pacific Lumber so you could MAXXAM-ize
But if you ask my opinion
Those redwood trees were never meant to be Maxxam's
Hey Charles Hurwitz
We're gonna sing you -- a little telegram:
[joined by a whole chorus line of Marilyn's]
B. "Singing Telegram to Maxxam"
(to the tune of "I Wanna Be Loved by You")
[originally by Emily Nghiem, edited by Darryl Cherney]
Those trees
Don't wanna be logged by you
Cuz you
Won't leave any residue!
Those trees
Don't wanna be logged by you
So ple-e-e-ase
Stop chopping those trees!
Will it take another bail-out
To get your own tail out
Of deep hot water
AND Headwaters, too?
(BOOP - BOOP - EE - DO! ;-)
Those trees
Don't wanna be chopped in two
By you
And all of your Maxxam crew!
Those trees
Can never grow back again
Old redwoods are
The world's best friend!
(THE END!) [wink]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
ADDITIONAL LYRICS
------------------------------------------------------------------------
A B C
"40 Story Redwoods" (to the tune of "15 Storey Halo" by ABC) for
environmentalists in Europe who think Americans are nuts for letting
Hurwitz get away with this nonsense! NOTE: Lyrics inspired in part
by Kelli Komiss who compares Headwaters Grove to the heart of the human
body, which can't operate without all the other blood vessels as well.
Maxxam Corporation
Bought the ancient redwood trees
And began to liquidate them
At a hundred thousand a piece
Now the Government wants to rescue
Just a very tiny plot
But to save the ecosystem
We gotta buy the entire lot!
Of all:
10 - 20 - 30 - 40
60 thousand acres of
Ancient - Redwood - Forest - Standing
40 stories tall!
10 - 20 - 30 - 40
60 thousand acres of
Ancient - Redwood - Forest - Standing
40 stories high, 40 stories high!
[TRUMPET]
Endangered ocean seabirds
Like to hang out in the trees
Along with great bald eagles
And other dying breeds
Each layer of the biome
Plays an equal vital part
To pump life throught the system
You gotta have more than a heart!
For all
10 - 20 - 30 - 40
60 thousand acres of
Ancient - Redwood - Forest - Standing
40 stories high, 40 stories high!
[TRUMPET]
Click here to meet the guy
Who helped Maxxam to buy
Pa-ci-fic Lum-ber Com-pan-y
E-mail: Earth First!
(They want Hurwitz nailed!)
There's a huge reward to throw poor Charles
In jail! For sale:
At
10 - 20 - 30 - 40
50 thousand dollars!
for
10 - 20 - 30 - 40
months to life in jail!
10 - 20 - 30 - 40
50 thousand dollars!
for
10 - 20 - 30 - 40
months to life in jail!
(That's time served without bail!)
Oh we're all praying
To stop the corporate waste
And save the trees
Not spend so much on saving face
Yes we're all praying
To stop the corporate waste
And save the trees
While more is spent on saving face
Than on
Saving - 60 - Thousand - Acres
Of ancient redwood forest
10 - 20 - 30 - 40
40 stories tall, 40 stories tall!
For $50,000 Reward, see www.jailhurwitz.com.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
DON HENLEY
A. "Funny Money" (to the tune of "Dirty Laundry")
for Charles Hurwitz, Darryl "Earth First!" Cherney,
the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) and Corporate America.
For a history on Hurwitz, see $50,000 Reward!.
I make my living raiding companies -
Like Pacific Lumber - and the redwood trees
The more I have the more I seize
With my "funny money"
Had-to bail-me-outta junk-bonds, from an S-and-L
Crashed down like the redwoods, they force me to sell
To pay off interest rates from hell
On my "funny money"
Stocks are going up, Stocks are going down
Sell 'em when they're up, Buy 'em when they're down
(sound of NY Stock Exchange)
Stocks are going up, Trees are falling down
Stocks are going up, Trees are falling down
(sound of logging equipment)
Tried to make it out in L.A., but I ran back here
Another funny setback in my corporate career
Welcomed here by Bob Lanier
Despite my "funny money"
Funny how the media, and funny corporate ties
Breed funny little stories
Blowing smoke in your eyes
Hired just to make up lies, with that "funny money"
In any other culture this is usury
Spreading greed and corruption, and human misery
God forgive our Treasury
Built on "funny money"
We could profit off our music, we could dance and sing
In a global celebration, of every living thing
Let's give Maxxam an offering
Using honest money
For $50,000 Reward, see www.jailhurwitz.com.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BILLY JOEL
"Please Let the Redwoods Grow"
(to the tune of "Only the Good Die Young")
dedicated to Earth First, and the California activists
(To support their legal defense, send donations to Pepperspray Victims Fund
c/o First Amendment Fdn., 1736 Franklin St., 8th Floor, Oakland CA 94612.
