Cockburn's early albums were fairly straight ahead folk music spotlighting his brilliant guitar playing. In fact, there were a good number of instrumental guitar numbers on those early recordings. A Christian element came into his music around the time of the album Salt, Sun and Time, and over time his writing has taken on a stronger and stronger political orientation.
Perhaps the most consistent element of Cockburn's music has been his willingness to change and evolve over time. In this way, he is similar to fellow Canadians Joni Mitchell and Neil Young.
He has had a couple of radio hits in the United States, including (Wondering Where the Lions Are and If I Had a Rocket Launcher).
His albums in the 80s are considered some of his strongest, including Humans, Inner City Front, Stealing Fire, and Big Circumstance. After Big Circumstance he struggled with writer's block, and his output began to slow down; but he recovered with the formidable Nothing But a Burning Light, which led the way back to a sparer, more folk-oriented form of music. His later album The Charity of Night contains one of his most thoughtful songs, Pacing the Cage.
His 2006 album Life Short Call Now was preceded by Speechless, a collection of instrumentals, many of them from earlier albums. The album highlights Cockburn's prodigious abilities as a guitarist.
Cockburn's 31st studio album,Small Source of Comfort was released in March, 2011. BruceCockburn.com called the album "an adventurous collection of songs of romance, protest and spiritual discovery. The album, primarily acoustic yet rhythmically savvy, is rich in Cockburn’s characteristic blend of folk, blues, jazz and rock."
Trickle Down
Bruce Cockburn Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Pinstripe prophet of peckerhead greed
You say 'Trust me with the money -- the keys to the universe'
Trickle down will give us everything we need
Brand new century private penitentiary
bank vault utopia padded for the few
And it's tumours for the masses coughing for the masses
Trickle down give 'em the business
Trickle down supposed to give us the goods
Cups held out to catch a bit of the bounty
Trickle down everywhere trickle down blood
What used to pass for education now looks more like ignoration
Take the people's money and slip it to the corporation
Yellow rain golden shower pesticide firepower
Summon feudal demons of sweatshop subjugation
Workfare foul air homeless beggars everywhere
Picturephone aristocrats lounge around the pool
Captains of industry smiling beneficently
Leaking hole supertanker ship of fools
Trickle down give me the business
Trickle down supposed to give us the goods
Cups held out to catch a bit of the bounty
Trickle down everywhere trickle down blood
Take over takedown big bucks shakedown
Schoolyard pusher offer anything-for-profit
First got to privatize then you get to piratize
Hooked on avarice- how do we get off it?
Trickle down give me the business
Trickle down supposed to give us the goods
Cups held out to catch a bit of the bounty
Trickle down everywhere trickle down blood
Trickle down give me the business
Trickle down supposed to give us the goods
Cups held out to catch a bit of the bounty
Trickle down everywhere trickle down blood
Trickle down
In "Trickle Down," Bruce Cockburn critiques the concept of "trickle-down economics," a theory which maintains that the wealthy's economic success will eventually "trickle down" to benefit the rest of society. The lyrics argue that this theory is misguided and harmful. Cockburn is particularly critical of the people and institutions that promote this ideology, portraying them as corrupt, greedy, and power-hungry. The song depicts a world in which the wealthy elite control everything, from education to politics to the environment. The masses are left to suffer and scrape by, their lives dictated by the whims of those in power.
Throughout the song, Cockburn employs vivid imagery to underscore his critique. The "picture on magazine boardroom pop star" and the "pinstripe prophet of peckerhead greed" are examples of this. The former represents the idolized figureheads of capitalism, whose lives are sold to the public as aspirational. The latter is a cruel nickname for the executives who promote trickle-down economics, whose greed and arrogance are unmasked by Cockburn's biting critique. Moreover, the "yellow rain" and "golden shower" refer to the toxic fallout of unrestrained capitalist excess. Cockburn warns that these "tumors for the masses" and "coughing for the masses" will continue to spread until people start to question the legitimacy of trickle-down economics.
Line by Line Meaning
Picture on magazine boardroom pop star
The false image of a celebrity displayed in boardrooms and magazines
Pinstripe prophet of peckerhead greed
A corporate executive who preaches greed in a suit and tie
You say 'Trust me with the money -- the keys to the universe'
The executive asserts false authority by claiming to hold all the power and wealth
Trickle down will give us everything we need
The false promise that wealth will eventually reach everyone if it is given to the rich first
Brand new century private penitentiary
The emergence of a new era in which private prisons are favored over public institutions
bank vault utopia padded for the few
A society in which only the wealthy have access to the most fundamental resources
And it's tumours for the masses coughing for the masses
The common people suffer from illnesses and diseases brought on by the selfishness of the ruling class
Earphones for the masses and they all serve you
Mass media and technology are controlled by the ruling elite to maintain their power over the people
Trickle down give 'em the business
The false promise continues to be used to deceive the public and enrich the wealthy
Trickle down supposed to give us the goods
The false promise is supposed to bring benefits to everyone, but it never does
Cups held out to catch a bit of the bounty
The common people eagerly anticipate the wealth that they hope will trickle down to them
Trickle down everywhere trickle down blood
The false promise has led to a society built on the exploitation and suffering of the many for the benefit of the few
Take over takedown big bucks shakedown
The wealthy use their power to take over industries, destroy competition, and extract wealth for themselves
Schoolyard pusher offer anything-for-profit
The wealthy are willing to exploit even the most vulnerable members of society for their own profit
First got to privatize then you get to piratize
The process of privatization leads to the plundering of resources and wealth by the ruling elite
Hooked on avarice- how do we get off it?
The society is addicted to greed and selfishness, and it is unclear how to break free from this harmful pattern
Contributed by Nathaniel I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
George Leonard
THE TRUTH!!
George Leonard
STILL IS!
anonymous anonymous
An under-air-played, too much by-passed, well he's CANADIAN, so was the GREAT Leonard Cohen...a fine guitarist, a writer of discernible, food for thought lyrics, genuine, warm, engaged, etc. Buy an album under 20 yrs- you WILL learn something...A loyal Bruce Cockburn fan ( his guitar Speechless, superlative album, playing was my late, beloved, cat, Gemna's, along with Leonard Cohen's voice, choice for thunderstorms and just one of THOSE days...) Hmm I need a "hit" of Cohen, DAVOS and the not- well-meaning billionaires have made me SICK. Trickle down, Bruce will call a farce a farce...Namaste, Z.
Tommy Leanza
How appropriate..
brad pertner
Oh ya