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The Ghost of James Garfield Gardiner

by Brad Proudlove

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about

I wrote this in the late spring and managed to record it during the summer, and have been sitting on it thinking I would eventually have an entire album worth of songs to add it to. But now there are only a couple weeks left in 2023 and since the song is sort of about 2023 I figured I should probably just release it while it's still vaguely relevant!

It started out as a song about Jimmy Gardiner, the 4th Premier of Saskatchewan. A pretty interesting guy, he lost the office of Premier due to a smear campaign by the KKK, but went on to win the office back after revealing the Conservative party's ties to the Klan.

The song morphed into more of a protest song, though. It was the summer of Rich Men North of Richmond, after-all. I can't even keep track of what was pissing me off at the time, it's always something new, especially with our current provincial government. And now here we are watching a genocide unfold in front of our eyes, paying for it with our tax dollars, as our political "leaders" feign ignorance.

So despite the 2023 specifics, I think the overall theme of the song is still relevant as we move in to 2024. I guess I also hope that it doesn't continue to stay relevant.

lyrics

Another morning on the verge of war
Don't even matter what the fightin's for
I saw a nazi in the grocery store
I guess that's normal now

Freedom don't mean what you think it means
There's more to life than yelling at some drag queens
Or Billionaires taking homemade submarines
down to the ocean floor

Otherwise, life's just peachy
Here in two thousand twenty three
Till the rage grabs ahold of me and I cant break free

Jimmy Gardiner was a crazy kid
Said he talked to God just like Moses did
God told him the racists were all full of shit
So he can't be all that bad

And now the world is all tore up
We'll pledge allegiance to some crooked chump
while the alternative ain't that much of a jump
More of a stumble down the hall

But if you've got the money
You can live to see 63
And finally be debt free from that bachelor's degree

Here in the buckle of the bible belt
we're never happy with the hand we're dealt
Or give a thought to how the first folks felt
As we water our front lawns

Just blame your problems on the government
Pay no attention to the taxes spent
On making sure the rich don't lose a single cent
And the boots taste like filet mignon

But if you want it, feel free
As long as your skin colour's like me
And your system of belief is antiquary

Otherwise life's just peachy
Here in two thousand twenty three
But hopefully the kids will all disagree

credits

released December 12, 2023

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Brad Proudlove Rosefield, Saskatchewan

Born and raised in the heartland.

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