Marie Mason Composes Two Songs- Monsanto Blues, The Door Swings Both Ways

From Marie,

So these two songs are an attempt to put music to a friend’s lyrics (and to collaborate on lyrics, as well- Rick’s given me a lot of license to adjust for rhythm and to add lyrics for the bridges). It’s such a different process, a real challenge and I hope to learn a lot from it.

I think Rick originally wrote the Monsanto Blues about a farmer in Michigan that got some uninvited GMO pollen in his organic corn field. Then they (Monsanto) tried to sue him for non-payment for the GMO corn. Which was ironic, as it ruined his crop from being certified organic- which had been his intended crop when he planted.

Sadly, he lost both ways- the pollen belonged to Monsanto and he had to wait 5 years to be re-certified organic. Not too surprising that the court sided with the big corporation. Now Michigan can’t seem to certify any organic cornfields- they’re all contaminated.

I’ve included both notation and tabs (with chords and lyrics, too)- just because this is the first time trying to share songs and not just poetry. Tab can be put on line, just use 6 lines for the guitar strings and numbers for the frets. I always use standard tuning, but have been trying to learn to play in open G and D tunings. There’s a bunch of cool, old Stones tunes, blues standards and some recent Civil Wars songs that use these alternate tunings. Of course, couldn’t get to the guitar while I was on lock- so it was really nice to get to play for a few minutes last night.

 

*Editor’s Note: Marie has requested that the Monsanto Blues song be taken down as she is re-writing it, in part to honor the original intent behind it by Rick.  Stay tuned for the rewritten version shortly.

The Door Swings Both Ways

The Door Swings Both Ways

The Door Swings Both Ways- lyrics page 1a

The Door Swings Both Ways- lyrics page 1b

The Door Swings Both Ways- tabs