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Free Leonard Peltier

by Joe Troop

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about

I first learned of Leonard Peltier in 2017 from a Lakota man, while sitting around a fire in his teepee in the Argentinian Patagonia. Since that time I have been envisioning “Free Leonard Peltier,” while researching the egregious conditions that lead to his unjust incarceration. In the process I became friends with the Native American artists that helped me bring the song to life. Leonard has now been imprisoned for 45 years, and this song is part of a larger movement to pressure Joe Biden to grant him clemency. All proceeds from the song will go to his legal aid fund.

lyrics

I thank God for all the outlaws
that went and did the world some good
This old world could use good trouble
We ought to do as Leonard would

We have broken every treaty
disavowed them from the start
causing hardship with indifference
and a cage around our hearts

We write doctrines of injustice
which we sanctify as law
We incarcerate their warriors
For doing right, they take the fall

In a rundown Florida prison
Leonard Peltier’s doing time
45 long years and counting
though he’s guilty of no crime

It’s an old familiar story
truth against the FBI
Locked up warrior lives his sundance
Uncle Sam’s caught in a lie

I thank God for all the outlaws
that went and did the world some good
This old world could use good trouble
We ought to do as Leonard would

We’ve defiled their sacred mountains
chiseled faces in the stone
Our belligerent dead presidents
ever looming o’er their homes

When their youth rose up in protest
and demanded dignity
Uncle Sam took AIM on groundless blame
sneering with impunity

Nowadays Sam’s building pipelines
to contaminate our wells
He’s got legal aid from billionaires
and a lot of gas to sell

But courageous folks like Leonard
put their freedom on the line
Guided by the Great Creator
they break Sam’s law so we survive

I thank God for all you outlaws
out there doing the world some good
This old world could use good trouble
We ought to do as Leonard would

credits

released October 7, 2022
Alexis Raeana (vocals)
Nokosee Fields (bass)
Marsha Harris (flute)
Ashley Self (vocals)
Jason Crazy Bear (drum, vocals)
Jane Jacobs (vocals)
Seth Harris (drum, vocals)
Crystal Cavalier (vocals)
Mike Wyckoff (drum, vocals)
Monty Hawk Branham (drum, vocals)
Joe Troop (guitar, banjo, vocals)

Artist: Jan Martijn Burger
Producer: Jason Richmond

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all rights reserved

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about

Joe Troop Durham, North Carolina

Joe Troop is an activist, multi-instrumentalist, and singer-songwriter from Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He’s also the founder of the GRAMMY-nominated string band, Che Apalache and one-half of "Venezualachian" duo Larry & Joe.

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