New Orleans Dreams
Album: Ballad On Third Avenue
By: Ed Hale
By: Ed Hale
Duration
6:26
Description
Hale said of the decision that he got the idea after seeing footage on TV of the latest flooding and tornadoes to hit the South, including New Orleans. “Not exactly tailor-made as a ‘hit song’ for pop radio…But after seeing what’s been happening down South, I just felt like it was the right choice for where we are right now. We wrote the song based on what I’d seen down in Biloxi, Mississippi doing reconstruction work with my church and the Red Cross. And this was Hurricane Katrina we’re talk...
show more...Lyrics
In the tunnels of our silence In the bounds of our mistrust I longed for your patience And cried out for your lust I’ve been looking for something That could make me more aware That you are truly someone Who gets lonely who gets scared In the confines of our love I thought I saw solution That cleared away the smoke And pulled out our pollution In the gutters of New Orleans The children laid there crying The dreams that they were living Are crumpled up and dying They are dying The symphony has ended The conductor has just left And all that now remains Is your blindness and your theft The melodies are broken And the music sounds so wrong And now I know for certain That this just can’t go on What is wrong? Because you can’t escape From the all the things you’ve done And all the wars you waged Can now never be won Your books should all be burned Your head is being filled With false and useless knowledge That just might get you killed Cause what you now desire Is what you most regret You think you know what’s true But then you’re put to the test And what is left Of your new Orleans dreams I have been the slave And I’ve been the auctioneer I have played the priest And I’ve been the racketeer But I have learned one thing They’re all one and the same One man’s freedom is another man’s guilt And another’s chains Of what remains Because I know a secret That I conceal down below You try to act so cool But I think you’ve lost control And the bells they are ringing So now what will you do Will you slumber through the storm Or will you walk right through What will you do The judge has robed and entered And the court is now in session The law has been laid down on you And there’s no chance to petition You own the keys to unlock your prison And baby when you go Call on me cause I’ll be waiting Brother don’t you know I’ll be waiting In your New Orleans dreams
