Get all 6 Norman Nawrocki releases available on Bandcamp and save 35%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of The Nawrockis Live, DISPLACED/MISPLACED, CAZZAROLA! musical soundtrack for the novel, WILD PLAINS Live Improvisations, OKA II, and OKA.
1. |
All refugees are welcome
04:56
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ALL REFUGEES ARE WELCOME
The sky darkens
with words of rage
words that deny
words that kill
words that rain down
like rocks
onto those who flee
for their lives
Words that build
walls of hate
Words that lay
coils of bloodied razor wire
Words that dig
unmarked desert graves
Words that sink
overloaded boats
in the churning black sea
When demagogues
waggle their tongues,
When racists spew their poison
When fear-mongers trumpet their lies
they ignite infernos of intolerance
that replace our humanity
with cruelty and ignorance
hatred and bigotry
Never forget:
We have more in common
with all the stateless, moneyless
refugeed, homeless
than with the privileged few
who oppress
Persecution knows no borders
but neither does our solidarity
It’s time to counter their lies,
to stop the fear, the hatred, the poison
It’s time to silence all those
who deny others their freedom
It’s time to light up the sky with words of solidarity, hope and compassion
To build bridges of welcome
To let every refugee and migrant
cross them one shore to another
To keep them safe and open
for all our sisters and brothers
Open the borders
to all migrants and refugees!
Open the borders
to all deportees!
Open the borders
to all looking for a safe place to live!
For every last migrant
every last refugee!
Everyone has the right to move!
the right to migrate
the freedom to stay!
the freedom to return!
Every last migrant
Every last refugee
Every last migrant
Every last refugee
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2. |
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We’re pickers ‘n packers of fruits ‘n vegetables
Sprayers of cucumbers ‘n chicken catchers
Factory butchers of pigs and beef
Doing the dirty work ¬¬– so you can eat!
Migrant workers abused… exploited to the max
More arms to lose in the agro business machine
More heads to wrench off in the belly of the beast
We breathe pesticides – no masks required!
Injured on the job? Don’t worry – we get fired!
Migrant workers abused… exploited to the max
Hoe those rows from sunrise to sundown
hoe those rows boys and girls
Pick those berries from sunrise to sundown
pick those berries boys and girls
Pack those boxes from sunrise to sundown
pack those boxes boys and girls
And when the moon starts yawning
then you can call it a day (x2)
Labour brokers set up short term hires
Companies work us til we’re dead tired
Use us to keep wages down, profits up
Threaten to fire us – if our protests don’t stop
Us migrant workers abused….. exploited to the max
We’re forced to leave homes where hunger rules
Hoping to return with savings of our own
But they bleed us dry – and broke!
For the privilege to be enslaved – no joke!
Us migrant workers abused… exploited to the max
refrain
No citizen here would do this dirty hard work
under horrible conditions, for the little they pay
So they convinced the government to import us
Cheap foreign temp labour to save their day
us migrant workers abused and exploited to the max
Now we’re organizing ¬¬– to protect our rights!
every worker – migrant or not – deserves a better life!
Health, safety ‘n better pay – are worth the fight!
every worker – migrant or not – deserves a better life
Stop hoeing those rows boys and girls
Stop picking those berries boys and girls
Stop packing those boxes boys and girls
When the sun starts rising, it’s time to organize! (x2)
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3. |
Nothing left to fear
04:10
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As migrants,
we fear for family left behind
we fear for ourselves because we have no rights
we fear because we’re classified ‘Illegal’
we have no papers, no legality
we fear photos being taken
‘No faces! No faces!’ we shout
because to know us is to deport us
We fear because
anyone can take advantage of us
become our ‘friend’ and help us – for a price
We fear that all we have left
is our dignity and it’s always vulnerable
In a shelter they tell us to sleep and shut up
so we return to the street
and we fear for losing ourselves
We erect our own camps
but fear that we are trapped like animals
by prejudice and illegality
We hunt for work, food and papers to set us free
We fear the authorities each time they
drive us out, trash our belongings and tents
but we return and start again
Everywhere they build walls of fear
to intimidate us to try to keep us out
We who they colonized, we who they terrorized,
we who they abused, exploited and still shun
Do they think that after all we have suffered
a wall will stop us?
That we will remain fearful for the rest of our lives?
No wall, no barbed wire, no border
can keep the desperate from escaping misery,
pain, violence and death
We will find the weak spots, the cracks, the light
and we will push through
We’ve been afraid too long
Now we are becoming fearless
with nothing left to lose
nothing left to fear
and nothing left to lose
nothing left to fear
and nothing left to lose
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4. |
Why emigrate?
