John Geraghty Posted October 23, 2004 Share Posted October 23, 2004 I thought I would start a thread on lyrics relating to the assassination, I notice in a rolling stones song which I think is jumping jack flash mick jagger says "who killed the kennedys", there is also a song called "the ballad of billy sol estes" , has anybody else got examples. I have heard that elvis was very interested in the assassination and looked into it personaly, can anyone confirm this? john Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Carroll Posted October 23, 2004 Share Posted October 23, 2004 I thought I would start a thread on lyrics relating to the assassination, I notice in a rolling stones song which I think is jumping jack flash mick jagger says "who killed the kennedys", there is also a song called "the ballad of billy sol estes" , has anybody else got examples. I have heard that elvis was very interested in the assassination and looked into it personaly, can anyone confirm this?john <{POST_SNAPBACK}> The Rolling Stones' song to which you refer was "Sympathy for the Devil." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Simkin Posted October 23, 2004 Share Posted October 23, 2004 The Ballad of Billie Sol (Phil Ochs) Billie Sol was a man From the giant Texas land He put the Chamber of Commerce on a limb They voted him the best And the government did no less Until the I.O.U.'s of Texas fell on him Stand tall, Billie Sol, we don't know you at all We've taken down your pictures from the wall Well, we don't want to handle an agriculture scandal We have got to face elections in the fall I remember when Bill had influential friends He celebrated Christmas every day He filled Texas banks with his fertilizer tanks Influential friends don't die they only fade away Stand tall, Billie Sol, we don't know you at all We've taken down your pictures from the wall Well, we don't want to handle an agriculture scandal We have got to face elections in the fall The democrats deny And Orville Freeman sighs He said "Everyone around was fair and square" But He was no more convincing than Ezra Taft Benson As resignations cropped up everywhere Stand tall, Billie Sol, we don't know you at all We've taken down your pictures from the wall Well, we don't want to handle an agriculture scandal We have got to face elections in the fall And now I'd like to say that crime sure doesn't pay But if you want to make some money on the sly Well you can always rent The U.S. Government It's the best one that money can buy. Stand tall, Billie Sol We don't know you at all We've take down your pictures from the wall Well, we don't want to handle and agriculture scandal We have got to face elections in the fall Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Richards Posted October 23, 2004 Share Posted October 23, 2004 (edited) Other songs where the assassination gets a mention are - The Brain Of JFK - Pearl Jam We Didn't Start The Fire - Billy Joel Mommy And Daddy - The Monkees The most hard hitting though is Hadda Be Playing On The Jukebox by Rage Against The Machine. The lyrics were composed by Allen Ginsberg (see below) James ***************************** It had to be flashin’ like the daily double It had to be playin’ on tv It had to be loud mouthed on the comedy hour It had to be announced over loud speakers The cia and mafia are in cahoots It had to be said in old ladies’ language It had to be said in american headlines Kennedy stretched and smiled and got double crossed by lowlife goons and agents Rich bankers with criminal connections Dope pushers in cia working with dope pushers from cuba working with a big time Syndicate from tampa, florida And it had to be said with a big mouth It had to be moaned over factory foghorns It had to be chattered on car radio news broadcasts It had to be screamed in the kitchen It had to be yelled in the basement where uncles were fighting It had to be howled on the streets by newsboys to bus conductors It had to be foghorned into new york harbor It had to echo onto hard hats It had to turn up the volume in university ballrooms It had to be written in library books, footnoted It had to be in the headlines of the times and the mind It had to be barked on tv It had to be heard in alleys through ballroom doors It had to be played on wire services It had to be bells ringing Comedians stopped dead in the middle of a joke in las vegas It had to be fbi chief j. edgar hoover and frank costello syndicate Mouthpiece meeting in central park, new york weekends, Reported time magazine It had to be the mafia and the cia together starting war on cuba, Bay of pigs and poison assassination headlines It had to be dope cops in the mafia Who sold all their heroin in america It had to be the fbi and organized crime working together In cahoots against the commies It had to be ringing on multinational cash registers World-wide laundry for organized criminal money It had to be the cia and the mafia and the fbi together They were bigger than nixon And they were bigger that war It had to be a large room full of murder It had to be a mounted ass- a solid mass