Foolology
A Song For The Border
Slide doesn’t get better than this
Ten years before we needed it most. Ry Cooder’s “How Can A Poor Man Stand Such Times And Live.” Slide doesn’t get better than this. Cooder always seems to find a spiritual side to his songs. This is no exception: it’s his best.
All we need to do is turn the TV sound off and listen to this while the reporters angle for the heart of a story on the border, lost in sound bites and broken news.
A younger Ry Cooder and The Moula Banda Rhythm Aces
The Greek chorus was an integral part of ancient Greek theatre, a group of three or four performers who looked alike and spoke all at the same time. Their part was to comment on what was being said and help the audience know what the characters in the play were thinking. The chorus usually sang, or spoke. We honor that tradition here
Bruce Springsteen's take
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He’s a trickster, a conman, out to fool you and win at all costs, sparing no deception.
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Lyrics
Well, the doctor comes around with a face all bright
And he says in a little while you’ll be all right
All he gives is a humbug pill
A dose of dope and a great big bill
Tell me how can a poor man stand such times and live?
There once was a time when everything was cheap
But now prices nearly puts a man to sleep
When we pay our grocery bill
We just feel like making our will
Tell me how can a poor man stand such times and live?
I remember when dry goods were cheap as dirt
We could take two bits and buy a dandy shirt
Now we pay ten bucks or more
Maybe get a shirt that another man wore
Tell me how can a poor man stand such times and live?
Oh, it’s time for every man to be awake
We pay fifty cents a pound when we ask for steak
When we get our package home
A little wad of paper with gristle and bone
Tell me how can a poor man stand such times and live?
Most all preachers preach for gold and not for souls
That’s what keeps a poor man always in a hole
We can hardly get our breath
Taxed and schooled and preached to death
Tell me how can a poor man stand such times and live?