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Mama, I Can't Breathe Chorale #1

from Protest by Gene Pritsker & Friends

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Mama, I Can’t Breathe Chorale #1
By Gene Pritsker
featuring the poem ‘Don’t Pass Go’ by Robert C. Ford
For 4 electric guitars & narrator

performed by
Robert C. Ford - Narrator 
Gene Pritsker - guitars


'Mama, I Can’t Breathe Chorale #1' is from a set of 3 chorales I wrote for four electric guitars inspired by my reflections on the events of the George Floyd murder. The title comes from a poem by Robert C. Ford, 'Don’t Pass Go’, where he quotes Mr. Floyd's last words. The music is bitonal, reflecting the dichotomy of a man being murdered while calling for his mother.

lyrics

DO NOT PASS GO
by Robert C. Ford

Some came to vandalize
Some came to loot
Some for fresh air
Some even to protest

Marker on cardboard
To some it’s just words
To others a verbal sword
A commandment from the Lord

Should I let my hair grow long?
Should I shave my head bald?
Extremes are deadly (sin)
Moderation heavenly (virtue)

Everyone has a song to sing
Some even a partner to dance
Are you willing to risk arrest?
Are you willing to risk death?

Mama, I can’t breathe
11th Grade Junior Prom
Too nervous to dial her number
Mama…
New Year’s comes faster each year
Someday Sirius will guide us to bliss

credits

from Protest, released June 23, 2020

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Gene Pritsker New York, New York

Composer/guitarist/rapper/Di.J./producer Gene Pritsker has written over eight hundred compositions, all of his compositions employ an eclectic spectrum of styles and are influenced by his studies of various musical cultures. He is the founder and leader of Sound Liberation; an eclectic hip hop-chamber-jazz-rock-etc. ensemble and co-director of Composers' Concordance and Eclectic Music eXtravaganza ... more

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