See www.peppersprayvictims.org/#donate.)
C'mon, Charlie Hurwitz, give us a chance
To swap debt for nature and stop your demands
[To raise up the money and meet your demands]
On the last of the forests that covered the lands
Thousands of years ago. . .
Well, we put up a struggle, you put up a price
We put up with pepper spray burning our eyes
But nothing compares to when Mother Earth cries
(Pain like you'll never know!)
When you don't let the redwoods grow
(Hey Charlie baby)
Please let the redwoods grow
Please let those redwoods grow
I know you've heard rumours concerning Earth First
But your reputation by far is the worst
For causing destruction that can't be reversed
It's all under your control
So c'mon, Charlie baby, give us a break
Sell off your stock for humanity's sake
Don't cloud up the issues, like the rivers and lakes
Destroyed when the soil erodes
When you don't let the redwoods grow
(Hey Charlie baby)
Please let the redwoods grow
Please let those redwoods grow
The forest has a bigger heart than the head of any corporation
Mmm - I wouldn't trade my soul
For a bunch of paper gold
But that's between you and God and the entire nation!
Not only do we pray for you,
But we're gonna hafta pay you, too!
Oh, Owe, Woe . . .
We raised the amount of the bounty we'd pay
To send you to prison and lock you away
'Twas 25 thousand, it's now 50-K
But that ain't the way to go
Charlie, please let the redwoods grow
(I mean what I said)
Please let the redwoods grow
Please let them redwoods grow
The forest has a bigger heart than the head of any corporation
Why would you sell your soul
With every tree you've cut and sold
Oh, Woe, Whoa . . .
C'mon, c'mon, Hurwitz - please don't make us beg
Stop chopping logs - we'll sign you a check
For multi-millions to cover the debts
You have as a CEO
If you'd just let the redwoods go
(Hey Charlie baby)
Please let the redwoods grow
Please let those redwoods grow
Please let them go, oh, oh
Please let the redwoods grow
Please let them grow, oh, oh
Please let the redwoods grow
Send donations to Pepperspray Victims Fund, First Amendment Foundation,
1736 Franklin St., 8th Fl., Oakland CA 94612. www.peppersprayvictims.org.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
SIMON & GARFUNKEL
"Song of Nonviolence"
(inspired by "The Sounds of Silence")
for Gypsy (David Nathan Chain)* and fellow activists dedicated
to changing the world through nonviolence and peace education
*Click here for news clippings and memorial webpage.
Pacific Lumber, foe or friend,
I've come to protest you again
For logging trees on ancient forest land
Protective policies and laws have banned
Legislation that the state will not enforce
There's no recourse
Just a clear
conspiracy
of silence.
Too many trees have hit the ground
Not to hear them make a sound
Are we so deaf, have we become so blind
We cannot see the threat/harm to all mankind
If the right of God's creation to a life that's free
Stands supreme,
To steal this fruit
is but the root
of violence.
From here in Heaven I can see
The folly of humanity
People acting without thinking
People killing without blinking
People bowing down, while strong armed governments
Suppress dissent,
Beneath a code
of silence.
As any politician knows
Violence from dissension grows
Is the bomb that Judi Bari took
Unlike the one that Oklahoma shook
Or the missiles that attacked the Middle East
While reason sleeps,
Censored . . . within . . . ourselves.
I ask all hands to join and pray
Let no division block the way
From building avenues to peace and joy
For the sake of every girl and boy
Ever killed or robbed of youth in the prime of life
Resolve your strife
And end
the vicious trend
of violence.
