Soldier Woman, by Jump Babylon

Soldier Woman

by Jump Babylon

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1.	Find Me 03:42	lyrics	buy track
Find Me (I.J. Rosenblatt) If you can’t find me I’ll look for you In many places you’d never think I’d to look to If you can’t find me, If you can’t find me If you’ve been pushed down a well by your brothers Keepers not really looking after you Or other stars in the starless desert sky Am I stuck in a foreign land? For ever to live under another’s command Forever to walk alone Will I die in this foreign land I don’t think so think so I don’t think so x2 Will I ever see my promised land I don’t think so think so I don’t think so Will I see you in the promised land I don’t think so think so I don’t think so If you’re chased by a woman who’s not significant Otherwise you better lay your hands off, hands off Herbal cures can’t cure you. Put away to think about something You didn’t do or did you maybe you didn’t Think you did others seem to think you did Chorus
2.	Soldier Woman 05:02	lyrics	buy track
Soldier Woman (I.J. Rosenblatt) Soldier woman who can find her Dressed in deeds and full of splendor Sharing wisdom doing right Does she still make bedclothes in the night? Soldier woman feeds the poor Clearing snow from the floor Never has an afterthought As to what could have been or what could not She waits for me by the Door door door I can see the flower in her hair Strands of gold woven there She’s Beautiful In purple wool My soldier woman wastes no time Waiting to be told that she’s Beautiful In purple wool Soldier woman’s celebrated Not praised not thanked – elevated Vain is beauty and false is grace Not when I look at her face She still does good when I’ve done harm Really? Is that her charm? She waits upon the barren sands With open heart and open hands Fears nothing but the One above Her child’s smile is all her love Chorus
3.	Zion 03:36	lyrics	buy track
Zion (I.J. Rosenblatt) Looking over the hills as the red sun sets A beautiful crown for the king of capitals This day has ended a new one begins As people fill the streets and crowd the city square Different colours speaking different languages Gathered together from all four corners From the east to the western wall to the Dance hall and study hall, Markets, bus stops, line-ups, stand up ‘Cause we… Won’t see these pictures on the news Or read them in reports by NGOs Just walls and blown out cars Not the music in the bars The children playing in the streets Nor the old folks smiling We no longer weep by Babylon’s rivers Our guitars no longer hang in the trees We never forgot thee My tongue cleaves to nothing My right arm is strumming can’t you see my right arm strumming Zion is not a four-letter word x4 “Consolation, consolation my nation” We shout it from the hills as we dream of home Alleys and valleys paved with psalms And songs that we’ve been singing for 3000 years Chorus “Mevaseret Zion” we cry After double the exile twice the reward Lectured on justice Hey we invented justice putzes Screw UN sanctions and cable news pogroms Chorus
4.	Canada 05:05	lyrics	buy track
Canada (I.J. Rosenblatt) I came to Canada when none was more than enough With thatches of roof in my back pocket and blue numbers on my arm A folded letter in an empty suitcase from two friends that are long gone And a leather book with broken letters whose pages were cracked and torn I settled in a backroom apartment on Clark near the corner of Bagg And got a job sewing buttons on dresses for soup and $3.25 It wasn’t hard work but that was a problem my sewing didn’t last for long Too much time to let my mind wander and think about my home I can sit in the sunlight I can see my daughter (children, grand-children) looking at me I can raise a glass to my long gone past when my table is full of people like you I can build a town, sew a million gowns, board a ship to travel cross the sea. But I can’t, I know I can’t, I know I can’t, no I can’t Steal back my night, steal back my night I married Hindy in ’56 it wasn’t a lavish do With workers from the office and friends from the Y singing songs about my youth With Skolnicks deli and a bottle of Zwack it was close as I got to joy When a telegram from the red-cross came confirming what I’d already known Chorus I volunteer now at the JPL reading stories to little kids As if years of toil, creating an empire, I could be healed by Roald Dahl When they look at me what kind of old man is sitting across from them Through my crooked grin and funny voices can they hear my real life’s tale? Chorus
5.	The End 05:34	lyrics	buy track
The End (I.J. Rosenblatt) Times that we’ve traveled Or times spent still The dust from our feet leave our tracks in the hills Driven east or north with a terrible chill But my heart is going nowhere Despised, reviled and often abused It’s the friends that degrade us that leave us confused We’ve been beaten, harassed, maimed contused But my heart is going nowhere Then we wake up one day no bags packed to go Pushed and punched our faces shoved in the snow It gets worse and worse as the kicks turn to blows But my heart is going nowhere Well is this the end Now is this the end Over and over cry my sisters and brothers It’s the end of our way our final days Over and over cry my sisters and brothers It’s the end Of these things I weep Ashes still on my head How can I sleep while I tremble in bed? It’s this animal’s peace that fills me with dread But my heart is going nowhere Cast out and banished With tied withered hands I finally return to my desert sands Searching for quiet I only find reprimand But my heart is going nowhere Then we wake up one day Our home’s turned to dust Who’s to rely on when there’s no one to trust? When it’s your neighbor’s knife that’s the first one thrust But my heart is going nowhere Chorus Then we wake up one day With nowhere to run Once we had pride but now we’ve got none But there’s nothing new under the sun So my heart is going nowhere Chorus
6.	The Bride 04:19	lyrics	buy track
The Bride (I.J. Rosenblatt) This is the story of the weddings that we play From Montreal to Philly and places along the way The hall’s not ready yet, but there’s no time for no regret Time to play a cocktail set The groom he stays upstairs While the bride she does her hair A guest he needs a chair The bride her face is white Beneath the candle light The groom his shoes are tight The ceremony has started it’s a solemn affair ‘Till the cousins come tumbling with their bare-feet all up in the air Their mother sends a gaze with blue eyes that are ablaze The couple’s in a haze The order’s final pass The wine it’s from Alsace The groom he breaks a glass The couple show some love Then they push and now they shove With shouts of “Mazal Tov!” We dance around her around her Songs of cheer and joy for every girl and boy Around her around her Her face in a magazine my one day one night beauty queen The party has started its time to get wild When the friends hit the circle it’s no doubt their already suitably plied We open up our set with songs that make the ladies sweat The guys’ shirts are wet Mom wears a flower crown An inappropriate gown Please turn the music down Do you know this song It goes na na na na na Everyone will sing along Chorus Do you know this song I hope that you’ll sing along Grandma’s in a flower sarong And a thong Have you seen the three-foot flan And the oversized flambé pan Molten chocolate covered pecan cookies with jam Chorus That was the party half the guests have gone home We’ve got a contract ‘til eleven so we play to an empty room We pack up our gear, and when the stage is clear The bride decides to reappear I hate to be a pest Can you play one last request? You guys all the best Can you play “Billie Jean?” Make sure it really swings With full orchestral strings Chorus
