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Poetry and Protest

by Tom Alter

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1.
Poetry and Protest 02:55
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Take your time Take your times to take in all the beauty Take your time Take the time to stand against the ugly Because it's alright, alright Taking time just sharing in some laughter But it is not right, not right If the joke is at the expense of another There's more to this life than filling all your needs There's more to the story than your diary Take some time getting out of your own head Take some time for poetry and protest There's a song Waiting for your voice to amplify There are wrongs You may right if you open up your eyes
2.
Space Junk 03:44
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Spec of dust In a whirlwind Split from the flock with a broken wing Jettisoned Floating alone A remnant lost Only fragment of bone Tens of millions just like me Searching for a sheltered place to be A private wave in a tranquil sea For particles in infinity Cast adrift At such high speed A fleck of paint A shard of steel Once forgotten A simple stone Untll collision makes us known Tens of millions just like me Searching for a sheltered place to be A private wave in a tranquil sea We're particles in infinity
3.
Killers on the Run 04:49
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He keeps quiet, he keeps to himself He has always lived alone He could argue with an empty room He is a hard man to pin down Three down by the side of the road The things people are capable of you never know Carries his hatred in the darkness Carries a bible in the sun With some drink in him anything could happen He was always an emotional one Three down by the side of the road The things people are capable of you never know Everybody has a motive Everybody's come undone Everybody is a suspect Everybody has a gun Check for prints There's a killer on the run They were only seventeen years old They were only twenty one It seems always so unexpected But why should it be? Everybody has a gun. Three down by the side of the road The things people are capable of you never know Everybody has a motive Everybody's come undone Everybody is a suspect Everybody has a gun Check for prints There's a killer on the run And haunting music plays in the background There are killers, many killers on the run Haunting music plays in the background There are killers, so many killers, oh my God Oh my God
4.
Four Blue Horses 04:11
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Mary takes on step and one more Enters into vibrant color field Four blue horses greet her calmly Four blue horses listening Mary tells them of their creator How he made them canvas and oil How his body strife with shrapnel How his body bled into soil And they agitate in wonder Shake their heads as they mourn Why with so much work to wander Men would fight and die at Verdun Franz Marc's brushes lie on a palette Multi-color pigment dry More blue horses, trapped within him More creation, yet to live One horse asks for explanation Why man's his own predator What's the purpose? What is the reason? Snuffing out a creator And they agitate in wonder Shake their heads as they mourn Why with so much work to wander Men would fight and die at Verdun Mary turns away from four horses With a tear she waves farewell Four blue horses inanimated Four blue horses forever stilled
5.
Anne at Night 04:39
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Only in blackout Can I look beyond these walls And gaze in contemplation At the vastness of the stars Knowing that a time will come Beyond this wretched age A time when cruelty ends And peace returns again And I hold on To my best ideals And try to erase all doubt And I cling to My highest ideals And wait for the day When I can carry them out And I will carry them out The world is a wilderness And approaching thunder rolls In the light of day time I feel a tragic toll When all the world's in darkness And the moon's unseen The stars still bring me hope For some humanity And I hold on To my best ideals And try to erase all doubt And I cling to My highest ideals And wait for the day When I can carry them out And I will carry them out And even as I share The suffering of millions I can still raise up And gaze into the heavens And I hold on To my best ideals And try to erase all doubt And I cling to My highest ideals And wait for the day When I can carry them out And I will carry them out
6.
Hudson Bay 03:31
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Crossed the bridge from Michigan Entered into Canada again Take straight the road into Ontario Heading east, intention north If we reach the Hudson Bay Before we even know our way And if we reach the highway's end Either way, we'll be okay Don't know what we're escaping from But I know that this has stopped being fun It's probably that we met so young That we stayed together for this long If we reach the Hudson Bay Before we even know our way And if we reach the highway's end Either way, we'll be okay If we meet the water's edge does it prove there's something left Or have we traveled far enough Even if we make it through the northern point we're heading to Haven't we traveled far enough It was only by an accident That you haven't already left So I'll be the one to take the step I'll be the one you can tag as bad And if we reached the Hudson Bay Before we even knew our way And if we reached the highway's end Either way, we'll be okay
