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Cold, Dark, American Dreams

from Criminal Man by Jonah Tolchin

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about

This song is about the American Dream.... And how pointlessly fucked up it is.

lyrics

Chorus:
There’s a little bit of Villain in everyone that's what I learned today
Don't let no-one gun down your fun act a fool break a rule everyday
I ain't here to sit on a conveyer belt towards the jaws of some Death Machine,
I'm gonna sing my song not gonna follow along into a Cold, Dark, American Dream no, no; Cold, Dark, American Dreams.

The world is my school not some concrete box full of tied up suited folks
saying this is what it is and how it has to be I told you son one and one just don't make three.

What is a law philosophically I asked the judge when they hit me for indecency, why can't I piss where I want I didn't hurt no one, saved some god-damn water for your flush-a-tron.

You won't believe the things I've seen walked a thousand miles to find a land of green and then the black-coat man in his limousine turns the colors grey and builds a factory.

For what do you think man you can never say for building more guns or artificial sun rays for the days when we've sucked all the sun-light dry, for following a life of buy, buy, buy, oh no.

Chorus

There are Gypsies in the river sailing on a moon sliver just waiting for the judgment day
they count the passers by while the time just flies and they sing about the good old days.

This is what I say about your good old days mine is better then good in so many ways
and they never get old and they never will I'll be dancing like a Devil till my heart stands still.

And I'll search for buried treasure in every town play the whiskey neck bottle till the sun comes round and when it rises and shines or falls back down I'll see the shadows on the mountains of the lands unfound.

Four black vultures on the street-light sit just laughing bout the war and politics
they said, these funny creatures they got it all wrong well it won't be long before they all are gone, oh no.

The native chief said interconnectedness has been crushed under the bus of awarelessness,
the web has been cut and were all going down gonna take a revolution to bring us around.

But if we grab the strands up one by one tie them back together so they can't come undone,
And then we take our eyes from the blue-light screen and wake up from these Cold, Dark, American Dreams.

And you'll never know it's gone until it's all gone wrong we'll be regretting these American dreams, oh yeah, we'll be regretting these dark, cold-hearts, we’ll be forgetting about American dreams, oh yeah, we'll be regretting these American dreams.

credits

from Criminal Man, released March 9, 2012
7. Cold, Dark, American Dreams (5:05)
Jonah Tolchin // Dirt Floor Studios // Eric Michael Lichter
Jonah Tolchin - Acoustic Guitar, Vocals
Ethan Robbins - Fiddle, Mandolin
Andrew Seltzer - Bass
Eric Michael Lichter - Upright Piano

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about

Jonah Tolchin Princeton, New Jersey

Born and raised in central New Jersey, Tolchin began his career as a DIY artist, hitting the road as a teenager and self- releasing his own music until signing with Yep Roc for his critically acclaimed albums Clover Lane, Thousand Mile Night and Fires for the Cold. Tolchin has shared bills with the likes of Mandolin Orange, Chuck Prophet, Gregg Allman, Chris Smither, Dave Alvin, and Tony Joe White. ... more

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