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Let My Hemp Go!

by Ham Hoc War Lox

/

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about

Originally released in 1994 on the compilation CD set, Hemp for Victory, Vol. I, by CM Records (Seattle). A strident, early-'90s protest song. Bill Clinton was president--and it didn't look like things would ever get better.

lyrics

LET MY HEMP GO!

Growing even on even marginal land,
there's a stand of that remarkable plant that's called hemp.
(Look at it over there.)
My government says that crop is damned,
they'd seize my ancestral farm for growing sweet hemp.
(Careful now.)

(chorus:)
Hemp—Let it grow!
Let my hemp go!

My granddaddy grew hemp for the war,
after they made cannabis illegal through drug stores.
They didn't call him “criminal”—no, Patriot—for
fulfilling the needs of our naval ships.
(Mr. President.)

Parachute rigging, rope, and thread,
and fire-hydrant hose from American homesteads.
After WWII, Private Interests put a stop
to this region's perfect year-round crop.

(chorus)

My granddaddy had a bootleg still
before alcohol became re-legal.
It kept the family shelves stocked with groceries,
and now "hemp" does the same for me.

(chorus)

Granddaddy said don't judge a man by his skin,
or his vices,
but by the acts that come from him.
Minorities became the target of lies
that made neighbors spies over 1937 clotheslines.

Now, it's hard for a man
to worship as he please,
think as he likes,
ease others' disease.

I recall my fellow citizens of the earth
who kept alive the plant for all it's worth.
I thank the scatterers of the seeds,
who survived
the inquisitions,
military interventions,
forced incarcerations,
chemical eradication,
soil-depletions,
genocidal extinction
for a “weed.”
(Imagine—they still call it a “weed”)

They can't cut us all down
as easy as a weed
for saying what we say,
doing what we believe.

(chorus)

credits

released January 8, 2015
Gregory Daurer: Vocals.guitar.
Kirk Gill: Guitar.
Chad Ferguson: Drums.
Craig Ellisor: Bass.

license

all rights reserved

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about

Gregory Ego image

Gregory Ego Denver, Colorado

Gregory Ego: a 21st Century singer-songwriter and theatrical shaman of angst. A purveyor of satire and psychedelia. Part social critic, part mystic. Fulfilling the old "intelligence is sexy" adage.

Gregory Daurer: author of the novel A Western Capitol Hill and a freelance scribe. His work has appeared in Juxtapoz, 5280, Headpress, The Huffington Post, Salon, Draft, Culture, and High Times. ... more

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