7.
Defiance GA 04:11
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Well it's true that we have shared some good times And it's true that those moments melted away But when I think my place is to be near you You indicate you'd rather I don't stay Should I now just move on from Savannah Should I stop and quietly take my leave And even though this city's the prettiest place I've ever seen I'm feeling Georgia's not the place for me No I can't say it's just about the water Or the red clay that I feel in my bones It's the hurting if I granted you your wishes I would be leaving the only home I've known Should I now just move on to Atlanta Should I blend in on those city streets And even though the city's the biggest place I've ever been I get the feeling Georgia has no place for me I've done my best to try to live together And I get the message you want me to read Still every time you turn around s corner You'll stand the chance you'll see the likes of me No I will not just move on from Savannah I will not just quietly take my leave And even though defiance is not a thing you want to see Get used to it you're seeing it from me
8.
A Coping Mechanism 03:16
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The coping mechanism I employ each time you take away my joy Is another secret kept from you My nervous mechanism can't control how I feel when we're alone But that's something that I'll not reveal to you And so I wrote this work song To be my tool from going wrong You know I've tied my fate to getting along with you Yes I've tied my fate to getting along with you The rabid dog that's sleeping in my head bears his teeth when awakened Yes it is one more defense I keep from you And so my dear the art of acceptance is one great skill I've mastered since The day I took a leap of faith in you And so I wrote this work song To be my tool from going wrong You know I've tied my fate to getting along with you Yes I've tied my fate to getting along with you It's a thin line from reality to disassociation So I make denial my philosophy foundation A coping mechanism I'll employ when I am triggered and annoyed By uncovered secrets you keep from me And so I wrote this work song To be my tool from going wrong You know I've tied my fate to getting along with you Yes I've tied my fate to getting along with you
9.
Hamtramck (Acoustic Version) 04:24
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Walk and walk, talk and talk Houses not quite yards apart Dodge the cars on narrow streets No ballparks or empty lots I'm a stranger but there's no danger Visit from suburbia Dropped into this urban dream It's a new diversity In the streets with rising steam I feel this city claiming me Conversations about me in a language I can't understand From a distant country And yet they called you Jane Block to block not dot to dot Through the alleys we would cut And through the wash on hanging lines In a world alien to me I could see this country through your eyes Having gone on ahead are you waiting for me Having gone on ahead are you waiting for me 'Cause really all that I have are these memories It's a language I can't understand From a distant country And yet they called you Jane
10.
State Penitentiary Gift Shop 03:01
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Here's a miniature model of a jail cell bed And a tee shirt saying I visited And all I got was this lousy tee shirt and ten years There's a wooden carving of the old guard shack A license plate ash tray hot off the press And a prison number on a key chain with my name And the sign on the wall is beckoning me To the gift shop of the state penitentiary There's a little museum out in the back With pictures of residents from the past But I'm not that eager 'cause I might see one of me A sweatshirt has a message telling me I've been living in a gated community I'll attest that it was never quite that fine doing time And the sign on the wall is beckoning me To the gift shop of the state penitentiary And there's a shot glass with words that read "I shot the sheriff not the deputy" But that's the charge they had to pin on me And here's a special opportunity Spend two minutes in solitary But I don't have the buck and I already know how that feels Their profits are high and their prices are best Due to no labor costs and low overhead Every item you see has been made by inmates But there's no cash in these cheap suit pockets And they ain't trading anything for cigarettes And I'm not eating in your cafe, no way And the sign on the wall is beckoning me To the gift shop of the state penitentiary Yes the sign on the wall is beckoning me To the gift shop of the state penitentiary And I don't think I'm gonna buy anything From the gift shop of the state penitentiary No no

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released December 28, 2021

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Tom Alter Detroit, Michigan

Tom Alter is a singer-songwriter based in Detroit. The influences of jazz, folk, pop, and Latin genres are found in his original compositions. Tom's lyrics mix world events with the affect on his personal ideals. He has released 3 EPs and 2 albums since 2019. His work can be found on digital and streaming music platforms. He is also a member of the duo After Blue.
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