7.	Goliath 04:51	lyrics	buy track
Goliath (A. Stotland) They gathered their camps for war With the intent of destroying the king Marching out to the land of the lions Through the canyon to the top of the mountain On the other side the tribesmens’ heads held high Shining armour and a Cloud of glory Each on a mountainside, was the great divide, in the valley of Eilah A warrior man came forth who shadowed down at 6 stories high Iron clad and a spear in his hand put his shield down and out he cried Is there one of you, whose virtue’s true and is able to cut me down Then I will serve for you and my people too, But no one even dared Chorus Down the mountainside came the nation’s pride With a giant stride and an iron hide But he did not know of this young fair beau and his pocket full of stones That would take him down even without a crown of his own The king would not agree To send the boy to fight all alone So he suited him with golden apparel A coat of steel and a heartfelt farewell The boy he could not go to confront his foe With the weight of ore holding him down To the king he pleads I have not tested these And he put them on the ground Chorus I will leave you in this field said the enemies’ champion For the beasts to feast upon your bones But what he failed to see was the boy’s name of majesty For he was one of Judah’s sons, Jesse’s youngest one Chorus
8.	Mind Your Own Business 03:55	lyrics	buy track
Mind Your Own Business (I.J. Rosenblatt) Day’s early morning I went walking Talking to myself Conversing and consulting with no one around me Shaking my hands at the skies up above People begin to gather Whispering and calling me names All around me they look at me queerly Laughing and talking and pushing me squarely My differences they look at most strangely I explain to them as they attack As they tie my hands right behind my back Well mind your own business I’m conversing with the Lord I’m searching for direction, yet I’m seeking no reward I’ve made my pleas I’ve obeyed the commands I’ve tried to reach out to the ordinary man If you don’t get out of my way soon Commandment number six may be my doom Mind your own business I’m conversing with the lord Chorus I’ve lived inside a shack Grasped palm without its dates And I’ve shunned bread for eight days and nights And I’ve fasted many times Well ancient and irrelevant I’ve been told It’s oppression at its best If this is the way I choose to run my life Why do I offend with the dress of my wife? Yet I accept you without strife Give me that in return Here’s a lesson for you all to learn Chorus
9.	War 05:17	lyrics	buy track
War (I.J. Rosenblatt) You try to create things with meaning I hope But in the end all you offer are words Who’ll listen to what you’ve put out there again Songs that only a mother could love Boxes of records line your shelf Histories against a wall Did you think your meandering measures of sound Would be heard by anyone Then you look around and see what you’ve done There are pieces of your soul lying all over the floor But you can’t fight this war with a gun You can’t fight this war with a gun You work as a doctor, teacher and mother You treat, you teach, you feed You offer better conditions for most Yet you’re carelessly dismissed casually Lines of people you’ve helped out and some That have benefited along the way Scores of others directly improved Not one thanks, not one thanks yet again Chorus Wandering around in the midnight Recalling too much of the day About words that were said that should stay in your head You revisit again and again and again Of the people you should have called on Ashamed and alone in your bed For the terrible ways that you all parted ways Searing a hole in your head in your head Of the mornings you woke up with headaches Caused by your miserable state Of the credit not taken or work that’s forsaken You revisit again and again and again For the people you should have thought of Or those that owe you more For the time well wasted sitting there basted You stew and you brood all alone all alone Chorus
10.	Sweet New Year 03:52	lyrics	buy track
Sweet New Year (I.J. Rosenblatt) The calendar reads September two thousand and ten Some of us have reached the middle for others it’s the end We sing here together with the choir in its loft And the angels in their jury box hear our murmurings below We watch our children playing there Some with golden locks or silver hair And we wonder who’ll be their parents When we parents are gone So we sit and we wish, we hope and we pray We have a happy and sweet new year We saw so many young men lying in the street Asking for change or something to eat Did I give them my time I can’t seem to recall It suddenly starts to matter when we’re tallying it all For the sin of drinking too much beer Or talking before my thoughts were clear Or taking oaths or vows I could not keep For abandonment and late nights out For all the above we ask for a happy and sweet new year And it’s One and one, One and two There’s always more that we ought to be doing One and three, One and four Our words spill like blood on this cold stone floor And it’s One and five are what keep us alive We count One and six One and seven We count and we pray On this judgment day we have a happy and sweet new year A year of wealth and sustenance Of sun and of rain A year where no baby dies in its mother’s arms Where we taste the fruit of our hands And never feel shame We have a Happy and Sweet New Year A Happy and Sweet A Healthy and Sweet A Happy Healthy Sweet New Year
11.	Farbreng 03:22	lyrics	buy track
Farbreng (I.J. Rosenblatt) It was conspicuous consumption of scotch and beer that led me here to you my dear But it was salted fish and sweetened wine that brought me back time after time. My body’s wracked by the noise of joy as I sing the songs of the older boys Odd time classics from Dnepropetrovsk and melodies from a higher source I’d drink with you all day and all night All day and all night All day and all night I’d drink with you all day and night But I really should wait until noon Old Moe and Dave are at it again over who’s gonna pour me another “Glen” Stories of the old time are passed around last souvenirs from a forgotten town Dave tells a one about his family and Moe sheds a tear in memory This repeats itself until the Glen is gone and Dave breaks into another song. Chorus Rebuke and rebuttal we passed around a chance to reach a higher ground Good natured teasing, tales in jest, who spilled Smirnoff on my vest If we opened up our hearts I guess the rest of the week we’d feel less stress Good food, good drink and family is hell-of-a lot cheaper than therapy Chorus I walk home through my neighborhood The sun shining it’s a brand new day I hear the gang shout “There’s no last call. There’s no last call. There’s no last call” Chorus

