Black Day in July
Gordon Lightfoot

Black day in July

Motor city madness has touched the countryside

And through the smoke and cinders

You can hear it far and wide

The doors are quickly bolted

And the children locked inside

Black day in July

Black day in July

And the soul of Motor City is bared across the land

As the book of law and order is taken in the hands

Of the sons of the fathers who were carried to this land

Black day in July

Black day in July

In the streets of Motor City is a deadly silent sound

And the body of a dead youth lies stretched upon the ground

Upon the filthy pavement

No reason can be found

Black day in July

Black day in July

Motor City madness has touched the countryside

And the people rise in anger

And the streets begin to fill

And there's gunfire from the rooftops

And the blood begins to spill

Black day in July

In the mansion of the governor

There's nothing that is known for sure

The telephone is ringing

And the pendulum is swinging

And they wonder how it happened

And they really know the reason

And it wasn't just the temperature

And it wasn't just the season

Black day in July

Black day in July

Motor City's burning and the flames are running wild

They reflect upon the waters of the river and the lake

And everyone is listening

And everyone's awake

Black day in July

Black day in July

The printing press is turning

And the news is quickly flashed

And you read your morning paper

And you sip your cup of tea

And you wonder just in passing

Is it him or is it me

Black day in July

In the office of the President

The deed is done the troops are sent

There's really not much choice you see

It looks to us like anarchy

And then the tanks go rolling in

To patch things up as best they can

There is no time to hesitate

The speech is made the dues can wait

Black day in July

Black day in July

The streets of Motor City now are quiet and serene

But the shapes of gutted buildings

Strike terror to the heart

And you say how did it happen

And you say how did it start

Why can't we all be brothers

Why can't we live in peace

But the hands of the have-nots

Keep falling out of reach

Black day in July

Black day in July

Motor city madness has touched the countryside

And through the smoke and cinders

You can hear it far and wide

The doors are quickly bolted

And the children locked inside


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Lyrics by Gordon Lightfoot

  10 Degrees & Getting Colder   10 Degrees & Getting Colder   10 Degrees and Getting Colder   14 Carat Gold   14 Karat Gold   A Lesson In Love   A Message To The Wind   A Minor Ballad   A Painter Passing Through   A Passing Ship   A Tree Too Weak To Stand   Affair on 8th Avenue   Alberta Bound   All I'm After   All I'm After   All The Lovely Ladies   Always On The Bright Side   Anything for Love   Apology   Approaching Lavender   Baby It's Allright   Baby It's Allright   Baby Step Back   Ballad of Yarmouth Castle   Beautifuel   Beautiful   Bells Of The Evening   Bend In The Water   Betty Called Me In   Biscuit City   Bitter Green   Bitter Green   Blackberry Wine   Boathouse   Borderstone   Boss Man   Brave Mountaineers   Broken Dreams   Cabaret   Can't Depend On Love   Can't Depend On Love   Canadian Railroad Trilogy   Canary Yellow Canoe   Carefree Highway   Changes   Cherokee Bend   Christian Island   Christian Island (Georgian Bay)   Circle Is Small   Circle Of Steel   Clouds Of Loneliness   Cobwebs & Dust   Cobwebs & Dust   Cobwebs And Dust   Cobwebs Dust   Cold Hands From New York   Cold On The Shoulder   Cotton Jenny   Couchiching   Crossroads   Daylight Katy   Did She Mention My Name   Does Your Mother Know   Don Quixote   Don't Beat Me Down   Don't Beat Me Down   Dream Street Rose   Dreamland   Drifters   Drink Yer Glasses Empty   Early Mornin' Rain   Early Mornin' Rain   Early Morning Rain   East Of Midnight   Ecstasy Made Easy   End Of All Time   Endless Wire   Fading Away   Farewell To Annabel   Fine as Fine Can Be   First Time Ever I Saw Your Face   For Lovin' Me   For Lovin' Me - Did She Mention My Name   For Lovin' Me   Forgive Me Lord   Ghosts Of Cape Horn   Ghosts of Cape Horn [*]   Go Go Round   Go My Way   Go-Go Round   Gotta Get Away   Gypsy   Gypsy   Hangdog Hotel Room   Harmony   Heaven Don't Deserve Me   Heaven Don't Deserve Me   Heaven Help The Devil   