The Great Rip-Off ?

Jesus Christ …
and the great rip-off.

It was Judas, that zealot of rebellion,
the policeman, the soldier, the politician,
and them preachers of religion,
who put Jesus Christ in his grave.

Jesus Christ was a man
who traveled through the land.
A hard working man,
wholly true, and brave.
He said to the rich,
“Give your goods to the poor.”
So they laid Jesus Christ
in his grave.

Yes, Jesus was a man,
a carpenter by trade.
His followers true and brave.
He went to the preacher,
he went to the sheriff,
told them all the same,
“Sell all of your jewelry
and give it to the poor.”
So they laid Jesus Christ
in his grave.

When Jesus come to town,
all the working folks around
believed what he did say.
So the bankers,
and them preachers,
they nailed him on the cross,
and they laid Jesus Christ
in his grave.

The working people
followed him around
singing and shouting,
“The Messiah has come to town.
Emanuel himself is here.”
But the cops and the soldiers,
nailed him in the air.
Then they laid Jesus Christ
in his grave.

Well the people
held their breath
when they heard
about is his death.
Everybody wondered why.
It was the cops
and the soldiers
that the landlords hired
to nail Jesus Christ
up in the sky.

This song was made
in New York City,
of business men,
hustlers, and slaves.
If Jesus was to preach today
like he preached in Galilee,
they, or the C.I.A.,
would lay Jesus Christ
in his grave.

Yes, Jesus was a man,
and a carpenter by trade.
His followers true and brave.
A two faced double dealer,
called Judas Iscariot,
laid poor Jesus in his grave.

But he didn’t stay there long.
Just three days.
So you bankers and landlords,
you predatory priests
of all religions
who devour whole the souls
of innocent young children,
you politicians with your tax
deductible charitable foundations,
you cops, and you soldiers,
better stop your low down ways
and learn to righteously behave.

Salt upon the Earth,
or bitter toxin given birth?
Do yourself the favour,
become that special flavour.
Keeping it sweet
with the ever lovin’ Saviour.
And He will raise you
from your grave.

To be wholly true,
to be be resolutely brave
the time is high,
in fact it’s nigh,
to start the journey.
To get absolutely
and radically saved.

~ David B. Redpath ripped
this song off Woody Guthrie 😎

“Nobody living can ever stop me
as I go walking that Freedom Highway.
Nobody living can ever make me turn back.
This land was made for you and me.”
~ Woody Guthrie

*Artwork ~ ‘Survey No.1’
by David B. Redpath © 2017

87 thoughts on “The Great Rip-Off ?”

  2. I am in awe at how you made this so current ….really if Jesus is alive and would preach the same he would have been put to jail anyway, or better yet in an assylum …but as you said in three days he will rise again…and in today’ s context it means hope…hope that one day there will end all this chaos.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    1. Glad you liked this little piece of
      plagiarism, Denis. It’s my way of
      showing some artistic respect 😎
      It’s very true that children are our future.
      You who are on the road
      Must have a code that you can live by
      And so become yourself
      Because the past is just a good-bye.
      Teach your children well,
      Their father’s hell did slowly go by,
      And feed them on your dreams
      The one they pick, the one you’ll know by.
      Don’t you ever ask them why,
      if they told you, you will cry,
      So just look at them and sigh
      And know they love you.
      … Oop! I’ve gone and done it again.
      But then, I’ve always highly respected
      Crosby, Stills, Nash … and especially Young.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

      1. I’m surprised King Herod the great and Antipas
        haven’t been brought into the story of Judas’s Betrayal.
        And what was the significance of Judas kissing HIM on the mouth.
        Was it the custom to do so, or something else?
        An X represents the kiss of life and the Y represents
        a snake in the grass’s forked tongue. X

        Liked by 2 people

      2. King Herod was a slumlord
        bought and sold by the Romans
        Antipas was martyred for evicting
        deceitful squatting demons
        Excuse mankind
        thinking he can kiss the sky
        only to find a black hole blind
        As his own DNA 🧬
        remains a total mystery 🙏😎

