Dust and Diesel by Bruce Cockburn

Dust and Diesel by Bruce Cockburn

Dust and Deisel was written by Bruce in 1983. It is about Nicaragua not Bangladesh, but I love the song and it could have been written about any war-torn or struggling country. I also love this quick photo (slightly filtered) of a bus I snapped as I turned from shooting some beggars. I rode on these buses, always jammed with people, chickens, and baskets of food heading to market, guards sometimes stopping the buses, eying me suspiciously, but once again, I always had the best of guides, who in the worst of times may have saved my life.  I can relate to this song in many ways, and to this day, I can still smell the dust and diesel.

Battered buses jammed up to the roof
Dust and diesel the prevailing themes
Farmer sleeping on the truck in front
Feet trailing over like he's trolling for dreams
Smiling girl directing traffic flow
.45 strapped over cotton print dress
Marimba-brown and graceful limbs
Give me a moment of loneliness

Dust and diesel
Rise like incense from the road
Smoke of offering
For the revolution morning

Headlights pick out fallen sack of corn
One lone tarantula standing guard
We pull up and stop and she ambles off
Discretion much the better part of cars
Rodrigo the government driver jumps out
He's got chickens who can use the feed
We sweep the asphalt on our hands and knees
Fill up his trunk with dusty yellow seeds

Dust and diesel
Rise like incense from the road
Smoke of offering
For the revolution morning

Guitars and rifles in blue moonlight
Soldiers stretched out on sparkling grass
Engine broke down -- they took us in
now we make music for the time to pass
Tired men and women raise their voice to the night
Hope the fragile bloom they've grown will last
Pride and passion and love and fear
Burning hearts burning boats of the past

Dust and diesel
Rise like incense from the road
Smoke of offering
For the revolution morning