1. |
Choral Introduction
00:43
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2. |
Rooftop Room
04:10
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I live in a rooftop room
I live in a rooftop room
I survey all in front of me
Although this feels a little
murky
The mountains surrounding
the concrete canyon
it’s cinematic in its own way
whatever greenery exists
masks the decay
There are always a few local dignitaries
on hand to say you should have seen us yesterday – this was a hive of industry
where once there were wages
now there are no wages
where once there were books
now there are no books
where there was pride
now there is resignation
bitterness keeps the deep wounds open
where once there was a route out
through education
there’s a graffiti’d husk
where the school walls used to be
I live in a rooftop room
I survey all in front of me
Although it feels a little murky
The mountains surrounding
the concrete canyons
it’s cinematic in its own way
whatever greenery exists
masks the decay
I see them line up
At the kirk on Sunday
Those from these sinking estates
Sitting below those who acquired
The real estate
I live in a rooftop room
I survey all in front of me
Although this feels a little
murky
Hewitt
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3. |
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At night she poisons the wells
She showed little promise at school
She offered little in the way of gift
or scholastic application
At boarding school her classmates
Likened her to mist in the morning
More of a drift than a permanent presence
She found friendship elusive
But she was acutely aware of her position
And she knew instinctively who should be excluded
She would never play with the immigrant children
She would never play with the traveller children
Ignored the children from the poor estates
She knew they would be refused
At night she heard the screams of those
She had locked in the cells
At night she would wander the surrounding towns
Putting poison in the wells
And she sleeps soundly
At the academy he was considered
Unconscionably lazy
Despite having by all accounts
A dazzling intellect
Capable of entering the fray
He was not considered
A good representative of
His station
Was known for abusing
The privileges offered by being born
Free of desperation
He was rekowned for his gluttony
In the halls of the local council
they joked that
Had he been born during the
Days of the horse
A crane would have been needed
To hoist him aboard
His stallion –yet still he climbed
the stairs made available to him
and he would never play with the immigrant children
She would never play with the traveller children
Nor the children from the poor estates
At night he heard the screams of those
He had locked in the cells
At night she would wander the surrounding towns
Putting poison in the wells
And he sleeps soundly
Once installed as manager of
Home affairs
He ensured that video footage
Of the questionable character
Of his closest allies and that of his enemies
Was furnished to the appropriate agencies
Don’t hold a grudge he would say publicly
Simply organise to eliminate those
Who wronged you no matter how slight
The indiscretion
At night he heard the screams of those
He had locked in the cells
At night he would wander the village
Putting poison in the wells
And through all this
He sleeps soundly
Gordon Hewitt
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4. |
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Heading Round to Hoovertown
It took just one little shift In the rate of return
To feel the burning blades of the Bailiffs
In previous years we’d organised to stop evictions
They’d become so frequent now we didn’t even feel aggrieved
There was an unwritten protocol
They stood outside while we packed
The key possessions
Got dressed and readied to leave
And some are going round
To the workhouse
Some are going down
To HooverTown
As bad as this looked and it did feel
As If we lacked the spine for a struggle
Asif we wernt up far the battle
Sometimes life’s a little different from that written
in books by people far removed from the front lines
for us - Amongst the mud and the squalor
We organised – sanitation - food – education
And we used this time to build a staging post
For the next time
And some went round
To the workhouse
Some went down
To HooverTown
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5. |
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6. |
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The Angels of Ciudad Juarez
He kneels
Rests on his bed
It’s late on
And the words on offer
Shift away from the sclerotic message
Of the rote learnt prayer or song
It is he concedes a list of needs
Which are highly localised
And for this he asks forgiveness
Suggests that given the situation
There should be little
In the way of surprise about this
He asks that his and other families
Be spared the wrath of those
Who murder without fear of retribution
They stalk the streets
Even later than the moments he offers his prayers
Planting weeds where spaces allow them to seed
He believes he has been chosen
To build resistance
To their ascendancy
She kneels
Rest on her bed
It’s late on
She asks
That if a toll is to be extracted
The first place the sharp axe lays its blade should be her shoulders
Oh Lord she says
Yes they are strong enough
To bear that burden
She vows to wear the wings
Painting her face with message of love
Of the Angels of Ciudad Juarez
To those who murder without fear of retribution
Who stalk the streets even later than
The moments she offer her prayers
Planting weeds where spaces allow them to seed
She believes she has been chosen
To build resistance
To their ascendancy
He kneels
Rests on his bed
It’s late on
The words on offer
Far worse than the sclerotic message
Of the rote learnt prayer or song
He has selected the guards for his prayer room
Ensuring that disturbances from Government agents looking for favours
Or rivals wanting a share of the spoils will be minimal
He asks for the strength to spare the Angels
Who stalk the streets offering something
Which is beyond the scope of his endeavours
He recognises that
At this moment they are not an obstacle
To his ascendancy
But one day they maybe
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7. |
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8. |
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Champion Things Belfast, UK
Champion Things is a group based around Gordon Hewitt (guitar, lyrics and vocals) and Wallace Gibson (Electronic and Acoustic Saxophone) creating groove based music, overlain with songs, spoken word, and chants. Hewitt and Gibson are accompanied by a floating line-up of musicians. The group's home is Belfast, Northern Ireland. ... more
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