of rage A red hot pen A scream in the back of the throat It had to be a kid that can breathe It had to be in rockefellers’ mouth It had to be central intelligence, the family, allofthis, the agency mafia It had to be organized crime One big set of gangs working together in cahoots Hitmen Murderers everywhere The secret The drunk The brutal The dirty rich On top of a slag heap of prisons Industrial cancer Plutonium smog Garbage cities Grandmas’ bed soft from fathers’ resentment It had to be the rulers They wanted law and order And they got rich on wanting protection for the status quo They wanted junkies They wanted attica They wanted kent state They wanted war in indochina It had to be the cia and the mafia and the fbi Multinational capitalists Strong armed squads Private detective agencies for the rich And their armies and navies and their air force bombing planes It had to be capitalism The vortex of this rage This competition Man to man The horses head in a capitalists’ bed The cuban turf It rumbles in hitmen And gang wars across oceans Bombing cambodia settled the score when soviet pilots Manned egyptian fighter planes Chiles’ red democracy Bumped off with white house pots and pans A warning to mediterranean governments The secret police have been embraced for decades The nkpd and cia keep each other’s secrets The ogbu and dia never hit their own The kgb and the fbi are one mind Brute force and full of money Brute force, world-wide, and full of money Brute force, world-wide, and full of money Brute force, world-wide, and full of money Brute force, world-wide, and full of money It had to be rich and it had to be powerful They had to murder in indonesia 500000 They had to murder in indochina 2000000 They had to murder in czechoslovakia They had to murder in chile They had to murder in russia And they had to murder in america Edited October 23, 2004 by James Richards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Carroll Posted October 23, 2004 Share Posted October 23, 2004 The most hard hitting though is Hadda Be Playing On The Jukebox by Rage Against The Machine.The lyrics were composed by Allen Ginsberg (see below) James ***************************** It had to be flashin’ like the daily double It had to be playin’ on tv It had to be loud mouthed on the comedy hour It had to be announced over loud speakers The cia and mafia are in cahoots It had to be said in old ladies’ language It had to be said in american headlines Kennedy stretched and smiled and got double crossed by lowlife goons and agents Rich bankers with criminal connections Dope pushers in cia working with dope pushers from cuba working with a big time Syndicate from tampa, florida And it had to be said with a big mouth It had to be moaned over factory foghorns It had to be chattered on car radio news broadcasts It had to be screamed in the kitchen It had to be yelled in the basement where uncles were fighting It had to be howled on the streets by newsboys to bus conductors It had to be foghorned into new york harbor It had to echo onto hard hats It had to turn up the volume in university ballrooms It had to be written in library books, footnoted It had to be in the headlines of the times and the mind It had to be barked on tv It had to be heard in alleys through ballroom doors It had to be played on wire services It had to be bells ringing Comedians stopped dead in the middle of a joke in las vegas It had to be fbi chief j. edgar hoover and frank costello syndicate Mouthpiece meeting in central park, new york weekends, Reported time magazine It had to be the mafia and the cia together starting war on cuba, Bay of pigs and poison assassination headlines It had to be dope cops in the mafia Who sold all their heroin in america It had to be the fbi and organized crime working together In cahoots against the commies It had to be ringing on multinational cash registers World-wide laundry for organized criminal money It had to be the cia and the mafia and the fbi together They were bigger than nixon And they were bigger that war It had to be a large room full of murder It had to be a mounted ass- a solid mass of rage A red hot pen A scream in the back of the throat It had to be a kid that can breathe It had to be in rockefellers’ mouth It had to be central intelligence, the family, allofthis, the agency mafia It had to be organized crime One big set of gangs working together in cahoots Hitmen Murderers everywhere The secret The drunk The brutal The dirty rich On top of a slag heap of prisons Industrial cancer Plutonium smog Garbage cities Grandmas’ bed soft from fathers’ resentment It had to be the rulers They wanted law and order And they got rich on wanting protection for the status quo They wanted junkies They wanted attica They wanted kent state They wanted war in indochina It had to be the cia and the mafia and the fbi Multinational capitalists Strong armed squads Private detective agencies for the rich And their armies and navies and their air force bombing planes It had to be capitalism The vortex of this rage This competition Man to man The horses head in