The Forensic Context: This track is a direct lineage-link to the Dust Bowl era. It begins with the “Physical Extraction” of the land—the mountain-top removal and the toxic smog—and transitions into the “Paper Extraction” of the Capitol Hill machine. It documents the death of a “Good Idea” as it is fed into the lobbyist-industrial complex.
Performance Note: Start with a classic, steady folk-strum (G-C-D7). The first half is a mourning song for the land. When the key shifts to D-G-A, the energy must shift to a March of Indignation. You are no longer mourning; you are exposing the “Scam.”
[The Transmission Data]
Plaintext
TITLE: WOODY’S BILL
PART I: THE LAND AUDIT (Key: G, C, D7 | Folk Strum)
PART II: THE LEGISLATIVE SCAM (Key: D, G, A | Anthem Strum)
[Verse 1]
G C G
The rich man came to my town, knocked upon the door,
G D7
Harvesting resources to support the war.
G C G
He cut down all the trees to feed the machines,
G D7 G
And the foul taste in the air was left by industry.
[Chorus]
G C G
This land was your land, a promise to keep,
G D7
But the party's over, and the bill is steep.
G C G
The mountains empty, the rivers dry,
G D7 G
And there's nothing left for you and I.
[Verse 2]
G C G
The smog came in thick and it hung like a fog,
G D7
And I went lookin' for my little old dog.
G C G
I lost him to the dust and I caught a bad cough,
G D7 G
Cuz the air was a poison I couldn't shake off.
(Repeat Chorus)
[Verse 3]
G C G
I saw a great mountain with a glacier for a crown,
G D7
Tall virgin timber a miles all around.
G C G
They scraped off her face for the coal in the ground,
G D7 G
And they filled that deep hole with the trash all around.
(Repeat Chorus)
[Bridge]
Am C G
They'll say a country boy can survive,
G D7
But you can't eat your money and you can't drink the sky.
Am C G
So what will we say to the children we meet,
G D7 G
Of the toxic waste and the blood in the street.
[Vocal Transition]
Oh, the river's runnin' dry, and the timber's all in flames,
We're livin' on the broken ground and whisperin' our names.
It ain't the water, ain't the timber, or the fact he took and ran,
It's the promise of a future that he stole from every man.
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[PART II: THE BILL (Key Change to D, G, A)]
[Verse 4]
D G D
I was just a little bill, hatched from a good idea,
D A
Born to feed the hungry, and calm a mother's fear.
D G D
A few simple words, a handful of lines,
D A D
To help the working man, and leave no soul behind.
[Chorus - High Energy]
D G D
They promised us progress but they gave us a scam,
G D
They skim their fortunes from Uncle Sam,
D G D
Now my brothers and my sisters are headed off to war
A D
And the rich man’s richer than he was before!
[Verse 5]
D G D
They took me up to Capitol Hill where the lobbyists all meet,
D A
Started pickin' up riders in committee...
D G D
One for the oil man, one for the banker's fund,
A D
A million dirty deals they've done.
(Repeat Chorus)
[Verse 6]
D G D
Now I'm a thousand pages long, a monster no one reads,
D A
The kids and the roads, take the back seat.
D G D
They'll vote me through at midnight, with a wink and a grin,
A D
And they won't even know what they’re voting in.
(Repeat Chorus)
[Verse 7]
D G D
And the family I was meant to help, they’re worse off than they were,
D A
The rich men toast their fortunes, with a fundraiser.
D G D
They hold their little dinners, twenty thousand dollar plates,
A D
All the hungry children are just pawns in the game.
[Final Chorus]
D G D
They promised us progress but they gave us a scam,
G D
They skim their fortunes from Uncle Sam,
D G D
Now my brothers and my sisters are headed off to war
A D
And the rich man’s richer than he was before!
The Auditor’s Verdict:
“Woody’s Bill” is the forensic history of the Legislative Laundromat. It shows how the “Outcasts” turn a “Good Idea” into a “Monster” that feeds the Vault while the mountains are leveled. It is the ultimate proof that Pro-gress as defined by the Council is actually a Foreclosure on the future.