Land of Opprortunity Sound Clip

This is sort of a long clip (1 minute 10 seconds), but it is one of my favorites. It is definately worth the wait. It will play automatically in 4 or 5 minutes.

The inspiration for this song came to me while I was sitting in a traffic jam at an interstate on ramp. While watching a "homeless" man with a sign that said "I will work for food", it occured to me that there might be more to his story than met the eye. The Land of Opportunity suggests one possibility.

The Land of Opportunity

I saw him standin' there yesterday
A free man, as free as one can be I'd say
In his tattered clothes and a baseball cap and a stoop and a frown
He was lookin' right at me
And though I tried not to meet his eyes
He wasn't so hard for the corner of my eye to see
In his hands he held a cardboard sign
It read the same as it does every time

It said
God bless you, God bless me
And brother could you spare a dime?

I didn't plan to talk to him that day
But much to my surprise I heard my own self say
"Mister don't you know you shouldn't be like that?
Most of us work hard for our place in society
Don't you know this is America?
This is the land of opportunity"
He just smiled and pointed down at his little sign

That said
God bless you, God bless me
And brother can you spare a dime?

I saw him standin' there again today
Lookin' 'bout the same as yesterday (everyday)
In his tattered clothes and a baseball cap and a brand new sign
He was smilin' right at me
I read his sign then I met his eyes
And I shook my head in my surprise to see
I returned his smile as he spoke to me
He said "This is the land of opportunity"

His new sign said
God bless you, God bless me
God bless America.......
And Brother could you spare a dime?

Writtin in 1993
Recorded in 1995

OK, OK, I used a drum machine(DR 550) on this one. Other equipment used includes: A Bently 6 string, An Ibanez 4 string, a Yamaha 4-track, A Roland Space Echo, A DOD chorus pedal, SM58 Microphones, A JVC EQ, A Moog Opus keyboard, and some cords.

How'd you like it? Send mail to Bassist@spydee.net

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