a capitalists’ bed The cuban turf It rumbles in hitmen And gang wars across oceans Bombing cambodia settled the score when soviet pilots Manned egyptian fighter planes Chiles’ red democracy Bumped off with white house pots and pans A warning to mediterranean governments The secret police have been embraced for decades The nkpd and cia keep each other’s secrets The ogbu and dia never hit their own The kgb and the fbi are one mind Brute force and full of money Brute force, world-wide, and full of money Brute force, world-wide, and full of money Brute force, world-wide, and full of money Brute force, world-wide, and full of money It had to be rich and it had to be powerful They had to murder in indonesia 500000 They had to murder in indochina 2000000 They had to murder in czechoslovakia They had to murder in chile They had to murder in russia And they had to murder in america <{POST_SNAPBACK}> James - Thanks for that. I'm speechless. And sad for all of us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shanet Clark Posted October 24, 2004 Share Posted October 24, 2004 (edited) Thanks Jim, I agree with Tim. Thats a great song Lyrics by Allen Ginsburg and performed by Rage Against the Machine... Don't forget "Abraham, Martin and John" and then there is the punk rock "Dead Kennedys" band... there is the Blue Oyster Cult song "When the bullet hits the bone" and U2's "Bullet the Blue Sky" on the general theme... but the best was "I shouted out who killed the Kennedys? when after all it was you and I" jagger/richards ..........shanet Edited October 24, 2004 by Shanet Clark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Curbow Posted October 24, 2004 Share Posted October 24, 2004 Thanks Jim, I agree with Tim. Thats a great song Lyrics by Allen Ginsburg and performed by Rage Against the Machine... Don't forget "Abraham, Martin and John" and then there is the punk rock "Dead Kennedys" band... there is the Blue Oyster Cult song "When the bullet hits the bone" and U2's "Bullet the Blue Sky" on the general theme... but the best was "I shouted out who killed the Kennedys? when in fact it was you and I" jagger/richards Add Dan Hill, "Growing Up" Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Simkin Posted October 24, 2004 Share Posted October 24, 2004 Not directly about the assassination of JFK, but still appropriate. Tom Paxton, What Did You Learn in School Today? What did you learn in school today, Dear little boy of mine? What did you learn in school today, Dear little boy of mine? I learned that Washington never told a lie. I learned that soldiers seldom die. I learned that everybody's free. And that's what the teacher said to me. That's what I learned in school today. That's what I learned in school. What did you learn in school today, Dear little boy of mine? What did you learn in school today, Dear little boy of mine? I learned that policemen are my friends. I learned that justice never ends. I learned that murderers die for their crimes. Even if we make a mistake sometimes. That's what I learned in school today. That's what I learned in school. What did you learn in school today, Dear little boy of mine? What did you learn in school today, Dear little boy of mine? I learned our government must be strong. It's always right and never wrong. Our leaders are the finest men. And we elect them again and again. That's what I learned in school today. That's what I learned in school. What did you learn in school today, Dear little boy of mine? What did you learn in school today, Dear little boy of mine? I learned that war is not so bad. I learned of the great ones we have had. We fought in Germany and in France. And some day I might get my chance. That's what I learned in school today. That's what I learned in school. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Parker Posted October 24, 2004 Share Posted October 24, 2004 John, Crucifixion by Phil Ochs Here are two of the verses: Then this overflow of life is crushed into a xxxx The gentle soul is ripped apart and tossed into the fire. First a smile of rejection at the nearness of the night Truth becomes a tragedy limping from the light All the (canons|heavens) are horrified, they stagger from the sight As the cross is trembling with desire. They say they can't believe it, it's a sacreligious shame Now, who would want to hurt such a hero of the game? But you know I predicted it; I knew he had to fall How did it happen? I hope his suffering was small. Tell me every detail, I've got to know it all, And do you have a picture of the pain? That was the President by Phil Ochs: One verse: Every thing he might have done and all he could have been Was proven by the troubled traitors hand For what other death could wound the hearts of so many men That was the President and that was the man. CIA MAN by The Fugs Who can change the President #&^* A CIA man... I also have a number of songs on Oswald and Ruby by various unknown bands/singers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Len Osanic Posted October 24, 2004 Share Posted October 24, 2004 A few years ago I wrote a song from