FAWM: "Genesis Again (oil and ore)"

Genesis Again (oil and ore)

Liner Notes

#folk #banjo #protest #acoustic #singersongwriter #angry #climatechange #religion #mythology #filk #anticapitalist #murderballad

Lyrics

God made a garden, perfect and whole
Picked up the clay and gave it a soul
The clay got up, took a look at the land
Traded land for money, money changed hands

Mmm…

They cracked open mountains, found riches within
Used it to shame and shackle their kin
For impossible profit, unspeakable war
Defiling the Garden for oil and ore

Oil and ore, oil and ore
What have we done for oil and ore?
Oil and ore, oil and ore
Traded our soul for oil and ore,
Oil and ore for money and more,
money and more, more, more, more, more……

-Break-

Oh god did you know all the harm we could do
When you breathed on the clay and shaped us like you?
When the shore falls to fire and the mountains to flood
Will you carve a new child from ashes and mud?

Ashes and mud, ashes and mud
what’ll be left but ashes and mud?
Ashes and mud, ashes and mud
Will you grow a new garden from ashes and mud?

Comments

@riverman 6d

Perfect lyrics, outstanding banjo playing, beautiful vocals, and powerful lyrics. So glad to have found this. Hoping to hear more.

@jgale 1w

Fabulous. Reminds me of a folk song from the 60/70s. Really captures where we're at. Beautiful singing and picking.

@coolparadisoMod 1w

Seriously nice banjo and fine vocal delivery of a really interesting lyric. Very fine song!

@mikedebenham 1w

This is wonderful stuff. An excellent lyric beautifully performed.

@spidersinatrenchcoat 1w

Woo! Nice to find another clawhammer player. I'll admit, I'm envious of your clean picks.

@paulotteson 2w

I am a fan. This absolutely gorgeous. Your voice is sublime, and your effortless picking on that banjo had me from the first note. I particularly enjoyed what you did on the "more, more, more.." part. There is a freedom in your form and delivery that I absolutely adore. Well done!

@tan482 2w

Oooh I LOVE this! Your banjo playing and voice are absolutely beautiful - this is a sound I aspire to 💜

@jinx 2w

Damn, this is good. I was getting chills by the end of the first verse, and kept loving every line of the lyrics – can't even pick a favorite. I'm a big banjo fan, and it's absolutely perfect on this song. And your voice is just stunning.

@philnorman 2w

This is outstanding. A murder ballad for capitalism, indeed. This is Appalachian magic music, like this song was just waiting for you to dig it out of the clay, a sword from the stone. And the banjo is the perfect weapon, given its roots in American music from the exploitation of slavery.

(I use the word "weapon" to describe the banjo not only for the power of this song, but also because a good friend from my years in a bluegrass band used to always sing little jingles, one of my favorites of which was "beat you death with a banjo neck")

Oil and ore sliding into "more, more, more" is just perfect. Standing ovation for this one.

I could hear this being a "hit" (as much as there are Americana hits) for Rhiannon or Gillian, and I hope your band gets to sing it on big stages on the same bill as those heroes. I hope this one drifts into the collective songbook like the morning haze settles on the ridges and gets covered by folks for generations.

@nadine 2w

This is so sad and lovely at the same time! The lyrics tell a great story, good images here. The banjo really adds something I didn't expect and works so well. Great song!

@laurenoxford 2w

emily i haven't been able to stop thinking about this song and i've been telling quite literally everyone i know to listen to it. IT WON'T LEAVE MY HEAD OR MY HEART OR MY SOUL OR MY BRAIN IT JUST EXISTS WITHIN ME NOW