Let the Silver Out

[Intro Spoken Over Acoustic Guitar] Wheat price down Freight rate up Bank note due And the farmers had enough [Beat Drop] Let it out [Verse 1 Farmer One Gritty Country Rap] Dollar forty five back in sixty six By the middle nineties only forty nine cents Crop price crashed but the costs stayed tall Seed tools shipping we were paying for it all Railroad rate took the profit from the grain Bank loan interest put a lock on the chain Worked that land from the dark till dawn Harvest came in but the money stayed gone Rail took the field and the bank took the farmer Pressure got heavy so the people got louder One voice fades but a crowd breaks through If the system won't listen then the ballot box do [Chorus Full Group Chant] Freight costs high and the crops sell low Bank takes more every season we sow Seed costs cash and the debt stacks up Populists shout we have had enough Let the silver out let the silver out Put more money in and turn this thing around Freight too high and the debt too deep Let the silver out let the farmer breathe [Cipher Switch Banjo Riff And Heavy Bass] Pass that voice down the fence line [Verse 2 Farmer Two Faster Rap Flow] The National Grange set the neighbors in stride With cash-only co-ops spread far and wide Lower store prices and a place for the crops Cut out the middle and control what we bought Grange pushed laws for the shipping rates Railroads pressured till they vanished from the states Then the Alliances rose in the West and South Millions of farmers made the message loud Southern Alliance more than three million strong Colored Farmers Alliance brought a million along Pack government warehouses high with the grain Take a fair loan till the markets sustain Banks held the money and the railroads the route So the farmers linked up to cut their power out [Chorus Full Group Chant] Freight costs high and the crops sell low Bank takes more every season we sow Seed costs cash and the debt stacks up Populists shout we have had enough Let the silver out let the silver out Put more money in and turn this thing around Freight too high and the debt too deep Let the silver out let the farmer breathe [Beat Switch Stomps Claps And Distorted Guitar] People at the bottom got something to say [Verse 3 Farmer Three Punchline Heavy Flow] Six governors won as the movement broke through Three Senate seats and fifty House seats too Farmers Alliances turned their struggle to power The Peoples Party made it the common folks hour Populism put the people in control Public owned railroads broke the corporate hold Direct vote senators and secret ballots cast Tax the wealthy fairly not the working class Shorter workdays and one term at the top But free silver made the whole movement pop Gold kept cash tight and crop prices low Mint silver freely put more in the flow More money moving meant farm prices could rise Shrink the farmers debt was the battle cry [Chorus Full Group Chant] Freight costs high and the crops sell low Bank takes more every season we sow Seed costs cash and the debt stacks up Populists shout we have had enough Let the silver out let the silver out Put more money in and turn this thing around Freight too high and the debt too deep Let the silver out let the farmer breathe [Bridge Call And Response] Who grows the wheat (We grow the wheat) Who pays the freight (We pay the freight) Who holds the debt (The banks hold the debt) What do we want (Let the silver out) [Final Cipher Farmer Four Melodic Rap] North and South could not stand side by side Black voting rights were suppressed and denied Silver miners joined as the silver cry spread Democrats claimed it and moved to its head Bryan brought thunder in eighteen ninety six The Great Commoner preached that free silver fix Populists backed him but McKinley prevailed As the economy rose Bryan’s urgency failed Still their reforms lived when the party was through Income tax and eight hour workdays came true Secret ballots gave the people more say Senators were chosen in a more direct way Populists faded from political view But the ideas they planted kept breaking through [Final Chorus Full Group With Harmony] Freight costs high and the crops sell low Bank takes more every season we sow Seed costs cash and the debt stacks up Populists shout we have had enough Let the silver out let the silver out Put more money in and turn this thing around Freight too high and the debt too deep Let the silver out let the farmer breathe [Outro Crowd Chant Over Fading Banjo And Bass] Let the silver out (Let the silver out) Railroad rate down (Let the silver out) Farmers stand up (Let the silver out) The people spoke (And the country found out)