We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

World on Fire (The Ballad of Kathy Boudin)

by Jeremy Mage

/

  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $1 USD  or more

     

about

I met Kathy Boudin when she got out of prison after 22 years. Her activism in prison and since her release continues to positively impact many thousands of lives. I wrote this song about her epic story, and surprised her with it at her 70th birthday. On May Day 2022, she died just shy of her 79th. Which inspired me to finally record this. Releasing the song on MY 50th birthday. To remind me that life is for giving. The stakes have never been higher. All proceeds donated to the Release Aging People in Prison (RAPP) campaign.

lyrics

Here's a ballad of a red diaper kid, a child of the little red schoolhouse
Came of age in the days of rage, damn near died in the townhouse
Naked in a strangers clothes, the ashes were still smoking
Left herself for a life underground on half a subway token

A decade passed, and the winds of change
Seemed to grow ever weaker
Meanwhile love and a baby came grown to a 14 month toddler
A little boy she left behind to show her commitment was strong
Thought she'd pick him up that afternoon, but things went horribly wrong

What do we do in a world on fire
How do we change how we live
face the truth and speak with our deeds
Just one life to give

Went to the hills on a 20 year bid, haunted by the lives that were severed
Remorse is not a single act, it's something that you wear forever
Found her faith with the other moms who'd left a kid outside
Helped create a sanctuary
Where they could braid the hair of their child
Help that love to thrive

What do we do in a world on fire
How do we change how we live
Face the truth and speak with our deeds
Just one life to give, Just one life to give

There's a time to put your life on the line
And there's a time to be patient
Takes a lot of water under the bridge to learn how to tell the difference
How to make a system bent on revenge
Lean toward change and forgiveness
No one's free if anyone's a slave everyone's a prisoner of conscience.
No one's free if anyone's a slave everyone's a prisoner of conscience.
No one's free if anyone's a slave everyone's a prisoner of conscience.

What do we do in a world on fire
How do we change how we live
Face the truth and speak with our deeds
Just one life to give

What do we do in a world on fire
How do we change how we live
face the truth and speak with our deeds
Just one life to give, Just one life to give, Just one life to give

credits

released July 13, 2022
Artwork by Priska Wenger, Kathy Boudin, and the FBI

Background vocals by Mike Paco and Noélie Broglie

Congregational vocals and claps by Hannah Aeschbacher, Lelia Brigatti, Rebecca Eggenberg, Christelle Hiltbrunner and Sandro Zehnder

Mastered by Jamal Ruhe

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Jeremy Mage & The Magi image

Jeremy Mage & The Magi New York, New York

Mage is a New Yorker living in Switzerland. He played B-3 in church and broke his nose in a mosh pit, and then years later he broke it again on a Steinway. In between, he studied with Baba Olatunji, Alan Ginsberg, Fred Frith, Yusef Lateef; learned Raga in Varanasi and clave in Havana. He world-toured with Lizz Wright, Wunmi, and the Easy Star All Stars. His influences are a hopeless mix. ... more

contact / help

Contact Jeremy Mage & The Magi

Streaming and
Download help

Redeem code

Report this track or account

If you like World on Fire (The Ballad of Kathy Boudin), you may also like:

Bandcamp Daily  your guide to the world of Bandcamp

On Bandcamp Radio

Featuring Riley Pinkerton (aka The Rat Queen) from the theatrical NYC rockers, Castle Rat.
listen now