Ballad of Edward Snowden

Capo V  Dm -   b = 90
Am                                    C                G
Come gather all around me friends I'm glad to find you well
Am                                  G
Sit right down beside me here -- a story I will tell
Am                               C           G
Tis about one Edward Snowden a patriot of note
      Am                        Am    E      Am
Who hacked  away the N.S.A. and got Obama's goat


C
Our  Eddie was a sys admin;  a job that pays you well
Am                                     G
But he couldn't stand the spying and he couldn't stand the smell
Am                                     C                    G
Of a hundred million e-mails - that would make the Stasi proud
Am                                       Am      E     Am
As they vacuum up the contents of the systems in the cloud


Am                                  C              G 
So one day Eddie writes a note to a fellow name of Glen 
Am                                 G
Glen Grenwald at the Intercept; a fellow with a pen
Am                                 C               G
I have a tale says Eddie that will put you on the floor
    Am                                  Am      E      Am
But first you need to a secret way to speak to Citizen Four

C               
We need to use encryption , we need pretty good privacy 
Am                                      G
To keep our secrets out of sight of the spying agency
Am                                  C                 G    
We’re gonna need a password when we put things in the mail
Am                                             E       G
And we need a damn good password to be staying out of jail


Now Glen was just a newby, hardly heard of P.G.P.
But he had a friend in Laura who already had a key
Together they got started with a system known as TAILS
They conjured up a master key; we hope it never fails
 
The files are at the Intercept-go read ‘em if you dare
The movie got an Oscar but nobody seems to care
A hundred million phone calls; that would make the Stazi proud
As they vacuum up the contents of the systems in the cloud


    Am                               C              G      
It's better than a year now since Ed left his cushy post
Am                             G
And flitted off to Moscow with Putin for a host
Am                          C            G
So now he's living quietly a guru of the net
    Am                                     Am  E      Am
Who better knows the secrets that can make old Biden  sweat


C
Go look at those secret files; you scarce believe your eyes
Am                                G
A hundred million secrets here -- a hundred million lies
Am                                C                   G
Both Microsoft and Yahoo helping spooks read all the mail
Am                                            E       Am
And Clapper lies to Congress -- but he never goes to jail

Am                                C                  G
I'm just an old curmudgeon and  I never thought I'd see
Am                              G
A good man has to hide away in Moscow to be free
Am                              C                           G
A hundred million phone calls; that would make the Stasi proud
       Am                                        E      Am
As they vacuumed up the contents of the systems in the cloud

C
It's all to make us safer –sure Its all to keep us free
Am                                      G
That's why they read the e-mails of the likes of you and me
Am                                     C                G
A hundred million e-mails - that would make the Stasi proud
Am                                              E       Am
As they vacuumed up the contents of the systems in the cloud

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