Protest Song (update)

Earlier, I posted about Pearl Jam's appearance on VH1's Storytellers (here's a link to an article about the concert) in order to highlight Eddie Vedder's cover of Phil Och's Here's To The State Of Mississippi.

Here is a transcript of the song from a performance Vedder gave at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, CA on October 24, 2004.

Here's to the judges of William Renquist
Who wear the robe of honor in their phony legal fort
And justice is a stranger when the partisans report
When the court elected the president, it was the
        begining of this war

Here's to the land you've torn out the heart of
William Renquist, find yourself another country to be part of

And here's to the government of Dick Cheney
With criminals posing as advisors to the crown
And they hope that no one sees the sights and
        no one hears the sounds
'Cause the speeches of our president are the
        ravings of a clown

Oh, here's to the land you've torn out the heart of,
Dick Cheney, find yourself another country to be part of

And here's to the churches of Jerry Falwell
Where the cross was made of silver and
        now is caked with rust
And the sunday morning sermons pander to
        the fear of men in lust
And heaven only knows in which god they can trust

Oh, here's to the land you've torn out the heart of,
Jerry Falwell, find yourself another country to be part of

And here's to the laws of John Ashcroft
And Congress will pass an act in the panic of the day
And the Constituion is drowning in an ocean of decay
And freedom of speech is dangerous I've even heard them say

Oh here's to the land you've torn out the heart of
John Ashcroft, find yourself another country to be part of

And here's to the businessmen of George W.
Who want to change the focus from Halliburton and Enron
And their profits like blood money spilling out
        on the White House lawn
To keep their hold on power they're using terror as a con
While the bombs that fall on children don't care
        which side that they're on

Oh here's to the land you've torn out the heart of,
George W. find yourself another country to be part of.

Note: More recently on VH1's Storytellers Vedder substituted "John Roberts" for "William Renquist" and "Gonzalez" for "John Ashcroft."

-te