00:38
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5. |
They came at night
04:43
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I was there hundreds of years
ago when
They came at night
They came in the day
They came with clubs and chains
bayonets and swords, pitchforks
and torches, on foot and horseback
I was there yesterday when they came
They came at night
They came in the day
with dogs and guns,
rocks, bottles & battering rams
on trains, boats, bulldozers, in helicopters and tanks
I was there when they
came wearing armour, uniforms,
blue suits, white hoods, black shirts
and masks to hide their faces
They told us to never come back
And they drove us away,
They drove us away
They drove us away from our homes
I was there hundreds of years
ago and yesterday when they
came with sheriffs, bailiffs, lawyers, cops, soldiers, engineers,
officials, goons, the SWAT team
They came with orders and papers,
so many papers to wave in our face
They said we had no choice
no more rights
It was the new law, old law, church law, king’s law, a special law, martial law, a presidential decree
They said they came
in the interests of the State, the economy, progress & public security
We couldn’t understand
They told us to never come back
And they drove us away,
They drove us away
They drove us away from our homes
I was there each time we argued, we pleaded, we tried to defend our homes
They beat us, shot us, gassed us, hosed us, dragged us out, arrested & jailed us
Threw our belongings into the street
Locked and boarded up our homes
Set them on fire, demolished them
Took our livestock, burned our barns,
destroyed our fields,
our crops, our orchards
Threatened to kill us
They told us to never come back
And they drove us away,
They drove us away
They drove us away from our homes
We who once lived there
now the displaced, dispersed,
Like footprints in the sand
like dry leaves scattered by wind
like clouds chased across the sky
like smoke from the chimney, gone
The injustice, the injustice runs deep
Where we once lived:
now a rich man’s estate
Where we once lived:
now a corporate farm
Where we once lived: now a huge dam
Where we once lived: now an oil field
Where we once lived:
now a deep pit mine
Where we once lived:
now a settlement of others
Where we once lived:
now a desecrated mountain
The injustice, the injustice runs deep
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6. |
The eviction
04:00
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THE EVICTION
First we hear the ominous rumble of bulldozers.
Then the telltale crunch of steel against wood.
Neighbours yelling, screaming.
Babies, children crying.
Orders barked through a megaphone.
‘Get out! Everyone out! Now!’
We stumble outside into the blinding glare of police flashlights.
In the chilly, damp, early morning blackness
we shiver and hold each other tightly.
A light drizzle is falling. Frightened shadows run everywhere.
My brother and sister are sobbing.
Sheer terror reigns
Here, on the outskirts of the city, in our refugee camp,
we once thought we were safe
Now officers yank people out of their huts, swear at them, push them,
jab them with clubs.
Bulldozers attack shacks with people still inside refusing to leave.
A merciless iron fist of destruction.
We run through the wreckage,
across muddy ground
crouching, turning, to avoid being snatched by the police.
Someone kicks me hard from behind.
I land on my hands and knees in the mud cursing.
A policeman clubs me on the shoulder. I scream.
He hisses: “Dirty gypsies! Filthy dogs! Get out!’
In the confusion and the dark, we scramble up
a rocky hill and half run, half walk away from the camp
our home for the past two months.
To think, 30 families lived here peacefully in 30 shacks bothering no one
We planted flowers and gardens
Now we flee with the clothes on our back
I’ve lost track of how many times
we’ve been forced to move from temporary camps like this one
since we fled our country and arrived here
We’d find a neglected piece of land.
On the edge of a dump
Where no respectful local would go
We’d scrounge the garbage for scrap wood, metal and junk
to build a small shelter.
Add a plastic sheet for a roof. Home.
No electricity, heating, plumbing or toilets. We use plastic bags.
Now we’re exhausted. Hungry. Unsure where to go.
We hope for shelter somewhere in the darkness ahead.
My people, the Roma, call these walks ‘death marches.’
Our elders say, in the past, the Germans used
gas chambers and ovens.
Today others use the cold, starvation and disease.
I call it ‘ethnic cleansing.’
