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Gypsy

from Pretty Simple by Jim Page

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    13 track solo acoustic. 4 panel wallet, inside photos. Cover & inside left photos by Elizabeth Carpenter, inside right at session in Doolin, Eire, by Katy Keenan. Back photo busking at Pike Place Market Street Fair 1972.

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about

Song about a young environmental activist I met in September, 1998 - just outside of Arcata, CA. He was killed two days later during an action in the old growth redwoods.

lyrics

Gypsy came from Texas, blown on the breeze
to Northern California and the redwood trees
and he saw the deep green rollin’ of the mighty coastal range
and something deep inside began to change

Gypsy heard the chainsaw, the helicopter squall
and he saw the angry clearcuts where the big trees had to fall
and he knew it was the marking of the dollar’s bad design
he said, “if there’s a worthy fight out there, well I guess this one is mine”

tensions they were risin’ in the lumber country towns
there were rumors of layoffs and millwork shuttin’ down
fear that led to anger, anger that led to rage
and the big timber bosses set the stage

the big timber bosses ran a billion dollar scam
with a slash and burn mentality and a company called Maxxam
if you could fly up like a bird and you could look down from the air
anywhere you saw a clearcut you’d know Maxxam was there

Gypsy found his family there on the north California shore
and he became a soldier in the timber wars
and he stood between the big trees and the chain saw blades
and he learned to find his courage and how not to be afraid

if you ask them they will tell you of the danger of those times
threats and intimidation, with violence close behind
and they will talk of law enforcement and how they use the pepper spray
and how justice isn’t blind, it just looks the other way

it was one September morning when the final straw was laid
some one had to break I guess, that’s how the game was played
he only meant to scare them, that’s what the logger later said
but he cut that tree and he aimed it, and Gypsy Chain was dead

such a dreadful silence no music can relate
some one radioed for help but by then it was too late
a martyr for the redwoods, he was only flesh and bone
some one would have to tell his family that he was never coming home

some said it was an accident, some said it was a crime
some said it was unavoidable, it was just a matter of time
some said it was up to the authorities now and the facts they would compile
there was bound to be an investigation, it would just take a little while

I’ve been thinkin’ about it and the way it seems to me
it’s really pretty simple if you want to make a tragedy
use the fear that leads to anger and the anger that leads to rage
and they’ll play it out for real on that puppet master stage

if you want a way to look at it, for me this is the one
that the big tree it was the bullet and the chain saw was the gun
and the logger was the trigger but you have to understand
that the finger that pulled the trigger, that was Maxxam

Gypsy came from Texas, blown on the breeze
to Northern California and the redwood trees
and he saw the deep green rollin’ of the mighty coastal range
and something deep inside began to change

credits

from Pretty Simple, released January 23, 2020
Words and music copyright Jim Page, Whid Isle Music, BMI

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Jim Page Seattle, Washington

Named by Seattle Metropolitan Magazine as “One Of The 50 Most Influential Musicians In Seattle History.” Originally from California Page has called Seattle and the Pacific Northwest “home” since 1971. Songs covered by The Doobie Brothers, Christy Moore, Dick Gaughan, Michael Hedges, and Roy Bailey. Utah Phillips: “If you’re ever going to get the message, this is the messenger to get it from.” ... more

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