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Tearing Down The Palace

by Still Wilson

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about

The final installment in Wilson's introductory six-song + video release series (April - July 2020), Tearing Down The Palace, shines a vivid light on the effects of greed, framed as the toppling of a "king" who embodies the sociopathy, the rot, at the very root of it.

The song and accompanying video are released at a specific moment when both a global pandemic and confrontations between protesters and the current US administration are front and center on every news cycle. However, Wilson notes that the lyric was written well before the current socio-political climate reached it's present state.

"It's not specifically about the current situation; one would have to claim a certain omniscience to suggest that. That said, it is about the effects of greed at the top of the pyramid which are the centers of power in all societies. We just can't seem to evolve beyond that greed."

Wilson offers that he is aiming to convey the perspective of the working class and the impoverished who are "simply trying to eat, to farm, to work, to have a voice and to survive. Greed is an ancient weapon that doesn't belong to any one country or culture. The human cost, as a result, is a living nightmare for those under it's boot heel; both historically and right here, right now."

Remember to subscribe to stay up to date with all new releases, including the official video for "Tearing Down The Palace" at Still Wilson's YouTube channel @ bit.ly/StillWilsonYouTube

Follow on Spotify @ bit.ly/StillWilsonMusicSpotify

lyrics

They are tearing down the palace
The king, he can no longer pay
And that’s quite alright with us
He is not, not a good king anyway

They are tearing down the palace
Not one soul would claim the deed
Nobody wants a memento
From the house built of greed

And mothers with hungry babes rejoice at the sight
And the men with their empty pockets raise a glass by firelight
They’re tearing down the palace tonight

Sure enough, they are tearing down the palace
The gardens are all overgrown
The hearth is cold, the walls are bare
No ghost would call it home

So, return that stolen water and feed that poor man's dry land
And one day we’ll set a fine table with a harvest from that same farmer’s hand
And we'll share a meal where once a palace was turned to sand

And mothers with hungry babes rejoice at the sight
While the men with their empty pockets raise a glass by firelight

They are tearing down the palace
The king, he can no longer pay
And that’s quite alright with us
He is not, not a good king anyway
Let them tear down the palace
He wasn't a good king anyway
So they're tearing down the palace

credits

released July 31, 2020
All instrumentation and vocals by Still Wilson
Composed, Produced and Engineered by Still Wilson
Recorded at Green Shoe Studio - Austin, Texas
Mastered by Mark Wingfield - Heron Island Studio (UK)

Original painting by Steve Johnson / Wolfe Johnson Inc

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about

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Still Wilson Austin, Texas

Still Wilson’s origin story began – more or less – as a “pandemic lockdown project” for singer-songwriter, Woody Russell. In April 2020 the first video was released as part of an ambitious 6-song cycle of video releases in four months. The project also features Woody Russell band alumni, trumpeter, John Spears, saxophonist, Dez Desormeaux and pianist, Lloyd Gil Wright on various tracks. ... more

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