Leah Bolger (center), retired from the Navy, is one of more than 200 protesters who gathered in Salem, Oregon,
then marched through the streets Sunday. Randy L. Rasmussen/The Oregonian

ANYMORE
Harry Stamper
Sung by Harry Stamper

Harry Stamper is a retired longshoreman,
union activist, and songwriter from Coos Bay, Oregon.

I can't sing about the torment of a love that's left behind
When our leaders can't agree on a future for mankind.
I can't praise those good old prison days, there's too much to fight for,
Just gets hard to sing those songs anymore.

I grew up with Hank Williams and the music of my dad,
Singing songs about the outlaws and the heroes good and bad.
While standing in the shadow of our last and final war
Just gets hard to sing those songs anymore.

Well I know there's a time to run, I know there's a time to hide,
I know there's a time when we should all let a cooler head decide.
There's a time to hold on and a time to let go,
And a time to just stand up and tell them, "No!"

No more Nicaraguas, no more Viet Nams,
No more rolling over, no more sitting on your hands.
When your standing in the shadow of your last and final war,
Just gets hard to sing those songs anymore.

I can't sing about the railroads, or about the good old days,
When there's people who can end our world in 50 thousand ways,
And we pay for prosperity with the slaughter of the poor,
Just gets hard to sing those songs anymore.

I'd love to be the singer that makes everybody dance,
And I'd like to see my children grow up if they have the chance,
But the lessons of the past appear to be just so much folklore
Just gets hard to sing those songs anymore.

Pacific Nothwest Folklore Society