about

Replete with catchy hooks, massive horns, crunchy guitar and well-crafted songs, Jump Babylon weaves together country-rock tales of the immigrant experience, reggae paraphrasing of liturgical poetry and power anthems to the Jewish experience. Jump Babylon performs an unrelenting set of in your face roots and rock. With songs that hearken to the heavier side of Neil Young, the gospel tinged music of Van Morrison, and even the ska numbers of the Mighty Mighty Bosstones

credits

released August 28, 2012

Musicians: Thierry Arsenault (drums), Joel Kerr (bass on tracks 3, 5, 6, 9 & 10), Rachel Lemisch (trombone, group vocals), James Rhodes (trumpet, group vocals), Jason Rosenblatt (piano, B3, clav, glockenspiel, synth, lead vocals on tracks 6, 8 & 10) Andrew Skowronski (Sax on tracks 1, 2, 4, 7 & 11, group vocals) Adam Stotland (vocals, guitar, bass)

Additional Musicians: Didem Başar (Kanun on track 6) Ismail Hakki Fencioglu (oud on track 6) Ben Henriques (sax on tracks 8, 9 & 10 clarinet on track 8), Julie Houle (tuba on tracks 8 & 10), Abigail Rosenblatt (backing vocals on tracks 5 & 10)

Produced by Jason Rosenblatt and Adam Stotland.
Recorded and mixed by Marcus Paquin at Studio 451. Montreal, QC.
Editing and additional tracking by Eric Romer at Studio 451. Montreal, QC.
Additional editing by Paul Johnston
Mastered by Harris Newman at Grey Market Mastering. Montreal, QC.

All songs by Israel Jason Rosenblatt. © 2012. SOCAN. Except Goliath by Adam Stotland. © 2012. SOCAN.
Copyright © (p) 2012 I.J. Rosenblatt. All Rights Reserved.

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about

Jason Rosenblatt (Shtreiml and more) image

Jason Rosenblatt (Shtreiml and more) Montreal, Québec

Composer, producer, pianist and harmonica player Jason Rosenblatt is one of the world’s foremost innovators in diatonic harmonica technique. His performance on the unassuming instrument has helped to open new musical ground for the instrument long associated with “the blues,” into art forms as diverse as jazz, bluegrass, Klezmer and Turkish music. ... more