the other point of view in mind. What would Gen. Ed Lansdale think, want to say? I thought it was ironic that he quit the CIA, air force cover job, The end of Oct 63 and went to work for C.A.R.E organization, the first into third world counties... hmm. That and he was photographed in Dealey Plaza Nov 22/63 and had a hand in sending Col. Fletcher Prouty to the south pole for all of Nov 63. Lansdale was "Gen Y" in Oliver Stone's film. Anyway I feel he would have been proud of his work and even though he couldn't... would have liked to brag. I also imagined a secret dinner afterwords to thank those involved, so as not to mention who did what... but that Allen Dulles would thank them all. That way I could name names I got from a document from Fletcher but keeping it to lyrics in a song. The quote "very clever planning" is Fletcher Prouty. "The Ballad Of Ed Lansdale" http://www.blackopradio.com/lansdale_song.html Len Osanic PS. Turn it up loud <g> The war machine drills, hammers, saw is all me and I played Guitar and arranged it. Singer is Ralph White. It's not the most complicated thing I produced, but it was the biggest recording... 102 tracks used! Let me know what you think. osanic@prouty.org ============== ======================= Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Richards Posted October 24, 2004 Share Posted October 24, 2004 Good one, Len. Lansdale below (2nd from left) with that thug Oliver North far right (literally). James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shanet Clark Posted October 24, 2004 Share Posted October 24, 2004 Good one, Len.Lansdale below (2nd from left) with that thug Oliver North far right (literally). James <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Jim, you're the man. What do you think of the theory that the guy with his back turned in the "Bums at the fence" photo is Ed Lansdale? What other evidence is there on him being in Dallas 11/22? That whole thing about Prouty reading about Oswald in New Zealand immediately after the murders, you know anything about that? THe Christchurch papers had the whole frame ahead of time? I always thought Prouty was a key source. Not much on him in the FORUM, I guess its "understood" you know, foundational material---or is Prouty not widely believed? I would trust your take on this, based on experience Ollie and Lansdale together---that's priceless.... Shanet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Richards Posted October 24, 2004 Share Posted October 24, 2004 Shanet, As to the possible Lansdale photo with the tramps, I am still sitting on the fence with that one. My reasons are that I'm not convinced on the 3 Tramps photographs themselves. To me, they look staged which is balking me from any kind of solid commitment to the issue. E. Howard Hunt, Chauncey Holt, Charles Harrelson, Charles Rogers and a host of others having been offered as to who these guys were. If the photographs weren't staged to create confusion and or disinformation then they have certainly served that purpose. I have been guilty of stirring the pot myself with some proposed identifications (see below). What I don't buy is the official Doyle, Gedney and Abrams identifications. Having said that, the individual below sure looks like Ed Lansdale. There certainly was a host of suspicious looking individuals wandering around Dealey Plaza that day. Prouty has some passionate supporters and his information seems very solid even though the likes of McAdams have gone after him. Personally I have never looked at the timelines regarding him being in New Zealand and the suspicious timing of the local reporting so I can't comment there. All in all, Lansdale was in a position to be a part of the Dallas operation, I just haven't locked him in as a definite possible. FWIW. James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shanet Clark Posted October 24, 2004 Share Posted October 24, 2004 Thanks Jim good answer Wise to say less The bum photos definitely have served as DISINFO, The theory that they are Hunt, Harrelson and an Algerian hitman still rings thru, but the whole thing is fishy, with other people admitting it is really them.......as for Ed Lansdale.... Prouty (or anyone) goes out on a limb when he positively I.D.'s someone from a photo from behind. thanks I don't have the URL handy, but there's plenty on the web about the problems Prouty saw in the Christchurch, New Zealand newspapers circa November 23, 1963 and Fletcher Prouty's contribution to the debate. Thanks again for the Nugan Hand/Colby material...and the Whitlam stuff... Shanet ANY MORE SONGS? THIS IS THE MUSIC THREAD..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Carroll Posted October 24, 2004 Share Posted October 24, 2004 James, Incredible photo of Lansdale and Ollie. I need a copy of that photo you posted earlier this week with the tents and nine or ten gentlemen in it. I can't remember or find which thead it's on. I'm kicking myself that I didn't save it at the time. Please. Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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