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about

The more I worked on this song, the bigger it grew. When Hurricane Katrina ripped up New Orleans, Mississippi and Alabama, it tore open our hearts too. What did we see? It’s the one year anniversary now. Has enough been done?

lyrics

American Refugee©

American Refugee
Down Louisiana Way
American Refugee
Down by the Bayou
New Orleans, Lower Ninth District, French Quarter
All going under when the levees give way
When the levees give way

Situation is a crisis at hand
We got a hurricane called Katrina
K-A-T-R-I-N-A

American refugees
Down in the bayou
American refugees
Down Louisiana way, Mississippi, New Orleans
Lower Ninth District
Where the Levees give way
Where are the boats, buses, hydroplanes?
Didn’t see any copters, hummers, bicycles, tricycles
No cruise ships

American Refugees
Shouldn’t be that way
American Refugees
Shouldn’t have happened that day

American Refugees
Down in the bayou
Infactuation

American Refugees
Down in the bayou
Down Louisiana way,
With all the death and devastation

American Refugees
Lower Ninth District, New Orleans
Happened that day

With all the death and devastation
Waste, humiliation, flooded emptiness
Emptying into enchanting echoes
That trees only hear

Human echoes
Human waves
Human bodies even drifted that day

I have no sympathy
No sympathy for the poor
No sympathy for the old and young
No sympathy for the old and young
No sympathy
We wasted our compassion

God bless American
We created an American Refugee
Down in the bayou
Down Louisiana way

God bless America
American Refugees
Down in the bayou
Down Louisiana way,
Mississippi, New Orleans

We gotta hurricane called Katrina
K-A-T-R-I-N-A, K-A-T-R-I-N-A
Unbeknownst to us
The most powerful nation on Earth
Let our people perish
To blame the blameless
No pity no more

American Refugees
Down Louisiana way,
Thrown out the door
When there’s no party that cares any more
I’ll never forget
Coulda been there in a day
Ice truck got lost I heard

American refugees
Gotta make my play
American refugees
Storm on the way

American refugees
Evacuation plan in play

credits

from The Xman Cometh, Expect the UnExpected, released August 6, 2006
Bass: Anonymous X; Liberty / Drums: Jim Xavier / Guitar: Frankie Blue / Synthesizer: Richard Larson / Percussion: Charles Xavier / Trumpet: Warren Gale / Vibraphone: Charles Xavier / Vocals: Charles Xavier

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about

Charles Xavier San Francisco, California

A drummer from the age of 16, San Francisco based Xavier was born and raised in New Bedford, Mass, where the East Coast jazz scene shaped and defined his musical tastes. He went on to study arrangement and composition at Berklee College of Music in Boston. From there he studied at the Creative Music Studio in Woodstock, New York, with Jack DeJohnette, Bobby Moses, Stu Martin and Jumma Santos. ... more

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