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7. |
Home is
03:37
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HOME IS a bed to sleep in
where you can cook food
floors that squeak
that motel there
HOME IS this heated garage
a bathroom to wash up in
my pup tent by the lake
somewhere to eat in peace
HOME IS shared with family and friends
my 10 by 6 foot room, no window
a piece of cardboard to sleep on
the tic toc of a wall clock
HOME IS a safe place to come to each night
our cave in a cliff outside town
something I only dream about
wherever my dog and I can sleep undisturbed
HOME IS a reflection of you
a quiet space away from the craziness
what they stole from us a long time ago
wherever I can hide
HOME IS a place to fill with love
my blue Dodge van
under a piece of plastic
a corrugated metal shack I built myself
HOME IS two rooms that eight of us share
under that fir tree
a wagon
our rotting house on the reserve
HOME IS a big old tent tied to a tree
a hot air grill
only a memory
under the bleachers in the park
HOME IS a hole in the ground by the tracks
where you can close the door
my car parked on a side street
a rolled up newspaper to rest your head on
HOME IS a suitcase on wheels
my friend’s couch
a tarp stretched over a shoppin cart
somewhere I ran away from
a refrigerator cardboard box
HOME IS a tarp stretched over a shopping cart
where you can keep all your stuff
family and friends
a bus stop bench
HOME IS where you can be yourself, as you are
a cage I rent each night to stay safe
a three walled room in a condemned building
a place you keep neat and tidy
HOME IS nowhere
an abandoned truck in the dump
under this picnic table
a piece of plastic to roll up in
HOME IS where I can raise my children
an overhang under a bridge
a downtown doorway
a dream
HOME IS my spot outside church door
where you can sit in peace
a suitcase on wheels
a place I can never return to
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8. |
Domestic violence
00:45
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9. |
My name is Homeless
04:49
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MY NAME IS HOMELESS
My name is Homeless
My history a fading memory
My destination unknown
My preoccupation:
to make myself inconspicuous
I wipe the shame off my face
I hide my hunger-wracked body
inside cast-off clothes
I shrink into a lump of quiet resignation and blend in
with the shadows
I stay out of sight of
those who find my living breathing
presence offensive
because when you see me face-to-face
you see the ugly side of poverty
and you see me as ugly
not my situation,
In the midst of plenty,
poverty is ugly and dirty,
it smells of all that’s rotten
in this world of inequality
so you walk by and ignore me
you don’t hear me calling –
for justice
My name is Homeless
My history a fading memory
My destination unknown
I represent shame and failure
and all your fears
because in this world of precarity
you might live on the edge yourself
you could lose your job, too
so you fear me, feel threatened by me but mostly feel ashamed
and try to shame me
telling me to get a job
but it’s not that easy,
and it gets harder all the time
To avoid looking at me
you jerk your nose toward the sky
turn your head at weird angles
or pretend I don’t exist
but I do,
so you demonize me
It’s not my choice to be on display
always in the public eye,
I can’t really hide or go home,
close the door, stay out of sight
So I bite my tongue raw to stop
myself from screaming out my name
but you walk by and ignore me
you don’t hear me calling –
for justice
My name is Homeless
My history a fading memory
My destination unknown
I live hard, I’m broken, worn down
ruined by enforced poverty
the death rattle an
ever-present soundtrack
my body tattooed by
the knives of the cold-hearted
You think it’s normal, acceptable
that I exist like this?
So many nights my bed is concrete
my pillow a brick
my covers cardboard, garbage bags &
the darkest rain clouds of indifference
My lullaby is
the howling wind of rejection
I’m invisible
Each day I die countless deaths
at your feet, unseen tragedies
because who cares
whether I’m alive or silent in the
merciful black ground
You walk by and ignore me
you never hear me calling –
for justice
My name is Homeless
My history: humiliation
for trying to survive
My destination: that deep hole
you’re always digging for me
in the shadow of your wealth
How you want me to disappear
‘Bury yourself’ you say
‘We choose to share nothing
not to house, feed or even take the time to dispose of you
You’re too poor to matter anyway’
So I slip into that pit
one haunted eye on all the others taking my place
Where will they sleep tonight?
In the glow of a new world that values
life over profit?
In your life sucking nightmare?
Or on a pile of gasoline cans
surrounding your palaces
ready to light the match –
for justice?
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10. |
Galvanized, too
02:31
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GALVANIZED, too
Who? Us?
We’ve been…….
renovated
gentrified
upgraded
degraded
condomized
pushed aside
relocated
vacated
upscaled
dislocated
displaced
replaced
remodelled
uprooted
expropriated
and
disssss-po-ssessed!
We’ve also been….
ejected
rejected
reno-victed
privatized
lied to
de-stablized
modernized
repossessed
swindled
moved aside
evicted
excluded
expelled
restricted
repelled
and
di-di-di-di-d-s-lodged!
Hell, we’ve even been…
discarded
evacuated
served papers
ordered out
distressed
dismissed
pressured
leaned on
coerced & bullied
threatened & terrorized
harassed by thugs
and kicked
right out!
that’s right
kicked right out!
