Songs for the Fee-Demo Protest, June 15, 2002
parodies by Susan Helf, Seattle, WA.
This Land is Your Land (with apologies to Woody Guthrie) Chorus: This land is your land, this land is my land From California to the New York Island From the redwood forest to the Gulf stream water This land was made for you and me. 1. As I was walking that ribbon of highway I saw above me, the endless skyway I saw below me that golden valley This land was made for you and me Chorus: 2. I've roamed and rambled and followed my footsteps To the sparkling lakes of the Cascade mountains And all around me, a voice was sounding, This land was made for you and me Chorus: 3. When I go hiking, I see a big sign and it says pay up or pay a big fine But on the other side, it don't say nothing That side was made for you and me. Chorus: 4. We own the forests, the rocks and rivers We own the glaciers, that gleam and shimmer Why should we pay and pay just to play or pray On lands that belong to you and me. The Happy Wanderer 1. I love to go a-wandering, along the mountain track But now I have to pay a fee, or they will haul me back Chorus: Valderi, keep them free, keep the forests free Valderi, keep them free, O keep the forests free. 2. I love to wander by the stream that dances in the sun But now if I don't pay a toll, I can't have any fun Chorus: Valderi, keep them free, keep the forests free. Valderi, keep them free, O keep the forests free. 3. The rangers use the money they extort from you and me To buy more rigs and guns and signs to make us pay the fee Chorus: Valderi, keep them free, keep the forests free Valderi, keep them free, O keep the forests free Why must we pay and pay and pay to visit our own lands Why must the feds set up a toll on fields and lakes and sands Valderi, keep them free, keep the forests free. Valderi, keep them free, O keep the forests free If the feds they have their way, we'll have to wait in line At Ticketmonster for to buy a permit or be fined Keep them free, keep them free, O keep the forests free Keep them free, keep them free, free for you and me. The Feds Will Be Locking Up the Mountains When They Come They'll be locking up the mountains when they come (when they come) They'll be locking up the mountains, one by one (one by one) They'll be locking up the mountains, waterfalls and fountains If you don't pay a fee they'll get the gun, get the gun. They'll be driving six green Broncos when they come, when they come They'll be driving six green Broncos when they come, when they come They will shake you down for money, if you're broke, well too bad honey You will have to leave the forests when they come, when they come. They will pave up all the trailheads when they come, when they come They will build bomb-proof privies for your bum, for your bum. If you want to stop and pee, you will have to pay a fee Nothing's free in the forests when they come, when they come. Home on the Range O give me a home where it's wild and I roam In the mountains or next to the sea Where seldom is heard a discouraging word From the feds that we must pay a fee Chorus: Home, home in the trees, On the glaciers, the trails and the seas May our taxes support our wilderness sport So we don't have pay a big fee O, leave us to stroll, without paying big tolls Where the breezes are balmy and light For corporations they shill And lie to us still, but they want to lock up all the sights Chorus: Home, home in the trees On the glaciers, the trails or the seas May our taxes be used to make trails for our shoes To enjoy our own lands every day. Step by Step (traditional) Step by step, the longest march, can be won, can be won Many stones can form an arch, singly none, singly none And in union what we will can be accomplished still Drops of water turn a mill, singly none, singly none