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Rise Like Fire

by Jake and the Infernal Machine

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1.
Poseidon he damned this dry land never to retain bodies of water The IMF retains the plan, leads by the hand, right to the slaughter Forgotten rising from the sand, this is the land, democracy was born here It will also die here The Empire opens up its eyes, it’s no surprise what has arisen The workers find the nerve to speak, students take the streets, inmates break the prisons The politics has been unmasked the eyes look past and see through the teargas The spirit of Greece is released, coming from beneath, to face the beast (Chorus) Remember, remember the 6th of December, Athena released with one shot I see of no reason why the insurrection should ever be forgot Pan plays his flute forlorn for what was born, and what will die here The muses call to Hephaestus and Nemesis to forge and conspire The weapon firmly in their hands, forgotten take a stand against gods and liars The power lies within, so let’s begin to put them to the fire (repeat chorus)
2.
From the camp of Red Hugh O'Donoghue, to the streets of old Cairo there's a hope that streams forth like a brook we must try to follow home We must crawl back through the years and scale the centuries Do not fear my dear, do not lose hope, for we will find our black rose There's a girl not far from the camp, her hair as dark as night and her skin so fair save them cheeks of rose, but don't you dare look in her eyes Just look up to the sky, which is almost as deep a blue lest you spend your days crashing through the waves for a taste of our black rose (Chorus) Oh won't you hold your head high my Little Red, wipe that teardrop from my eye I hear a cheer five hundred years from here, cannons ripping through the sky oh red lightning come boil in my blood, place that scent upon my nose for where it goes oh nobody knows, but there's hope in our black rose Caught her scent by a barricade, that was burning in Spain Saw her shadow in Johannesburg, caught her print in Patagonia's plain Followed her tracks straight through to Moscow, there frozen over by a flood for our black rose she drinks from our tears where we drown her in our blood (Repeat chorus) Don't mind the boots in Derry, nor the tracks through Baghdad sand Do not fear the fences of Arizona, nor the chains that bind your hands See straight through prison bars, the pope's wine runs red for you too And there's Irish ale there to share by the pale, where we find our black rose (Repeat chorus)
3.
Berkman's building bridges on the bridge of the boat Bolsheviks and Russian rebels on the ocean float Captain count your captives close and eye your exiles 'cause Berkman's got your soldiers and sailors on the bridge of the boat Sasha says the soldiers and the sailors say they see We're all on the same ship and we all wanna be free Enlisted men and deportees on a prison floating out to sea Sasha says, “Go get your guns. We're gonna mutiny.” (Chorus) Now this might be your prison, and this might be your world You might have designs on the hearts and minds over every boy and every girl And this might be your ocean, and now I don't mean to gloat But we're standing on the bridge of the Buford, this is our boat Well federal inspector Berkshire brought an order from the Colonel guy The order simply said “Submit” and boy did that get a rise The deportees did not stand down because they knew how to organize They said “Sasha's the only Colonel we recognize.” So the colonel sent for Sasha and he met him there at the door Said, “If I only give the order that destroyers gonna send us to the ocean floor You all cry for more, you bold and you poor, don't you know that we're in a war? I'll be glad to leave you rotting in Russia at the end of this tour.” (Repeat Chorus)
4.
Hunger glows like coals in the bottoms of our souls shoes are pocked with holes, do you feel the street? Sorrow scars and stains with the stresses and the pain you can read it on the faces that you meet From slavery to poverty, war, hunger, and disease the kings refuse to cure because their governed by their greed, so (Chorus) I fight for anarchy 'cause I love humanity and we deserve freedom and equality Out beyond the dawn, like the verses of a song before long and growing stronger there's a day The sun will rise like fire and burn out all the liars her rays will chase the shadows all away There's a hundred million problems in this world that are wrong and if we want to right them then we gotta fight strong, so (Chorus)
5.
