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You Must Get Down

from South of the Wall by Walter Ehresman

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Ehresman at his most Dylanesque. One man, an acoustic guitar, and social commentary through poetics. Very effective and evocative, without being at all derivative. The message is vintage Walter Ehresman.

YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOLl6mhlME0

lyrics

You Must Get Down
(©2018 Walter Ehresman)

The snow melts in New England and the mud seeps in my shoes;
I shuffle ‘cross the mortal coil, dismembered by the news;
Transparent feints with savage eyes sure give a man the blues;
You must get down from off your throne, you must get down.

Self-appointed keeper of the flame of piety;
Upon your lofty crag, there is so much that you can’t see;
Your imperious funhouse mirror ain’t the size it seems to be;
You must get down from off your throne, you must get down.

And in your chair of judgement, you bask in the phantom glow;
You ooze such satisfaction when you act like we don’t know;
But you show more than you want to as you sneer at those below;
You must get down from off your throne, you must get down, must get down;
You must get down off your throne, you must get down.

And the righteous smoke is tainted when the engine runs on scorn;
Contempt wags the finger, and your ego points the tongue;
And that brimstone tongue is flaccid ‘cause the lesson is stillborn;
You must get down from off your throne, you must get down.

And music may not save us, but it heals our hearts’ malaise;
So we gather in the spaces that allow the players’ grace;
Jolly halls where we repast--they ain’t your holy place,
and you are not its priestess!

If your withering eye connects with something that is true,
the message falls away amidst the lordly attitude;
How did you imagine that a change would stem from you?
You must get down from off your throne, you must get down.

You run a smokescreen cover for the looting of our town;
The temples that you raise up are the ones we should tear down;
Collusion, graft and endless greed the underlying sound;
You must get down from off your throne, you must get down.

And you bandits in the desert, and you bandits in your suits;
And you bandits in your vestments as you mine the fear of truth;
And you bandits at the podium who sacrifice our youth—
you must get down from off your throne, you must get down, must get down;
You must get down off your throne, you must get down.

credits

from South of the Wall, released October 31, 2018
Walter Ehresman: vocals, guitar. Special guest: Tomas Escalante: harmonica.

p. 2018 Walter Ehresman. Snipe Bog Records.

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Walter Ehresman San Miguel De Allende, Mexico

Called "the quintessential Austin DIY artist" by famed local disc jockey Charlie Martin , Walter Ehresman was an eccentric presence in the Austin music scene from the '80s until his 2015 move to Mexico. A prolific songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and recording artist...and a restless musical spirit, always looking for something new, expressed with fearlessly honest, socially-conscious lyrics. ... more

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