David James
composer. singer. guitarist.
Circa
Jesse James was born Jesse Anderson, October 6,1928. He grew up in Harlem, New York City.
Sharpened
"I think that it's important, you know,
This bit about identity. This is the
question I used to ask myself all the time,
It doesn't bother me anymore, you know,
I used to constantly ask myself, "Who am I?"
​
Where did you go?
Where did you come from?
Where did you go,
And did your mother know?
Where did you come from?
Where did you go?
Where did you come from,
And did your mother know?
Did the stork drop you off
And hide you among the weeds–
Just a wading in a pool of toys?
The cell, the stars, the suit, the scars
You left behind,
You never left the house without a hat on.
Just a baby in a pool of noise
Where did you go?
Where did you come from
when you came back?
Where did you go,
And did your mother know?
Brace Memorial Farm,
Elmira Reformatory,
Warwick State Training School for Boys.
You heard the name the devil came with,
Called it yours.
And ev’ry hat you ever wore remembers …
Warwick State Training School for Boys,
Attica, Sing Sing.
​
​
Portions taken from the notebooks of Rev. Jesse James
Alauddin
“At that time, my name was Alauddin al-Assad. I was a Muslim, belonged to the Ahmadiyyah movement out of the East. I used to make my salat devoutly, five times a day – in Arabic”*
Where did you come from,
And where have you been,
Brother Alauddin?
Where are you going,
And where will you be,
Reverend Jesse?
​
*From "Rapping", 1968 film (link)
​
Cop/Booze
​
Just a little bit of wine, that's all we need
To get our mellow shade of groovy lit.
Just a little bit of heaven, that's all we need right now,
Take us out of this hardly real.
We'll make our buzz and you can make
dollar or two on the deal
​
​
“Say man,
How about going into the store and copping us
Some booze?”
I felt quite a bit of remorse …
I could see two youths; both of them
Seventeen years old, um,
Going no place fast.
I searched my mind and my
Heart for the words, you know,
To approach them and decline their offer,
And yet not leave them hanging…
I pointed out to them that the average adult
Who would do something like this
(who would go and cop some booze for a kid)
Is probably one
Who destroyed his life,
Nothing really to live for.
And as we know,
Misery loves
Company
But, on the other hand,
I felt that an adult should be around to offer
Something constructive,
And in order to offer something constructive,
one would first have to find out
Just what the youth wanted,
Or needed, or felt like he or she needed
And so I asked them what they wanted, what they needed,
And they began to talk about
Jobs and respect,
A better image, you know,
Improved education,
And this type of thing.
​
Adapted from interview with Rev. Jesse James – KPFA, Nov. 18, 1966 (link)
Additional lyrics by David James
To you people who represent labor, I’m asking you …
To you people who represent labor,
I’m asking you
To release the freeze-out,
To melt it,
To open up doors,
Adequate avenues,
That these youth may
Have an opportunity
​
Adapted from Mission Rebels press conference, Nov. 30, 1966 (link)
Headlines
​
"The Mission Rebels' War on Glue"
(It's a sticky situation)
Young Ones Stage a Groovy Rebellion"
​
"Labor Heeds Youth Job Plea"
​
"We'd Rather Do it Ourselves"
​
Adapted from various S.F. newspaper headlines 1966-67
Reformed Convict Honored
​
Reformed convict honored
Ex-criminal wins Kirkwood Award
A graduate of Sing-Sing, prison worker
Gave up a life of narcotics and crime,
Became a minister.
​
("I thought that an adult should be around to offer something constructive")
​
San Francisco ex-convict
Gets award for work with poor.
​
Adapted from various S.F. newspaper reports June, 1968
Mission Rebels’ Jackpot
Mission Rebels’ Jackpot:
Two hundred ninety-six thousand,
seven hundred sixty dollars.
​
Circa Chico
​
Judith, Vincent, Marguerite, and
Sunflowers,
​
Joshua, the blonde one,
corn stalks, bare feet,
​
Me and Anna come up from the
Black from the
up from the
​
had to drive us up from
Edlo drove us from the
City
Oakland, 'cross the bridge Vallejo
Town the bridge, the
​
Sunshine day long the go?
Sun where'd day go?
"One ... two ..." Jumpinthebigcreek!
​
Mr. Blue Sky, Telephone Line,
Electric Light,
​
Take a Chance on Me, My
Queen, and the
​
Best Friend's Girl, and You're My Best Friend
Cars, Abba,
​
Butter, pressure cooker
Apple pressure cooker
​
Food scraps buried in the ground and
Food scraps buried, pressure cooker
​
Beauty was all. around but
Pressure ways around, but
​
Demons found him, "How 'bout some
"Hey Man, how about some
Booze?"
​
God!
God!!
God!!!
​
God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
the courage to change the thing\s I can;
and the wisdom to know ...
​
Music by David James
“Mission Rebels Jackpot” music by David James/Beth Custer
​
Mission Rebel No. 1 was composed and developed with support from the San Francisco Arts Commission.
The premiere performance, which took place on September 22, 2023, was supported by InterMusic SF, the Zellerbach Family Foundation, and the San Francisco Arts Commission.