HOMELESS JOE

Homeless Joe wore a fabled coat of many colors
He was a favorite son among many brothers                                    
Who put him in deep hole an' brought him up again
And sold him down the river to slave in Egypt land

     Some say he wasn't real, just an ancient metaphor 
     Of the king of everything who for our sake became poor
     Some say he was a livin' symbol of human salvation
     Descending from a righteous king and father of nations
                      
          Homeless Joe, there's so many wrongs to right
          With so many causes to fight, who's guitar gently weeps for you tonight?

Homeless Joe wore a coat of a darker color
He knew he was as good as the rich light brothers
Who chained him by the neck after payin' a ship's captain
And sold him down the river to slave in America land

     We marched for freedom in '63, did a concert for Bangladesh
     Live Aid, Farm Aid, Life Earth, you know, the world's a terrible mess
     But when it comes to helpin' the poor on the streets of our own nation
     We turn our backs on the king of kings and father of creation

          Homeless Joe, there's so many wrongs to right
          With so many causes to fight, who's guitar gently weeps for you tonight?

Now, Joe wears a faded coat of military colors
He grew up in Bakersfield, Lake Tahoe in the summers
Then came home from the war with no job or place to go
And ended up in LA, just another discarded soldier on Skid Row *

* Loosely based on Genesis Chapter 37.  Written on July 7th, 2007 on the eve of the Live Earth Concerts for Climate Change.   Dedicated to Ravi Shankar and George Harrison and friends who showed the way, with the Concert for Bangladesh in 1971.  Since then, there have been many major concerts held in the the United States and elsewhere, for a lot of worthy causes.  Yet, the sick and poor who live on the streets of major nations around the world, continue to be left to fend for themselves.  For many years, activists have tried in vain to organize a major benefit to challenge and inspire people to help the homeless on a national and global level.  Why can't music artists around the world seem to understand the public awareness necessity and national and global motivational importance, of staging significant benefits for the homeless men, women and children who camp under bridges, in parks and in the back alleys and public streets of our own so-called "developed world" backyards? 

Copyright by Freedom Tracks Music (ASCAP)