Haymarket 05:18
Four men swinging in the wind. (x2) Hey Mama, did they go down to Haymarket? Was that their only sin? They fought to bring us eight hours. The general strike, for eight hours But the state devours when it can win Bullets and batons are their power (Chorus) The day will come when our silence will be more powerful than the voices you throttle today They killed some strikers at McCormick's, so in the papers the anarchists swore they'd tear the rich down from their high tower Called a meeting at Haymarket The mayor said all was quiet. Police, go home. There'll be no riot But Bonfield sent his men in there to crack some skulls Dead bodies gathered there in piles (Repeat Chorus) They called the rebels instigators. Make raids now look up laws later And hang one man for every hour Make examples of their leaders Five men waiting on the gallows (x2) Grave Digger, dig them graves shallow They'll be rising up tomorrow Now there’s four men swingin’ in the wind. Four men swingin’ in the wind Only two were even down at Haymarket It’s not the end it’s the beginning. (x3) Remember, we are the beginning.
6.
I was a child in Franklin with the farms and the factories grew up in Norfolk with the woods and the fields Became a man in Brighton with the pubs and the people now here I am in the land of the steel (Chorus) Away from the Charles, away from the Charles Never for so long so far from her shores The three rivers of Pittsburgh are broad and majestic so deep at the bottom they flow to the west Twice the size and the fury of the meandering Charles whose wandering charms run in streams through my chest (Repeat Chorus) Many a bridges they have here in Pittsburgh They say more bridges than Venice they have But I'd trade 'em all in for one night on my river staring down at the lights from the bridge on Mass. Ave. (Repeat Chorus) Many a nights we spent down at the Charles drinking and smoking and laughing 'til dawn I dream of those friends and the moonlight and magic when I close my eyes they're here singing along (Repeat Chorus)
7.
US out of Afghanistan, US out of Iraq US out of the Middle East, leave now and never come back And I'll light the way on with my draft card, to burn the recruiters all down Fellow workers don't fight other workers, no it’s time to turn those guns around (Chorus) The war on terrorism is the symptom of the disease and our movement shall be an Infernal Machine Consider us the Huns, consider us the Visigoths either way we've come to smash these walls until the Empire falls We've come to smash your empire US out of New England, yea we're taking the entire Northeast US out of North America, well it’s time now the toilers will feast And we'll lead the way on with our strike song, we workers we won’t work for you And the soldiers will fight for the people, they won't kill who the rich want them to, and there'll be No more masters and no more slaves We'll keep on fighting. We'll see that new day. Yea, there'll be no more masters as soon as us slaves have our way (repeat Chorus)
8.
Oh, it was a dark time in Spain Storm clouds always gather thick before the rain and in his hands he found a gun, and to his friends he was the one he was the peoples' favorite son, he fought on behalf them Bullets flying towards the priest, and the beast it gnashed its teeth chased the friends into the street and to the world they were released Buenas Noches, Buenaventura, you gave it a try You'll come back to us when its time Buenas Noches, Buenaventura, when you close your eyes, all your people are there inside Hijos del Pueblo, more precious than a pearl running fugitive from the world Back at home the jackboots fall, and the friends they heed the call Slip back in, commence the brawl, sent straight to the prison walls Buenas Noches, Buenaventura, it’s been a good ride You'll come back to us when it’s time Buenas Noches, Buenaventura, when you close your eyes, all your people are there inside Spanish people go retrieve your stolen sons and daughters The fascists in the barracks are ready for the slaughter The anarchists unleash their guns, the workers rise, the fascists run and giving chase the people come, militia of revolution Buenas Noches, Buenaventura, you live by the gun You'll come back to us, when we've won Buenas Noches, Buenaventura, under the sun grows the sweet fruits of revolution The world ignores the cries of the Spanish people Them reds and anarchists are burning down the steeples November storm clouds come around, and fascist bombs break Madrid's ground but when our hero comes to town, Buenaventura is shot down Buenas Noches, Buenaventura, you gave it a try You'll come back to us when its time. Buenas Noches, Buenaventura, the day that you died all your people laid down and cried Buenas Noches, Buenaventura, it’s been a good ride You'll come back to us when it’s time Buenas Noches, Buenaventura, the day that you died all your people laid down and cried
9.
