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Bread + Roses

from Bread + Roses by Joshua Hall

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about

I write at length about this track on my website.
joshhallmusic.com/the-path/lyrically-speaking-bread-roses

lyrics

Bread + Roses


The chemicals stain the river the color of the sunset
In the shadow of the factory stand the workers’ tenements
Opening the envelope an Italian immigrant shouts
“Short Pay, All Out” “Short Pay, All Out”.

Picket line at the factory frost gleaming in the sun
The police show up with firehoses and spray everyone
Get back to work there’s garments to make,
the workers know the toll that it takes
An arm, a leg, an eye, a life,
a father, a daughter, a son, a wife

The owner on the hill feeds every whim and desire
In the tenements we choose feed the bellies or the fire
Feed bellies or the fire

(Chorus)
We stand powerful and peaceful
We sing bella ciao bella ciao
If we had a hammer
We’d tear it all down down down
We’d build it back up again
Level, honest, and true
Cause we want bread
And we want roses, too
We want bread
We want roses, too


The soul of the nation is just fighting to breathe
Redlined into ghettos a suffocated dream
Arrested at the lunch counter or at a Starbucks Café
Not much has changed in the U.S. of A.

Oh the Land of opportunity has moved over seas
Chasing the profits for the new aristocracy
Gated communities feed every whim and desire
The streets erupt in protest the police open fire
The police open fire






(Chorus)
We stand powerful and peaceful
We sing bella ciao bella ciao
If we had a hammer
We’d tear it all down down down
We’d build it back up again
Level, honest, and true
Cause we want bread
And we want roses, too
We want bread
We want roses, too


We loaded sixteen tons
We laid the hardest mile
We brought you the weekend
And service with a smile
We fought for the right to vote
We fought just to be free
We fought to make sure this land
Was made for you and me
You may not look like I do
I may not look like you do
But we fight for the same things
We want bread and roses, too
Bread and roses, too


(Chorus)
We stand powerful and peaceful
We sing bella ciao bella ciao
If we had a hammer
We’d tear it all down down down
We’d build it back up again
Level, honest, and true
Cause we want bread
And we want roses, too
We want bread
We want roses, too.

credits

from Bread + Roses, released April 6, 2021
Written, performed, and produced by Joshua Hall
at Jai Studios, LLC. Brownsville, VT

Cover art by Isabella Hall
www.bellapinkpen.com

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Joshua Hall West Windsor, Vermont

Described as a Zen-Metal-Freak-Jazz Guru, I am a classically trained guitarist whose playing style owes as much to Barrios and Tarréga as Mustaine and Monk.

I am an Alternative Folk Artist whose songs engage the listener to feel and think deeply, to find the reverence in everyday life, and to question the stories that define so much of the modern world ... more

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