This song was built around a poem written by John Beecher in the early 1920s. It's been 90 years, and no tide has freed us yet....

Low tide.
The scavenging gulls
scour the reaches of mud.
No slavers ride
at anchor in the roads. Rotting hulls
are drawn up on the shore.

Full stood
the tide here
when through this colonnaded door
into the raw land passed bond and free,
the one in hope leading the other in fear,
chained each to each by destiny.

Not only tide
but time and blood
can turn, can ebb and flow.
Time ebbs, blood flows, the fear
shows in the master's eye while jubilee
bursts from the bondsman's throat.

Now
no shout
rings out.
Neither hopes. Both fear.
What future tide will free
these captives of their history?

 

Citizens
based on the poem "Beaufort Tides" by John Beecher
artwork by Patrick Wachtl
Geoff Brady: percussion
Lou Caldarola: percussion
Buzz Kemper: spoken word
Conrad St. Clair: bass, keyboards, percussion, programming
Mike Stehr: percussion

For the new folks around here, this is how the whole "Season" thing works:

Think of it like a TV series. You can watch the episodes each week for free, and at the end of the season, you can buy a DVD with all the shows plus some bonus shite.

 

With our "Season" releases, you can download a new song each week for free (yes - free!), and at the end of the season, you can buy a DVD/CD with all the music plus videos, liner notes, each single's artwork, and so on.

Pretty simple, right? Right. So, catch up on any Seasons you've missed, and stay tuned for more....