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Description
MacJammer Richard Schletty sent me some lyrics for a song idea based on his observance of an actual event, the demolition of a power plant stack located on the Mississippi River in St. Paul. Not realizing he had already created a tune for the lyrics, I composed music for it of my own. Then, as Richard continued to move the song in a more folksy direction, I began developing the storyline with a political slant as a general meditation on the current energy crisis in the United States.
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Lyrics
WHERE WERE YOU WHEN THAT STACK CAME DOWN?
Schletty/Smith 2008
Down by the river on a bridge called Smith
We gathered to see the demise of a monolith
Of a big tube belching black fire and smoke
Shut your windows, close you doors
cover your eyes, it’ll fill your pores
don’t laugh at me – I’m not making a joke
Feel the breeze up on Buffalo Ridge
Let’s use that wind to power the fridge
What’s this rant rising about the tower?
Bigger isn’t always better
A multitude of alternatives could be unfettered
Let’s convert those vacant rooftops into sources of power
High in the sky where the mighty eagle soars
You could see the dust cloud rise for miles around
No more sulfur or mercury
Life along the river as it ought to be
Where were you when the stack came down?
Ever since building that first cave fire
Man has had a fervent desire
To create clean forms of economical energy
Give me water Give me wind
Give me garbage Give me hydrogen
Give me alternatives to oil and set me free
Music break
Maybe if Al Gore had been elected president
Our energy policy would have a different bent
But right now George Bush seems to be clueless
What can we do when we are leaderless?
Who’s going to lead us out of this bleeding mess?
Is in too much to hope McCain or Obama can renew us?
High in the sky where the mighty eagle soars
You could see the dust cloud rise for miles around
No more sulfur or mercury
Life along the river as it ought to be
Where were you when the stack came down?
Where were you when the stack came down?
Where were you when the stack came down?
Energy costs keep escalating
Clean and cheap aren’t reciprocating
But we can’t go on forever burning ancient forests
You’d better cancel any plans for a family vacation
fuel costs are too high for recreation
you’d better concentrate on heating or cooling your home
more drilling won’t pump us out of this mess
more rhetoric won’t relieve the stress
this is what happens when you have leaders that won’t listen
it seems to me the problem is not so great
if we begin to concentrate and innovate
but right now the resource in short supply seems to be wisdom
where were you when the stack came down?
where were you when the stack came down?
where were you when the stack came down?
Schletty/Smith 2008
Down by the river on a bridge called Smith
We gathered to see the demise of a monolith
Of a big tube belching black fire and smoke
Shut your windows, close you doors
cover your eyes, it’ll fill your pores
don’t laugh at me – I’m not making a joke
Feel the breeze up on Buffalo Ridge
Let’s use that wind to power the fridge
What’s this rant rising about the tower?
Bigger isn’t always better
A multitude of alternatives could be unfettered
Let’s convert those vacant rooftops into sources of power
High in the sky where the mighty eagle soars
You could see the dust cloud rise for miles around
No more sulfur or mercury
Life along the river as it ought to be
Where were you when the stack came down?
Ever since building that first cave fire
Man has had a fervent desire
To create clean forms of economical energy
Give me water Give me wind
Give me garbage Give me hydrogen
Give me alternatives to oil and set me free
Music break
Maybe if Al Gore had been elected president
Our energy policy would have a different bent
But right now George Bush seems to be clueless
What can we do when we are leaderless?
Who’s going to lead us out of this bleeding mess?
Is in too much to hope McCain or Obama can renew us?
High in the sky where the mighty eagle soars
You could see the dust cloud rise for miles around
No more sulfur or mercury
Life along the river as it ought to be
Where were you when the stack came down?
Where were you when the stack came down?
Where were you when the stack came down?
Energy costs keep escalating
Clean and cheap aren’t reciprocating
But we can’t go on forever burning ancient forests
You’d better cancel any plans for a family vacation
fuel costs are too high for recreation
you’d better concentrate on heating or cooling your home
more drilling won’t pump us out of this mess
more rhetoric won’t relieve the stress
this is what happens when you have leaders that won’t listen
it seems to me the problem is not so great
if we begin to concentrate and innovate
but right now the resource in short supply seems to be wisdom
where were you when the stack came down?
where were you when the stack came down?
where were you when the stack came down?
Feter
man this is cool ....you used this for a great lyrics !!
good work ...thnx alot for sharin !!!