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The Biggest Thing That Man Has Ever Done

from This Machine Used to Kill Fascists (Vol. 1) by Trains Across the Sea

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about

Guthrie's original was written about when the US was getting into WWII; this concerns a few of the historical details since then.

lyrics

I follow a lonesome traveler, a great historical bum
Highly educated and from history he has come
He built the age of rock, back before anyone else had done
And people thought that was the biggest thing that man had ever done

But he reminded all the people about what's fair and what is right
That all of us are equal and we all have basic rights
He didn't need religion to bring truth to everyone
And that was about the biggest thing that man had ever done

And during his time our country was rallied behind war
We wanted to go and kill Hitler and even up the score
We knew America's destiny was to be number one
Thinking that would be the biggest thing that man has ever done

So then we dropped the bomb, and then we dropped one more
If you kill that many people you can stop the second war
The good guys won and the bad guys lost, our empire has begun
This is gonna be the biggest thing that man has ever done

So we all got off the boat, and we all went back to work
We were a hard working people, right down to the soda jerk
We lived in ticky tacky houses, each and every one
We thought that would be the biggest thing that man has ever done

But in those suburbs we were restless, so we made rock and roll
And we looked to Bobby Dylan to save all of our souls
The Beatles did drugs and so did we, a revolution has begun
Yeah this is going to be the biggest thing that man has ever done

But after all that liberation came the loss of liberty
"These men won't join the workforce! Why, let's take away their weed!"
The revolution was not televised, it was stopped before it begun
But that could have been the biggest thing that man has ever done

So we all went back to work, and we all went into debt
And the things we used to march for became the things we tried to forget
We had bigger things to care for, we had businesses to run
Yeah, like that's going to be the biggest thing that man has ever done

But now all of our mortgages are catching up with us
We'll soon be in recession and we'll blame the housing bust
And maybe then we'll all recall what we hoped we would become
That we could be the biggest thing that man has ever done

We might remember that we're equal and we might get rid of our greed
And "love thy neighbor as thyself" might really be people's creed
I think we' all be happier, each and every one
And that would be the biggest thing that man has ever done

But the focus now in modern times is anything that sells
Dare to dream a different dream and they'll all give you hell
Ideas like Woody Guthrie's now get swept under the rug
And that's about the biggest thing that man has ever done

credits

from This Machine Used to Kill Fascists (Vol. 1), released July 15, 2008

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Trains Across the Sea San Diego, California

Trains Across the Sea is the musical output of Andy Gallagher.

He also co-wrote the trucker musical "SEMI FAME: The Truck Route to Broadway."

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