Tattered Sleeve: Original Song #30: One Water Fountain

One Water Fountain

Baby it’s a hot day on the porch on de Gaspé
I feel your kicking but I think we’ll be okay
They don’t want to put your daddy “in his place”
They just shout his name when he gets on base

Got some plums at the market
Got some nectarines
Those sweet strawberries from Ile dee-Orleans
The stairs are outside so I leave the fruit out there
And when the kids come down I say, “Bon-jou-were”
I smile and say, “Bon-jou-were”

Well I can’t make out what the neighbours are sayin’
But I sure like the sounds of their kids playin’
On the baseball diamonds they pretend to be Robinson
And ain’t nobody here trying to have us hung

Got some plums at the market…

I love the funny ways of these frenchie Canucks
Who give me their seat at the front of the bus
White or negro, english or french
They got but one water fountain for all thirsts to quench
Yes, white or negro, english or french
Use the same water fountain for the same thirst to quench

Got some plums at the market…

Baby it’s a hot day on the porch on de Gaspé
I feel your kicking and I know we’ll be okay

– 30 –

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The Progressive Economics Forum: The Double Whammy of Defunding Universities

As I’ve blogged about here, federal funding for post-secondary education (PSE) in Canada is decreasing.  Between 1985-1986 and 2007-2008, annual federal cash transfers to Ontario for PSE (in constant 2007 dollars) decreased from roughly $1.4 billion to just under $1 billion. (Yet, during that same period, PSE enrolment in Ontario increased by more than 60 percent). And as I’ve written about […]

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The Progressive Economics Forum: The Racialised Impact of Tuition Fees

Mainstream policy wonks often claim that tuition fees and rising levels of student debt in Canada are relatively inconsequential. They argue that though the costs of higher education for students (and sometimes their families) are increasing, so is post-secondary enrollment, meaning that raising the cost of post-secondary education clearly doesn’t block access. While enrollment is indeed […]

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