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Wednesday, May 7, 2008

MTA - Charlie on the MTA, Sung by the Kingston Trio

"Kingston Trio M T A lyrics"
MusicSongLyrics.com

Written by Jacqueline Steiner/Bess Hawes

Spoken:

"These are the times that try men's souls. In the course of our nation's history, the people of Boston have rallied bravely whenever the rights of men have been threatened. Today, a new crisis has arisen. The Metropolitan Transit Authority, better known as the M. T. A., is attempting to levy a burdensome tax on the population in the form of a subway fare increase. Citizens, hear me out! This could happen to you!"

Then, the lyrics of Charlie's epic journey on the MTA.

"Charlie on the MTA"
Somebody who puts content on the MIT website - quite likely Jon Dreed
(undated, as far as I can tell)

This page discusses the song, and the history that goes with it.

The lyrics given do not include the spoken introduction which I remember from the Kingston Trio recording, and which was cited on the other resource.

The writer makes an intriguing statement, "I had the privilege to hear the original recording of the song (only two copies of the record exist)...."

I'm sure that he's right about the original record. However, the M.T.A. song is available commercially on CD - for example on " The Guard Years 10 CD Boxed Set" and "The Kingston Trio Collector Series CD" at The Kingston Trio Store.

The Kingston Trio didn't distribute their music on CDs at first, but although the format isn't 'authentic' and original, I think we can enjoy the song. ;)

2 comments:

  1. Hi,

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  2. Ashish,

    I'm afraid that this is why I don't have an email address posted.

    Your widgets sound interesting, and for that reason I'm leaving your comment in place. For a while, at least.

    I'll be doing some research - there may be a post in this.

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Thanks for your comment!