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The Ghost of Tom Joad - Rise Against



     
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The Ghost of Tom Joad Lyrics


Advisory - the following lyrics contain explicit language:
Man walks along the railroad track
And he's going some place, there's no going back
The Highway Patrol chopper coming up over the ridge
Man sleeps by a campfire under the bridge
The shelter line stretching around the corner
Welcome to the New World Order
Families sleeping in their cars in the Southwest
No home, no job, no peace, no restAnd the highway is alive tonight
Nobody's fooling nobody is to where it goes
I'm sitting down here in the campfire light

Searching for the Ghost of Tom JoadHe pulls his prayer book out of a sleeping bag
The preacher lights up a butt and takes a drag
He's waiting for the time when the last shall be first and the first shall be last
In a cardboard box 'neath the underpass
He's gotta one way ticket to the promised land
He's gotta hole in your belly and a gun in your hand
Sleeping on a pillow of solid rock
Bathing in the cities' aqueductsAnd the highway is alive tonight
Nobody's fooling nobody is to where it goes
I'm sitting down here in the campfire light
With the Ghost of old Tom JoadNow Tom said; "Ma, whenever ya see a cop beating a guy
Wherever a hungry new born baby cries
Wherever there's a fight against the blood and hatred in the air
Look for me ma' I'll be there
Wherever somebody is looking for a place to stand
For a decent job or a helping hand
Wherever somebody is struggling to be free
Look in their eyes ma, you'll see me!"And the highway is alive tonight
Nobody's fooling nobody is to where it goes
I'm sitting down here in the campfire light
With the Ghost of Tom Joad

Enjoy the lyrics !!!
Rise Against are a punk rock band from Chicago, Illinois. Formed in 1999, and originally performing under the name Transistor Revolt, they released a self-produced demo entitled Transistor Revolt in 2000, a year before signing with Fat Wreck Chords to release their first two albums, The Unraveling in 2001, and Revolutions Per Minute in 2003. They later switched to Dreamworks Records and recorded their album Siren Song of the Counter Culture. However, Universal Music Group took over Dreamworks Records and Rise Against finally found themselves on Geffen Records, a Universal Music Group subsidiary, releasing Siren Song of the Counter Culture in August 2004. A re-issued version of The Unraveling was released on August 23, 2005 through Fat Wreck Chords. They released their 4th studio album entitled "The Sufferer and The Witness" on July 4th 2006.

Rise Against's original lineup consisted of Tim McIlrath (vocals and guitar), Joe Principe (bass and vocals), Brandon Barnes (drums), and Mr.Precision (guitar and vocals), and recorded its debut album with renowned punk producer Mass Giorgini. Mr. Precision left the band in 2001 and was replaced by Todd Mohney, the guitarist of McIlrath's side project The Killing Tree. Shortly after the band signed with Geffen, Mohney left and was replaced by Chris Chasse. Mohney would become part of the punk supergroup The Falcon along with members from other popular Chicago punk acts, Alkaline Trio and The Lawrence Arms. After the release of the The Sufferer and The Witness, Chasse left the band due to the "overwhelming tour schedule stacked on growing pressures and demands" (he is now in the bands Last of the Believers and Nations Afire; in his place now stands Zach Blair of Only Crime. According to a statement by McIlrath, "Yes, the Rise Against curse continues..."

Various musical influences are apparent in their songs on Siren Song of the Counter Culture. The opening song, "State of the Union", is comparable to classic hardcore. As an introductory song, it is supposed to make the listener wake up. "To Them These Streets Belong" and "The First Drop" are more typical of the traditional punk in the style of Pennywise. Most of their lyrics include a political message of some sort. The aforementioned "Swing Life Away" is slow-paced song, originally recorded for the Punk Goes Acoustic compilation album.

The band had a slow but steady rise in popularity, with each album building on the popularity of the previous and bringing them to a new level of mainstream awareness, beginning with their independent label debut The Unraveling to their latest major label offering, Appeal to Reason, which had the band make their signature sound slightly more accessible and offered them their heaviest airplay to date and is their highest-charting album.

The members of Rise Against are straight edge (with the exception of Barnes), and are all either vegetarian or vegan. They have toured recently with Bad Religion and My Chemical Romance and have made several tours around the US and Europe.

On October 7th of 2008, they released their 5th album called "Appeal to Reason". This was the first album with new comer guitarist Zach Blair, formerly from Only Crime. The single "Re-Education (Through Labor)" was released on August 19 of 2008 and is available for listening on the band's official website.

They began recording a new album entitled Endgame in February of 2010. They released Endgame, their 6th album, on March 15, 2011.

The band's typical lyrical themes include DIY, animal rights, anti-establishment, social issues, society issues and straight edge life. They are influenced by bands like Bad Religion, NoFX, anti flag, dead kennedys, black flag, minor threat and nirvana. The band is known for playing hardcore punk, melodic hardcore, and plain punk rock. Their Siren Songs album went gold and their endgame album went platinum.


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