        Liked by 1 person

      3. I’ll leave you with the Stars (Powers)
        of silver screen and stage.
        ”All the world’s a stage
        and the People in it merely players”.
        Hebrews’ shows
        they must go on
        The stage is lit
        the play’s begun
        Then curtain calls
        through deafening Applause
        The first born Stars have WON. XXX

        Liked by 2 people

    1. Thank you, Paul 🙏
      I’m sure Woody wood’ve appreciated
      your positive feedback too 😇
      I don’t think he wood’ve minded
      the occasional collaboration.
      (I think the word ‘collaboration’
      sounds nicer than ‘plagiarism’)😎

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  11. Well done, David, and very appropriate during this time of Christianity’s remembrance of Jesus Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection. I agree when you say, “If Jesus was to preach today / like he preached in Galilee, / they, or the C.I.A., / would lay Jesus Christ / in his grave.”

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. Thank you, Rosaliene 🙏
      Yes, the world system
      doesn’t like no revolution,
      Even though the Earth 🌎
      works best when spinning.

      With no evidence of collusion
      a fuller inquiry can only await
      to fully exonerate mans fate
      till after the resurrection 😇

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    1. Thank you most graciously, JT
      Those who are his
      . . . hear his word,
      without the doctrine of men,
      false religion,
      and distortions absurd ✌️
      But my heart breaks
      for those poor souls
      caught up in them 💔
      For the living truth
      brings true freedom 😎

      Like

      Reply

  17. NOW… Are these all the original words? Making alternate lyrics isn’t stealing, if you acknowledge the tune’s and original lyrics source. And clearing point out these words are your modifications—and what a good job, praise God!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

      1. Yea, like history will always repeat itself. On the end of the Semester already, and I can say that I’m loving college but hate it at the same time that I don’t have the time to post. I missed WordPress so much. 😁

        Liked by 1 person

  22. This is incredibly truthful message.
    Here’s a quote that fits the poem and the conversation:
    “God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him. How shall we comfort ourselves, the murderers of all murderers? What was holiest and mightiest of all that the world has yet owned has bled to death under our knives: who will wipe this blood off us? What water is there for us to clean ourselves? What festivals of atonement, what sacred games shall we have to invent? Is not the greatness of this deed too great for us? Must we ourselves not become gods simply to appear worthy of it?”
    ― Friedrich Nietzsche

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thanks for the quote, Charlie 🙏
      Nietzsche certainly knew how to cut
      diamond. A diamantaire extraordinaire.
      Jesus Christ’s life, death, and resurrection,
      is a manifestly manifold multifaceted story.
      The word ‘Atonement’ (the action of making
      amends for a wrong or injury) for me is the
      key. “Father, forgive them for they know not
      what they are doing.”
      My reading of the Gospels (Good News)
      clearly states that Jesus took the full
      consequences of man’s failings himself
      upon the cross, and by receiving him, one
      is free of guilt & blame. Free to follow his
      love example. Free & clear of ulterior
      motives, and clear of selfishness
      self-seeking agendas.
      And free of the doctrines of fallible men.
      Much of what I read on social media is
      advice on how to rise above the madness
      of this world by creating and ascending
      to your own idyllic spiritual nirvana of self.
      I find the Bible to be quite different,
      with practical down to earth keys to dealing
      with the chaotic darkness we are currently
      living in. A bit of heavenly light can go a
      long way. Knowledge is power ✌️

      Like

      Reply

  28. Great stuff from you David… was Woodie Guthrie an activist? I never listened to his music. I remember listening to a long song by his son Arlo, “Alice’s Restaurant,” but that was 50 years ago. You’re a visual artist too I see. Keep up the good work.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. Woody Guthrie was definitely a champion
      of the working class, but never a member
      of the Communist Party. It would’ve been
      most ironic if America’s foremost balladeer
      was also a card carrying “Red”. His anti
      capitalist views would’ve been forged having
      witnessed the social injustice in the south,
      and during the Dustbowl exodus. It was Woody’s
      social conscience that inspired Bob Dylan’s
      early protest folk writings.
      Thanks for the encouragement, Peter 😎

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

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