Corey Smith - Chattanooga lyrics

Once upon a time there was a man, who traveled round with a guitar in his hand For the sake of the story, we'll say his name was Corey The point of which I'm sure you'll understand One night in Chattanooga, Tennessee he drew fire from the local authorities Strangely enough, he didn't break any laws They just said he pissed the wrong guy off At a bar called Rhythm and Brews, Corey pulled a crowd though the crowd wasn't huge He was happy as hell, he was loving his life Making money for his children and his wife Then in came a badge and a gun A man we'll call Officer John He was doing his job, come to make an arrest But someone in the balcony poured a beer on his chest Oh, John got fightin' mad He started cussin' and fashin' his badge He couldn't find the culprit to vent his rage So he blamed Corey and the song he was singin' on the stage Keep in mind Corey didn't know About the cop or the beer until after the show But when it all came to an end They said he'd never play in Chattanooga again Flash forward five long years Corey turned out to have a hell of a career When a new club opened off of Market Street They invited Corey there just after opening week Folks came out in droves Demand was high, every ticket was sold The crowd was loud, the fans were hyped And it was all shaping up to be a hell of a night Then in came Officer John He remembered Corey and the song he had sung Evidently he was still pissed off Started making demands that Corey's mic be turned off Meanwhile Corey made a speech About respecting the law and honoring the police But John already made up his mind “This man is subversive. And he's crossing the line.” He made threats to the owner of the club “You're gonna have a problem if you don't pull the plug.” The club didn't feel like fighting They knew Officer John would pull their liquor license So when Corey started singing his most popular song For a pa**ionate crowd 1400 strong The conspired to k** the PA Like it was Red China not the USA (hey!) Damn there was nearly a riot It's all on video, there's no way they can deny it It was censorship at its worst And there's a damn good reason that amendment is first If we don't check power then power checks us And power ain't always just You see John kept pushin' ‘til he got pushed back Corey was in the corner now he's on the attack He ain't backin' down til he gets his way He vows to go back to Chattanooga one day He's gonna sing at the top of his lungs “f** the Po-Po!” Questions anyone?