Christmas in Washington

(Steve Earle)

It was Christmastime in Washington the democrats rehearsed
Getting into gear for four more years of things not getting worse.
The Republicans drank whiskey neat and thanked their lucky stars
They said "He cannot seek another term there’ll be no more FDR‘s.
And I sat home in Tennessee starin’ at the screen
With an uneasy feeling in my chest and wondering what it means

So come back Woody Guthrie, come back to us now
Tear your eyes from paradise and rise again somehow
If you run into Jesus maybe he can help you out
Come back Woody Guthrie to us now.

I followed in your footsteps once back in my travelling days
Some where I failed to find your trail now I’m stumblin’ through the haze
But there’s killers on the highway now and a man can’t get around
So I sold my soul for wheels that roll now I’m stuck here in this town

There’s foxes in the henhouse, cows out in the corn,
the unions have been busted, their proud red banners torn
To listen to the radio you’d think that all was well,
but you and me and Cisco know it’s goin’ straight to hell

So come back Emma Goldman, rise up old Joe Hill
the barricades are goin’ up they cannot break our will
come back to us Malcolm X and Martin Luther King
we’re marchin’ into Selma as the bells of freedom ring.