Baltimore Songtext
von Gabriel Kahane

I got the news on the satellite phone
Jason come home
Jason dear
I heard it on the forest floor

Six years of backcountry trails to the lake
Machete and snake
Machete I learned
To cradle in the old state park

Roosevelt ′33
He had a plan
For every young man
Give him an axe and a seed
Give him a pack and a tree
Teach him to care for himself
Give him fresh air for his health
Send money back to family
Back to Baltimore


The tall boy convenience store
The indifferent, the endless war
And I know what that is
And I know what that is
And I don't need it anymore
But I have to go home

Luke was the son of some well-to-do folk
My family was broke
But we became friends
The parking lot, the chewed up field
I started in the park just as he was going in
A hearty to ten for selling to kids

My mama worked the county jail
Roosevelt′s tree army under the sun
The work would be done
While America blared by the greed of the rich
The boys planted trees and found God in the pitch
They stared at the sun in each fist
Why am I telling you this?
Is it that I'm nervous to be going back?


Back to Baltimore
The tall boy convenience store
The indifferent, the endless war
And I know what that is
And I know what that is
And I don't need it anymore
But I have to go home

Luke I guess got himself into a fight
Took him to the infirmary later that night
Nothing serious soon but next morning he died
Then the satellite phone with the crew which met
I didn′t cry
Taking the train to take time for my thoughts
Pregnant with loss
Preparing for all
The things that maybe make you feel

I pay my respects and then I′ll take a walk
The neighborhood block
And then I will leave