And we’re so damn
tired of it
Can’t take it anymore
Landlords always
pushing us around
So next time
when they try
to evict us……we’re…..
contesting
contending
dissenting
challenging
disputing
defying
disobeying
resisting
organizing
protesting
mobilizing
rebelling
refusing to move
saying ‘Up yours!’
digging in
fighting back
and staying
That’s right!
refusing to move
resistin’ the eviction
digging in
fighting back
and stay-stay-stay-stay-stay-stay-staying
You got it
- we’re staaaying!
that’s right
- we’re staaaying!
this is our home
- we’re staaaying!
we like it here
- we’re staaaying!
we’re tired of movin’
- we’re staaaying!
gonna fight this
- we’re staaaying!
screw your notice
- we’re staaaying!
gonna barricade the door
- we’re staaaying!
not gonna move
any more!
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11. |
What to bring?
03:26
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Mother rushes in
slams the door behind her and locks it
Outside in the street
the mob chants, breaks windows, sets fires
“Children!”
We have to leave now! Quickly!
Before they come for us!”
What to bring? What to bring? What to bring?
The bag,
the big bag
A spoon, a bowl
some food, some bread
The extra money hidden in the jar
“The Dog, mommy, the Dog!”
The seeds, the lucky horseshoe
A pillow, a blanket
Some socks, the baby’s toy
“The Dog, mommy! The Dog!”
Grandfather’s flute
Some water,
A knife, a cup, a pot, some tea?
The necklace! The necklace!
Don’t forget the necklace
“The Dog, mommy! The Dog!”
The boots under the bed
The photo on the dresser
The other photo
My brother’s ashes
Medicine for the baby
“The Dog, mommy! The Dog!”
More socks, more socks for the children
The red blanket, a sweater, two sweaters
a needle, some thread
a towel, the small one, the blue one
“The Dog, mommy! The Dog!”
The bag is full
“Hurry children! We have to leave now
before they come!
Hold hands! Don’t lose your shoes!
Stay close to me!
Quickly, run for the river!”
“Mommy! We have to bring The Dog!”
“Yes, yes, of course, of course, bring the dog, but run!”
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12. |
When I left home
01:20
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13. |
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WHEN YOU LEAVE BEHIND EVERYTHING YOU KNEW
When you leave behind
everything and everyone you know
for whatever reason you can’t stay
you need to go somewhere far away
for work, security, freedom, shelter,
You dream of a life that’s better,
but all you find is more of the same,
and….. sometimes much worse
When you end up living somewhere new
crawling with rodents and roaches
walls growing black mildew
crooked windows letting in the cold
heating busted, fridge, too
toilet leaking like the ceiling
The landlord, your boss, won’t fix a damn thing
It’s worse than anything back home
You gotta take a deep breath…..
When you take this dirty dangerous job
and they call you an ‘ignorant immigrant,’
cheat you, make fun of you
No one else will do this low-paying,
back breaking labour
They grind you down, say they own you
charge you for the privilege of working
It’s worse than anything back home
(then you realize
Take a deep breath, call some friends,
raise some hell and together stand tall
When you question the boss
you get labelled a troublemaker & criminalized
When you get sick or injured on the job
they don’t believe you, say it’s all lies
If you try to become a citizen
they demonize you:
“Bogus refugee, a threat to our values and religion”
This is worse than anything back home
When you’re undocumented,
no permanent residence, no citizenship
you’re isolated, easy to abuse and swindle
on a farm, working under the table,
in a factory, the homes of the rich
on call 24/7, cooking, cleaning,
living with your boss, paid little
sexually harassed, worked to exhaustion
Take a deep breath, call some friends,
raise some hell and together stand tall (x2)
If your refugee claim’s refused
your temporary work visa expires
you don’t have permanent status
They can snatch you at work, on the street
cuff you, detain you behind barbed wire
Deport you and your kids
or break up your family
It wasn’t like this back home
It’s one big sweatshop this land of the free
poor immigrants and migrants exploited daily
threatened with deportation if they don’t obey
A giant pool of cheap labour
to keep the economy going
A legalized system of apartheid
denying rights and services
everyone else takes for granted
The only solution: status for all!
Legalize the illegals!
Document the undocumented!
Allow services and rights equally for everyone now
We all gotta take a deep breath,
call some friends,
raise some hell and together stand tall (x4)
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14. |
The promised land
01:13
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15. |
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16. |
This woman had a home
04:38
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17. |
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18. |
Norman Nawrocki Montreal, Québec
Norman Nawrocki is a Canadian Polish/Ukrainian violinist & composer based in Montreal, Quebec. A veteran of the city’s underground music scene & also tours internationally. Since 1986, he's released 33 albums (solo & with his many bands like Rhythm Activism, DaZoque!, Bakunin’s Bum, SANN, Wild Plains, Crocodile!) & has 35 compilations. He's also an author & a playwright. ... more
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