Word Free

What kind of free country turns workers into slaves,

making them do jobs for twelve and fourteen hours a day

and paying them wages so low that they can't make ends meet,

driving them deep into debt just to cover basic needs?

What does the word free really mean?

Do you believe you can be free?

It does not look free to put so many people behind bars,

arresting them for smoking pot or having it in a car

and what kind of freedom comes from a law that makes someone pay a fine

for feeding homeless people on the street and acting kind?

What does the word free really mean?

Do you believe you can be free?

The first amendment backs free speech and freedom of the press.

When you hear how dangerous misinformation spreads,

understand how free speech fades when people bow and bend

to authoritarians who silence voices of dissent.

What does the word free really mean?

Do you believe you can be free?

The rough cut video was posted on YouTube on 8/1/09 - click here to watch that video. The lyrics below match the ones in that video.

The Way Free

Kicking up the highway dust

with the wheel tight in my hand.

Glancing in the mirror at some pieces of the past

and I don't care if everyone is going the same way,

I might take a different turn

and go to a different place

and that's the way free feels to me.

I don't need those fancy cars you see on your TV.

If mine's a little rusty,

I don't owe anyone anything

and when I roll down the window

and the wind blows through my hair

I can hear that motor humming

"We could go almost anywhere"

and that's the way free feels to me.

Some drivers live for that fast lane,

passing everything is sight.

I'm not running in a race

though I might go fast sometimes

and I don't mind paying my taxes when I fill my tank

but if they jack that price too high

I'm going to tell them what I think

and that's the way free feels to me.