Lawrence Haley August 15, 2023 The Bop Shop 8.16.23 -John Gorka- Lawrence Haley August 15, 2023 John Gorka “Where The Bottles Break” from Jack’s Crows 1991 Thirty-Two years ago folk singer John Gorka wrote this song about gentrification in which he mentioned “low life Donald” Trump and added this lyric,“And who cares?I don’t wanna know what his girlfriend doesn’t wearIts a shame that the people at workWanna hear about this kind of jerk”And what have we learned since then?-Alan West-Where The Bottles BreakI walk where the bottles breakAnd the blacktop still comes back for moreI walk where the bottles breakAnd the blacktop still comes backI live where the neighbors yellAnd their music comes up through the floorI live where the neighbors yellAnd their music wakes me upLife beyond the playground fenceIs serious as BasketballLife beyond the playground fenceIs seriousFour blocks from the steel mill blastI paint my claim up on the wallFour blocks from the steel mill blastI paint my claimMy end of the Southside dragIts a common thought to call the copsFurther west its been gentrifiedThey turned biker bars into flower shopsI kind of miss those Harley guysWho rarely did a body harmThey mostly liked to drink and shoutAnd flash the pictures on their armsIt happens when the money comesThe wild and poor get pushed asideIt happens when the money comesThe poor get pushedThe buyers come from somewhere elseThey raise the rent so you can’t hideThe buyers come from out of stateAnd they raise the rentBuy low, sell highYou get rich and you still dieMoney talks, people jumpAsk how high low life Donald what’s his nameAnd who cares?I don’t wanna know what his girlfriend doesn’t wearIts a shame that the people at workWanna hear about this kind of jerkThese people aren’t saintsNo, people just areThey wanna feel like they countThey wanna ride in their own carThese people aren’t saintsNo, people just areThey wanna feel like they countThey wanna ride in their own carI just want to make enoughTo buy this town and keep it roughI just want to make enoughTo buy this townBuy low, sell highYou get rich and you still dieMoney talks, people jumpAsk how high low life Donald what’s his nameI walk where the bottles breakAnd the blacktop still comes back for moreI walk where the bottles breakAnd the blacktop still comes backI live where the neighbors yellAnd their music comes up through the floorI live where the neighbors yellAnd their music wakes me upLife beyond the playground fenceIs serious as BasketballLife beyond the playground fenceIs serious, seriousI walk. I live, My life, I hide.Where the bottles breakBy the playground fenceWhere the neighbors yellWhere they raise our rentsWhere the bottles breakBy the playground fenceBy the steel mill blastWhere they raise our rentsJohn Gorka