Reverse the trend
and bring an end
to violence.
For more songs and words for Gypsy, visit:
www.headwatersforest.org/david.chain/Gypsy.remembered.html.
MADONNA - "Wildlife Prayer"
INTRO: "Noah's Prayer" (to the tune of "Like a Prayer")
[NOTE: These individual sections may be spliced into the other
"Ecosystems" and "Marbled Murrelet" lyrics to make a video dance mix]
God made Headwaters Grove - full of creatures great and small
He gave us Redwood Trees - 40 stories tall . . .
(repeat slow melody:)
Then Maxxam bought the land - and began to cut them all
The loggers came in droves - and made the Garden fall . . .
How many of these - endangered species
Live in the redwood trees - C'mon and count with me:
Bald eagles and hawks - Salamanders and frogs
Wild Murrelets - How many are there left?
We have a choice, to follow God or Mammon
We have a choice, to hear the Voice
Of Compassion
It's not God's will, to harm His own Creation
Why let our forest life be killed
By corporations?
How many of these - endangered species
Live in the redwood trees - C'mon, now, answer me:
Bald eagles and hawks - Salamanders and frogs
Wild Murrelets - How many are there left?
After the Flood, the Wildlife multiplied
God didn't let one species die
He made a promise [rainbow appears across the stage]
It takes all kinds, to build an ecosystem,
Each color shade, each Ray of Light
To fill the spectrum [REPEAT CHORUS]
O Father in Heaven, Hallowed by Thy name
Fight war and destruction, End this corporate game
Deliver us from Mammon, World famine and greed
Stop Hurwitz at Maxxam, Save the redwood trees!
God filled Headwaters Grove, with creatures great and small
By reaching out with love, we can save - them - all
Life is a gift from God
We must obey his Laws
To live in Harmony
That is our destiny
All creatures need a home
A place to grow - and - thrive
The Earth is *not* our own
By Grace alone
The world survives, etc.
(repeat slow melody:)
God made the Redwood Trees - Over 40 stories tall
Now Mother Nature needs - our help to save them all
CARLY SIMON
E. "Everyone Loves the Redwoods"
for Carly "Coho Salmon" and Bonds, Junk Bonds
(to the tune of "Nobody Does It Better")
For an inspirational song on the giant redwoods, see Tree of Ages
Everyone loves the redwoods
Old trees that grow above the rest
Where spotted owls and
Marbled Murrelets
Choose to build their nests
[Why triple the logging
And cripple a company
Controlling the Headwaters Grove
To cover for junk bonds
We'd rather skip out on
Just to save the redwoods that we love]
Help us to save the redwoods
Let Nature exist on its own
From the red tree vole
To the red-legged frog
Even salmon call it home
Come sign our petition
(Or sing your own rendition!)
We want you to join our campaign
To rescue Headwaters
From Maxxam headquarters
And set the forest free from corporate reign!
For everyone loves the redwoods
Giants that rise above the rest
Indigenous species
Depend on you and me
To save their rainforests
Save the rainforest
Protect the wilderness
It's nature at its best
For another inspirational song on the giant redwoods, see Tree of Ages
BRUCE
F. FINALE: Bruce the Boss (and a bunch of Corporate Bozo's)
"Headwaters U.S.A." (to the tune of "Born in the U.S.A.")
Up north is a redwood forest
Controlled by a "clown" who lives out of town
We protest, and he just ignores us
But when a tree falls, can't you hear the sound
Headwaters U.S.A. is a
Rainforest You Must Save, yeah
Headwaters U.S.A. is a
Rainforest You Must Save
Won every lawsuit against Maxxam
Chased Charles Hurwitz clear out of town
We're still fighting, to save the land
While the government's . . . still "clowning around"
Headwaters U.S.A. is a
Rainforest You Must Save
Out west is a redwood forest
Cut down by some "clown" living here in town
So beat your drums, and repeat the chorus
Shout it out loud, let him/'em hear the sound:
HEADWATERS U.S.A. is a
RAINFOREST YOU MUST SAVE
[Return to Main Index]
HEADWATERS U.S.A. is a
RAINFOREST YOU MUST SAVE