In The Heat Of The Summer lyrics

Song information

Artist: Phil Ochs
Album: I Ain't Marching Anymore

Lyrics

Intro: dm gm dm gm dm

Gm dm
In the heat of the summer
F a
When the pavements were burning
Dm c dm
The soul of a city was ravaged in the night
Gm dm
After the city sun was sinkin'

Dm gm dm
Now no one knows how it started
F a
Why the windows were shattered
Dm c dm
But deep in the dark, someone set the spark
Gm dm
And then it no longer mattered

Dm gm dm
Down the streets they were rumbling
F a
All the tempers were ragin
Dm c dm
Oh, where, oh, where are the white silver tongues
Gm dm
Who forgot to listen to the warnings?

Dm gm dm
On and on come the angry
F a
No longer following reason
Dm c dm
And all the stores were the target now
Gm dm
Where just the other day they were buyin

Dm gm dm
Drunk with the memory of the ghetto
F a
Drunk with the lure of the looting
Dm c dm
And the memory of the uniforms shoving with their sticks
Gm dm
Asking, "are you looking for trouble?"

Dm gm dm
"No, no, no," moaned the mayor
F a
"It's not the way of the order
Dm c dm
"Oh stay in your homes, please leave us alone
Gm dm
"We'll be glad to talk in the morning."

Dm gm dm
"For shame, for shame," wrote the papers
F a
"Why the hurry to your hunger?
Dm c dm
"Now the rubble's resting on your broken streets
Gm dm
"So you see what your rage has unraveled."

Dm gm dm
Baricades sadly were risin
F a
Bricks were heavily flyin
Dm c dm
And the loudspeaker drowned like a whisperin' sound
Gm dm
When compared to the angered emotions

Dm gm dm
And when the fury was over
F a
And the shame was replacing the anger
Dm c dm
So wrong, so wrong, but we've been down so long
Gm dm
And we had to make somebody listen
Gm dm gm dm gm dm
In the heat of the summer.....