Black Day in July - Gordon Lightfoot, 1968

 
 

Black Day in July
Motor City madness has touched the countryside
And through the smoke and cinders you can hear it far and wide
The doors are quickly bolted and the children locked inside
Black Day in July

Black Day in July
And the soul of Motor City is feared across the land
As the book of law and order is taken in the hands
Of the sons of the fathers who were carried to this land
Black Day in July

Black Day in July
In the streets of Motor City there's a deadly silent sound
And the body of a dead youth lies stretched upon the ground
Upon the filthy pavements no reason can be found
Black Day in July

Black Day in July
Motor City madness has touched the countryside
And the people rise in anger and the streets begin to fill
And there's gunfire from the rooftops and the blood begins to spill
Black Day in July


In the mansion of the Governor there's nothing that is known for sure
The telephone is ringing and the pendulum is swinging
And they wonder how it happened and they really know the reason
And it wasn't just the temperature and it wasn't just the season
Black Day in July

Black Day in July
Motor City's burning and the flames are running wild
They reflect upon the waters of the river and the lake
And everyone is listening and everyone's awake
Black Day in July

Black Day in July
The printing press is turning and the news is quickly flashed
And you read your morning paper and you sip your cup of tea
And you wonder just in passing is it him or is it me
Black Day in July


In the Office of the President the deed is done the troops are sent
There's really not much choice you see it looks to us like anarchy
And then the tanks go rolling in to patch things up as best they can
There is no time to hesitate the speech is made the dues can wait
Black Day in July

Black Day in July
The streets of Motor City now are are quiet and serene
But the shapes of gutted buildings strike terror to the heart
And you say how did it happen and you say how did it start
Why can't we all be brothers why can't we live in peace
But the hands of the the have-nots keep falling out of reach
Black Day in July

Black Day in July
Motor City madness has touched the countryside
And through the smoke and cinders you can hear it far and wide
The doors are quickly bolted and the children locked inside
Black Day in July (x3)

 
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Born in Orillia, Ontario, Gordon Lightfoot spent his childhood singing in the local church choir. He was only 12 when he performed live at Massey Hall in Toronto. His early professional career was supplemented by writing and producing commercial jingles, but he went on to be Canada's premier Folk singer/songwriter. He gave us dozens of inspirational songs from the '60s through to the year 2004, including: If You Could Read My Mind, Beautiful, Sundown and The Wreck of the Edmunud Fitzgerald. Some of the other artists to record Lightfoot's songs were Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, Sarah McLachlan, Elvis Presley and Barbara Streisand.
 
Black Day in July is a reference to riots occurring in Detroit over the summer of 1968. One of the more tumultuous years of the decade, 1968 saw the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy. The Vietnam war and campus protests turned ugly, and racial unrest gripped the United States. This song, although perhaps naive, really captures the shock of society watching these violent changes.
 
Gordon Lightfoot has became a Canadian icon; always a part of the musical landscape. I remember an SCTV skit making fun of his prolific nature, proclaiming "Gord sings every song ever written".... the joke being that all the songs sound the same.