Passing By 04:29
Well I work with a man named Karma who's had a bad run of it himself he spends his days rolling sushi trays while his heart hangs on the shelf and at lunch time we lay down our grinding stones and talk of wealth and that which might have become of us if we could find some if it ourselves Back in Nepal one day a girl called Karma on the phone it had been a wrong number, but toward each other their hearts roamed but she'd been arranged to marry and left Karma all alone so he moved away to the USA and his heart he left back home Well Karma, what will you ever do if you won the lottery? Would you move back home to Nepal and live all easily and free? He said I don't bother dreaming about what will happen to me and the glistening skies behind his eyes offered no apology (Chorus) Well the scenes of our lives pass you by, don't close your eyes Cause the seasons of time keep passing by Well my Momma she tries to buy me clothes because mine are full of tears at Christmas time my stocking's full of socks in matching pairs Well Momma save your money, oh it’s good to know you care! But I'm more concerned with who I am than I am with what I wear And I've got family all around me, I've got friends in every square I've got comrades in my corners and you know we all dream to dare And on New Year’s day it'll be safe to say this last year's in the past So let’s drink this time like it's precious wine and enjoy it while it lasts Well remember me when I'm gone and the life that I have lived for heaven lies not above the skies but in the hearts and minds of friends and on that day I hope they say he was true 'til the end when my ashes hit the soil, let life begin again (Chorus)
10.
Libertalia 05:20
I was just as old as you back in 1692 on a slave ship under the whip, way out where the salt winds blew then rising on the horizon, the ships with white sails flying, how surprising were the pirates of Libertalia They came like lightning over the sides and all around me there was fighting and they're declaring right before me to be enemies of slavery they said, “We are Liberi.” and they set everyone free, even me, even me Listen children, close your eyes and you can see it’s not that far the white sails cut through the fog to the shores of Madagascar and their Captain said “Son listen, that land there in the distance is the garden we call Libertalia.” Captain Misson had a vision, my children won't you listen a decision such as this one shan't be left to a politician and if each man is equal in this land, there'll be no drawing lines in the sand so they built an earthly heaven here on Libertalia (Outro) And I can still see them on a sunny afternoon the dogs are a sleeping, and the boys are singing a tune and when the sun comes down, like wolves we'll howl at the moon the girls are a dancing, the chef stirs with a silver spoon And if the kings come here, they're bound to meet their ruin
11.
Leaving Town 02:54
Watching your friends all slipping away, this city looks different every day and you know what they say, there just ain't no way to stay the winds of change We'll never all be here together again, this moment in time will inevitably end and I'll miss you my friends and we'll break and we'll bend, but we'll always remember when (Chorus) Everybody's leaving town, getting up covering ground We're drinking that dirty water and we're drowning in the sound There ain't nowhere better but there ain't nowhere worse And someday I'll leave here too The colleges spreading like cancerous cells, this neighborhood’s shrinking in this sickly spell and you can just never tell in this transient hell if your landlord is gonna sell The prices are up and the wages are down, how can we afford to live in this town? When it’s ruled by the gown, the landlord wears the crown, if you can’t swim you're bound to drown (repeat chorus) Say goodbye to the city, goodbye to the times, goodbye to the view from the unemployment line There's no reason or rhyme, there's no justice, no crime in that picture framed in your mind You'll remember the people, remember the nights, remember the music beneath the bright lights and forget all the fights and who's wrong and who's right, keep your memories, hold them tight (repeat chorus)
12.
