Mr. Tampering Man
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Mr. Tampering Man
(Ken Ficara) Copyright © 2006 Ken Ficara

Ken Ficara: Vocals, guitar, Dylanesque harmonica

Produced by Ken Ficara

Recorded on Park Place

Hey Mr. Tampering Man, write a song for me I'm not picky and I don't care if it's stolen Hey Mr. Tampering Man, write a song for me In the Rolling Stolen record reviews, all is forgiven.
We might hear lines and lyrics That we know aren't yours Music you haven't paid for Riffs we've heard before Taken though we know you won't be crediting Yes and if we hear vague traces of other people's songs We'll just keep singing along When you do it, it's not wrong After all you're part of the folk tradition
Hey Mr. Tampering Man write a song for me Don't be sleazy, give credit where it's owing to Hey Mr. Tampering Man, write a song for me Your swindling mangling of copyright Makes us ashamed of you
Though your music empire makes millions every year More than Muddy's whole career Your admiration seems sincere But you took his song without a worry Your thievery amazes me I'm saddened and I'm angry You didn't pay him any fees Just took the song for free You can't even be bothered to say you're sorry
Hey Mr. Tampering man, write a song for me Write something new, not something borrowed from the blues Hey Mr. Tampering man, write a song for me Through every single tangle of your career we've followed you
Though we know you've borrowed before We object to your tampering this time To your plagiarizing rhymes Did you think we wouldn't pay it any mind These ancient empty riffs too dead for hearing? Has your writing like your singing returned into sand? Vanished from your hand? Left us blindly here to stand and still not cheering?

Dedicated to Bob, with years of love and admiration, but in hopes of better albums than Modern Times