Live Only

2008 | Blues

“Don’t want a chip in my mother, chip in my wife, a chip in my babies, stay out of our life. -- Don’t want no shackles, don’t want no shackles on me I say. -- Down with Big Brother, no more slavery.”

Trivia

• Jimmie is the older brother to popular blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan.
• Jimmie had his own modest degree of success with The Fabulous Thunderbirds where he was the lead guitarist til 1991.
• This particular song was written & performed as an opener for Ron Paulin 2008, most notably the Rally For The Republic.

THE HOT TAKES

Luke Tatum

This tune's inspired by Ron Paul! It's a folksy tune to keep your sights on the true enemy: the State. Makes me want to get a wrap-around porch, a rocking chair, and a shotgun. While the song really only touches on the issues, it's a nice sort of almanac of popular libertarian positions. And, watching this performed live at Ron Paul's event outside the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida in 2012 was quite the experience. I've never been surrounded by so many libertarians, and the energy in that room was something that left a life-long impression. "Thunderous applause" only begins to approximate the atmosphere. That's one of the reasons projects like Freedom Song 365 exist. We have to keep that fire alive, so we can bring down Big Brother.

Sherry Voluntary

How can anyone get over the blues when it’s just so good? You certainly can’t get over the tyranny blues. Like taxes, the shackles are everywhere and unfortunately for us, they’re no longer only physical. Technology is a wonderful thing and has brought man out of the dirt, but The State always corrupts and twists technology in order to gain more control over people. This was pre 9/11 too, so people were more resistant to the idea of being tracked and monitored everywhere in the guise of safety. Beyond rfid chips, we now have in use right this very moment facial recognition software in some airports. These technologies are often hidden in one of America's favorite values: convenience. While I too, love me some convenience, it’s not worth my freedom. Without Leviathan I would feel a whole lot safer with that technology. An airline might know more information than they need to about me, and while they may deny me service, they couldn’t follow me indefinitely and lock me in a cage.

Nicky P

My dad was a huge Stevie Ray Vaughan fan so I’m fairly well acquainted with the lore of the family. That said, I was not expecting to find out he Jimmie was an opener for Ron Paul when he was running for president. I was in a non active political phase during the RP era so I missed so many moments that my contemporary libertarian brothers and sisters look back on fondly. Anyway. While this song feels a little Alex Jonesy, it’s hard to dispute how concerning some of the technological spying options are today. While we don’t have chips in our hands, I suspect it’s because it was easier to just give everyone cell phones and track us through them. We live in a world that Vaughan had yet to see as far as our own knowledge of and simultaneous impotence to do anything about the spying we know is being done. Sure I could get rid of my phone but that’s tantamount to simply not participating in modern life.