"The Grapes of Wrath"

Lyrics:

First came the earth
Formless and stark
Then came the light to the darkness

Then came the water
Thus the sky
Flora and fauna to drift and fly

Earth made the men
Men worked the earth
Men in their wisdom knew soil and seed

Earth birthed the men
Men worked the earth
Men in dominion knew greed

Now the earth is baren
Her body bruised
Spoiled by the harrow and seeder

The men, caged and iron and rubber,
The tractor their steed
Muzzled by neediness

Dry is the earth
lifeless as dust

"We were born on this land
And we died on this land
It's worth more than a dollar, I figure"

"But what you'd reap by hand
By ten can the tractor
With its blade and its disk and its auger"

"O but we were here first!
Know the river's dark thirst
Know the roots and the stems and the leaflings!"
The tenants, they cried
Though the patience was tried
Of the banker
Immune to such pleading

He says, "Men made the banks
That is a fact
But these banks are not made of mere beings

It's the numbers they feed off
The profits they need!"
And a refuge from thought and feeling

And locked though they were in a victorless war
For men cannot win 'gainst such reasoning
The ground 'neath their feet
Suffered one last defeat
A parable lost of all meaning

O, dead is the earth
Useless as dust
Cut as a loss by the banker

The tenants, they squat on their hams
Draw in the sands
Thinking, and figuring:

Apple drops
Peaches rot
Branches droop
Strange fruit
Baby cries
Grandpa dies
Buzzin' flies
Foreman lies
Hunger grows
Belly bloats
Skin and bones
Decomposed
Faces hard
Fingers scarred
Dough and lard
Children starve
Mother weeps
Prices steep
Father steals
Sheriff deals
Heavy lash
Bitter laugh
Sworded slash
Bloodied bath
Vines of ash
Grapes of wrath


Komposition, Gesang und Klavier: Stephanie Nilles
Weitere Instrumente: Thomas Deakin

Mehr Information unter: https://www.ndr.de/fruechtedeszorns