RIVERS OF THE BLOOD (PHIL OCHS) (c. 1963)

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Lyrics as reprinted in liner notes for Phil Ochs, "The Broadside Tapes 1" (Smithsonian Folkways SF 4008), 1989.
© c. 1963 Phil Ochs

Have you seen the rivers of the blood,
First a trickle, then a flood,
First the ocean's pounding roar,
Then a tidal wave hits upon the shore?
Knives and arrows fell like rain,
And the powder burst aflame,
And the flames they flew so high,
Dropped their poison from the sky.

In the shadow of the bygone days,
Millions died in a million ways.
Now the whining of the missile's call,
It's time to rise or it's time to fall.
For now one million bombs are stored,
But they keep building more and more.
And you hear the warning sound,
Don't you know there's time to turn around?

[Repeat 2nd verse; end with repeat of last line.]

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