The time has come to sing and to howl, from my tired soul to the depths of my bowels The wolf's out there, and he's on the prowl, so we'd best be flocking, ‘cause we are the fowl Been working all day since five AM, get on the bus, go home and then get lost in a bottle, drown the noise in my head, so I can fall asleep, and do it all again (Chorus) And I, I've got, got the stock boy blues Them bosses been talking, been talking all day, ‘cause they'll make their dollar any possible way The economy's hurting, at least that's what they say, but the rich just get richer, it’s the poor who pay I stand in a freezer unloading a truck, if I break my back, well I'm shit out of luck They're cutting our healthcare to save them a buck, when they make record profits ‘cause they don't give a fuck (Chorus) About us, we've all got, got the stock boy blues Well they say we're blessed to have us a job, but we've all been fooled, beaten down and robbed Sure we need the bosses, like a maid needs a slob, like inmates need a jailer, like the poor need the cops Well the day will come when us workers stand up, when we stand for each other, when we've all had enough and in every restaurant, every yard, every shop, when we fold our arms, it’s the whole world that stops Then our bosses will have the feeding themselves blues
13.
There are heroes among us, though we'd never have known for life sets its path upon us as the wind decides to blow and sometimes it gusts against you when the fire's not enough but your luck will turn. So, we could never give up Your opponents may be giants, they say too tall to fall but truth’s never so foreboding as the shadow on the wall The arena may fill with darkness when you’re grasping for a light Bring out your fight! We could never give up (chorus) No matter what they throw at us, we could never give up Keep your heart strong and your head up We may taste the mud on our tongues, the sky's dripping with blood but the sun will rise. We could never give up If hell sets itself upon us, if the fault lines all erupt If the ground drops out beneath us, will you say you've had enough? And the black paint covers the wall like when death sets behind our eyes but tonight we'll rise. We could never give up (repeat chorus) There's no light. Hard to cope. Hard to fight when there's no hope Winter comes, darkness grows, feed your fire, we could never give up (repeat chorus)
14.
We live in a rich land, we know how to reap its fruits but you can’t pick the harvest without healthy roots King Cash rules all, well that's just what they say we can create communism today Well the party bureaucrats aren't too sure 'bout all of that they'll have to take power, arrange their pawns on a map but when they pick up that crown, they won't be puttin’ back down but the people don't need politicians around (Chorus) We can search high and low, we can trace the stars above we can dive in the whiskey and fall into love we can ponder the questions when the answer's quite clear Heaven is livin' right here I work in a store for a big company and I eat quite well 'cause what we're sharing is free and what the bosses don't know won't hurt them anywhere except for their wallets and we don't frankly care there's a managing class that can't manage worth shit the point of it’s profit an that's just what they get we give them our lives and they throw us away it’s time to create communism today (Repeat Chorus) All we need to realize is the world's already ours Well what will we leave to our beloved little ones a world full of cancer, corruption, and guns? There's a new way inside us just begging to be born Siblings are you ready to weather the storm (Chorus) We can search high and low, we can trace the stars above we can dive in the whiskey and fall into love we can ponder the questions when the answer's quite clear Heaven is livin' right here
15.
RRID 02:59
Well it was rising from the east like some long forgotten sun them reds are coming back again, time to get your gun and he rode right off the screen into this quiet old ghost town the sun was high, his shadow gone, he drew up both pistols (Chorus) Ronald Reagan's dead, yea RRID Take the flags down, gonna burn them high above our head RRID, he was a national hero, fought the commies and protected corporate interests, yea What about the Sandinistas, what about the Contra Wars? What about the striking workers, what about the nation's poor? No day of mourning for the victims of his wars If he's a cowboy, then I'm a bandit, and we're coming down from these hills we're gonna crack open a bank and drink in the memory He was the last fucking fascist cowboy until Alzheimer’s ate his brain I hope the next president goes out like that ‘cause they're all really fucking insane (Repeat Chorus)

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released July 2, 2014

Cover art by Steve Reid

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Jake and the Infernal Machine Boston, Massachusetts

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