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)
Mission Rebels’ Jackpot
Mission Rebels’ Jackpot:
Two hundred ninety-six thousand,
seven hundred sixty dollars.
Music by David James
“Mission Rebels Jackpot” music by David James/Beth Custer
Mission Rebel No. 1 (a suite), a work-in-progress, was developed with the support of, and sponsored through a grant from the San Francisco Arts Commission.