In the Heat of the Summer (Phil Ochs) So wrong, so wrong, But we've been down too long And we had to make somebody listen. In the heat of the summer When the pavement was burning The soul of a city was ravaged in the night Just as the city sun was sinkin' Now no one knows how it started Why the windows were shattered But deep in the dark, someone set the spark And then it no longer mattered. So wrong, so wrong, But we've been down too long And we had to make somebody listen. Almost thirty years after Those long, hot summers The city of the angels was ravaged in the night Millions lost, and fifty-two lives Simi valley verdict, Too many lies were caught by the eye of the camera. Oh, but we know why this one started, More than hot anger exploded. We all saw the sequence again and again, Video witness proclaiming the sin It was hard to believe when that decision came in Just what could the jury be thinkin'? So wrong, so wrong, But we've been down too long And we had to make somebody listen. Down the streets they were rumbling All the tempers were ragin' Oh, where, oh, where are the silver tongues Who forgot to listen to the warning? On and on come the angry No longer following reason All the stores were the targets now Where just the other day they were buyin' So wrong, so wrong, But we've been down too long And we had to make somebody listen. "no, no, no," moaned the mayor. "no, no, no," cried Rodney King "no, no, no, no, no, It's not the way of order Stay in your homes, put down your guns We'll tell you what to do in the morning." "for shame, for shame," said reporters "why hurry to your hunger? Now the rubble lies in your broken neighborhoods So see what your rage has unraveled." When the fury was over Shame replaced the anger. Will we live to see justice done? Jobs and education, instead of drugs and guns We all have to listen, or more violence will come In the heat of the summer. So wrong, so wrong, but we've been down so long And we had to make somebody listen In the heat of the summer...... (As sung by Kim and Reggie Harris) (ochs lyrics not used by kim & reggie harris are below) Drunk with the memory of the ghetto Drunk with the lure of the looting And the memory of the uniforms shoving with their sticks Asking, "are you looking for trouble?" "No, no, no," moaned the mayor. "It's not the way of the order. "Oh stay in your homes, please leave us alone "We'll be glad to talk in the morning." "For shame, for shame," wrote the papers. "Why the hurry to your hunger? "Now the rubble's resting on your broken streets "So you see what your rage has unraveled." Barricades sadly were risin Bricks were heavily flyin And the loudspeaker drowned like a whisperin' sound When compared to the angered emotions And when the fury was over And the shame was replacing the anger. So wrong, so wrong, but we've been down so long And we had to make somebody listen In the heat of the summer...... JRO oct00
Thanks to Mudcat for the Digital Tradition!