Paint peelin’ off my walls,
Dirt pilin’ in the hall,
Ice on the pipes, but no steam at all
Landlord, landlord,
That lowdown, rotten, good fer nuthin’, mmm
He says, « I’m gonna raise your rent one day,
Kick you out if you can’t pay,
Yes, you and the doggone OPA », (1)
Landlord, landlord,
That lowdown, rotten, good fer nuthin’, mmmm
He’s against public housin’,
He can’t stand the fuss we’re rousin’,
We’ll take care of him later,
With the rat exterminator,
Pay him a bonus and give him grease,
For the right to sign a lease,
You can have dogs, but kids must cease,
Landlord, landlord,
That lowdown, rotten, good fer nuthin’, mmm
Plaster fell on my grandma’s head,
Here’s what that dirty landlord said,
« Why she can’t ?, hell she ain’t dead,
Landlord, landlord,
That disinfecting, rent collecting, mmm
Listen to that fake whine,
« Fully rented », says the sign,
He would think that boy is fine ?,
Landlord, landlord,
That lowdown, rotten, good fer nuthin’, mmm
He’s against slum clearance,
Government interference,
He’s a slimy, old reptilian,
Worth a cool 11 million,
C’mon neighbors let’s get wise,
We can lick these greedy guys,
All ya gotta do is organize,
Landlord, landlord,
That lowdown, rotten, good fer nuthin’,
Evil speaking, profit seeking,
Mercenary, reactionary,
Landlord, landlord, landlord, landlord
Dirt pilin’ in the hall,
Ice on the pipes, but no steam at all
Landlord, landlord,
That lowdown, rotten, good fer nuthin’, mmm
He says, « I’m gonna raise your rent one day,
Kick you out if you can’t pay,
Yes, you and the doggone OPA », (1)
Landlord, landlord,
That lowdown, rotten, good fer nuthin’, mmmm
He’s against public housin’,
He can’t stand the fuss we’re rousin’,
We’ll take care of him later,
With the rat exterminator,
Pay him a bonus and give him grease,
For the right to sign a lease,
You can have dogs, but kids must cease,
Landlord, landlord,
That lowdown, rotten, good fer nuthin’, mmm
Plaster fell on my grandma’s head,
Here’s what that dirty landlord said,
« Why she can’t ?, hell she ain’t dead,
Landlord, landlord,
That disinfecting, rent collecting, mmm
Listen to that fake whine,
« Fully rented », says the sign,
He would think that boy is fine ?,
Landlord, landlord,
That lowdown, rotten, good fer nuthin’, mmm
He’s against slum clearance,
Government interference,
He’s a slimy, old reptilian,
Worth a cool 11 million,
C’mon neighbors let’s get wise,
We can lick these greedy guys,
All ya gotta do is organize,
Landlord, landlord,
That lowdown, rotten, good fer nuthin’,
Evil speaking, profit seeking,
Mercenary, reactionary,
Landlord, landlord, landlord, landlord
(1) OPA, Office of Price Administration, agenzia federale statunitense creata nel 1941 per il controllo dei prezzi di prodotti ed affitti. L’obiettivo era quello di arginare le speculazioni, il mercato nero e promuovere le condotte collettive volte ad agevolare lo sforzo bellico.
Contributed by Bernart Bartleby - 2016/2/5 - 11:15
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Parole e musica di Eugene Raskin (1909-2004), musicista, cantautore, architetto e docente alla Columbia University.
Una canzone scritta negli anni della guerra, incisa da Josh White nel 1945 su acetato ma mai pubblicata su disco.
Ripresa nel 1998 dalla Smithsonian Folkways Recordings per la realizzazione di una raccolta dedicata a Josh White e intitolata Free and Equal Blues
Testo trovato sul blog francese Folk & Politique
Una canzone contro i locatori squali che Raskin compose probabilmente su commissione per un sindacato di inquilini di New York…