Hey You   Hi'Way Songs   Hi'way Songs   High And Dry   Home From The Forest   House You Live In   I Used To be A Country Singer   I Want To Hear It From You   I'd Do It Again   I'd Rather Press On   I'll Be Alright   I'll Do Anything   I'll Prove My Love   I'll Tag Along   I'm Not Sayin'   I'm Not Sayin' / Ribbon of Darkness   I'm Not Sayin' \/ Ribbon of Darkness   I'm Not Sayin'/Ribbon Of Darkness   I'm Not Supposed to Care   I'd Do It Again   I'd Rather Press On   I'll Be Alright   I'll Do Anything   I'll Prove My Love   I'll Tag Along   I'm Not Sayin'   I'm Not Sayin'/Ribbon Of Darkness   I'm Not Supposed To Care   If Children Had Wings   If I Could   If It Should Please You   If It Should Please You [#]   If There's A Reason   If There's A Reason   If You Could Read My Mind   If You Could Read My Mind (Studio 54)   If You Could Read My Mind [DVD]   If You Got It   If You Need Me   In A Windowpane   In My Fashion   In The Early Mornin' Rain   In The Early Mornin' Rain   Inspiration Lady   Is There Anyone Home   It's Too Late, He Wins   It's Worth Believin'   It's Too Late, He Wins   It's Worth Believin'   Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues   Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues   Keepin' On Yearning   Keepin' On Yearning   Knotty Pine   Last Time I Saw Her   Last Time I Saw Her   Lazy Mornin'   Lazy Mornin'   Leaves of Grass   Let It Ride   Lifeline   Long River   Long Thin Dawn   Long Way Back Home   Looking at The Rain   Love & Maple Syrup   Love & Maple Syrup   Love and Maple Syrup   Magnificent Outpouring   Make Way For The Lady   Mama Said   Marie Christine   May I   Me & Bobby Mcgee   Me And Bobby McGee   Miguel   Minstrel of The Dawn   Mister Rock Of Ages   Morning Glory   Mother Of A Miner's Child   Mother Of A Miner's Child   Mountains & Marian   Mountains And Marian   Mountains and Maryann   Movin'   Movin'   Much To My Surprise   My Little Love   My Pony Won't Go   My Pony Won't Go   Never Say Trust Me   Never Too Close   Nous Vivons Ensemble   Now & Then   Now And Then   Ode to Big Blue   Oh Linda   Oh, Linda   Old Dan's Records   Old Dan's Records   On Susan's Floor   On Susan's Floor   On The High Seas   On Yonge Street   Only Love Would Know   Ordinary Man   Peaceful Waters   Pony Man   Poor Little Allison   Pride Of Man   Protocol   Pussy Willows, Cat Tails   Pussywillows, Cat-Tails   Pussywillows, Cattails   Race Among The Ruins   Rainbow Trout   Rainy Day People   Red Velvet   Redwood Hill   Remember Me   Restless   Ribbon Of Darkness   Rich Man's Spiritual   Rich Man's Spiritual   Ring Them Bells   Ringneck Loon   Romance   Rosanna   Salute   Salute (A Lot More Livin' To Do)   Same Old Loverman   Saturday Clothes   Sea Of Tranquility   Second Cup of Coffee   Seven Island Suite   Shadows   She's Not The Same   She's Not The Same   Sit Down Young Stranger   Sixteen Miles   Slide On Over   Softly   Someone To Believe In   Something Very Special   Sometimes I Don't Mind   Sometimes I Don't Mind   Sometimes I Wish   Somewhere U. S. a.   Somewhere U.S.A.   Song for a Winter's Night   Song For A Winter's Night   Songs The Minstrel Sang   Spanish Moss   Spin, Spin   Station Master   Stay Loose   Steel Rail Blues   Stone Cold Sober   Summer Side of Life   Summertime Dream   Sundown   Sweet Guinevere   Talking In Your Sleep   Tattoo   Thank You for The Promises   That Same Old Obsession   The Auctioneer   The Circle Is Small   The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face   The Gypsy   The House You Live In   The Last Time I Saw Her   The List   The Lost Children   The Mountains and Maryann   The Patriot's Dream   The Pony Man   The Soul Is The Rock   The Watchman's Gone   The Way I Feel   The Way I Feel (In Album The Way I Feel)   The Way I Feel [Acoustic]   The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald   Too Late for Prayin'   Too Many Clues In This Room   Too Much to Lose   Triangle   Uncle Toad Said   Unsettled Ways   Waiting For You   Walls   Welcome To Try   Wherefor and Why   Wherefore & Why   Wherefore And Why   Whisper My Name   Whispers of The North   Why Should I Feel Blue   Wild Strawberries   Without You   Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald   You Are What I Am   You Just Gotta Be   You'll Still Be Needing Me   Your Love's Return

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