This Machine Kills Fascists: the Protest Music Thread

[Wanderfound]

I heard Martin Pearson perform this once at the Woodford Folk Festival, but I’ve never been able to find a recording online.

Shame; it’s a catchy song.

George Papapveris’ It takes a soldier

I heard it yesterday on the news
And to believe it I refused
To hear the working man enthused
That more guns would be built.
And I remember thinking then
That wallet wins the heart again
And we will sing the old refrain
As further blood is spilt:

It takes a soldier to fire the gun
To make it you need a working man
To feed him the farmer will plough the land
It all goes hand in hand.
But to feed the soldier and the man
Who makes the gun, you need more land,
And to get more land of course
You need a soldier.

The circle is a vicious one,
It’s been like this since time began,
For after all is said and done
The soldier needs his bread.
But no one can explain to me
With all this land and all this sea
Why we don’t turn our soldiery
To farm and fish instead.

It takes a soldier to fire the gun
To make it you need a working man
To feed him the farmer will plough the land
It all goes hand in hand.
But to feed the soldier and the man
Who makes the gun, you need more land,
And to get more land of course
You need a soldier.

And I can almost hear you say
"the world has always been that way,
“for peace and freedom you must pay
"and nothing is for free”.
But vicious circles you can break,
'Tis but an easy step to take:
Just throw the guns into the lake
But keep just one for me;-)

It takes a soldier to fire the gun
To make it you need a working man
To feed him the farmer will plough the land
It all goes hand in hand.
But to feed the soldier and the man
Who makes the gun, you need more land,
And to get more land of course
You need a soldier.

If only we could understand
Before things spiral out of hand
It’s not supply, but our demand
That does the monster feed.
And still our leaders never cease
To manufacture enemies
It isn’t them that threaten peace,
The problem is our greed.

It takes a soldier to fire the gun
To make it you need a working man
To feed him the farmer will plough the land
It all goes hand in hand.
But to feed the soldier and the man
Who makes the gun, you need more land,
And to get more land of course
You need a soldier.

If a Google-fu Ninja amongst us were to find a copy online, I would be glad to hear of it.

[Daveb]

How about a nice christmas song.

[teknocholer]

Commemorating some early fascist fighters.

Mackenzie–Papineau Battalion

[Wanderfound]

I fear that I’m going to need to use this one a lot. Peggy Seeger originally (my favourite Seeger ), Dick Gaughan here.

Early every year the seeds are growing
Unseen, unheard they lie beneath the ground
Would you know before their leaves are showing
That with weeds all your garden will abound?

If you close your eyes, stop your ears
Shut your mouth then how can you know ?
For seeds you cannot hear may not be there
Seeds you cannot see may never grow

In January you’ve still got the choice
You can cut the weeds before they start to bud
If you leave them to grow high they’ll silence your voice
And in December you may pay with your blood

So close your eyes, stop your ears,
Shut your mouth and take it slow
Let others take the lead and you bring up the rear
And later you can say you didn’t know

Every day another vulture takes flight
There’s another danger born every morning
In the darkness of your blindness the beast will learn to bite
How can you fight if you can’t recognise a warning?

Today you may earn a living wage
Tomorrow you may be on the dole
Though there’s millions going hungry you needn’t disengage
For it’s them, not you, that’s fallen in the hole

It’s alright for you if you run with the pack
It’s alright if you agree with all they do
If fascism is slowly climbing back
It’s not here yet so what’s it got to do with you?

The weeds are all around us and they’re growing
It’ll soon be too late for the knife
If you leave them on the wind that around the world is blowing
You may pay for your silence with your life

So close your eyes, stop your ears,
Shut your mouth and never dare
And if it happens here they’ll never come for you
Because they’ll know you really didn’t care

[anon70983703]

A modern cliche? Yup. Band is problematical in many areas? Definitely.

Awesome tune? Yass.

[PatRx2]

…my favourite Seeger

Not her mum?

However, to get back on track…

Look in my eyes, what do you see?
The cult of personality
I know your anger, I know your dreams
I’ve been everything you want to be
I’m the cult of personality
Like Mussolini and Kennedy
I’m the cult of personality
The cult of personality
The cult of personality
Neon lights, a Nobel Prize
Then a mirror speaks, the reflection lies
You don’t have to follow me
Only you can set me free
I sell the things you need to be
I’m the smiling face on your T.V.
I’m the cult of personality
I exploit you still you love me
I tell you one and one makes three
I’m the cult of personality
Like Joseph Stalin and Gandhi
I’m the cult of personality
The cult of personality
The cult of personality
Neon lights a Nobel Prize
A leader speaks, that leader dies
You don’t have to follow me
Only you can set you free
You gave me fortune
You gave me fame
You gave me power in your own god’s name
I’m every person you need to be
Oh, I’m the cult of personality
I’m the cult of, I’m the cult of, I’m the cult of, I’m the cult of
I’m the cult of, I’m the cult of, I’m the cult of, I’m the cult of personality

[MalevolentPixy]

Per http://www.cockburnproject.net/songs&music/iatf.html

On Wednesday (16 June 2010) at Massey Hall, iconic recording artist Bruce Cockburn and guest stars will perform some of his best-known material. Cockburn talks over the set list with Brad Wheeler.

Written in 1988, the hit single and video from the album Big Circumstance raised awareness of the destruction under way in the Amazon rain forests. Cockburn speaks about the issue, and whether anything has changed.

“It shifts all the time. When I wrote that song they were cutting down the Amazon rain forest to put in cattle. But that didn’t work out, and the next thing you know they’re planting soybeans. But they’re still cutting down the forests, and they’re still displacing the natives. Corn for the biodiesel trade, that’s the new big thing. You can’t win. You create all this awareness about one aspect of the problem, but as soon as you think you have a foot on top of that, it squeezes out from under and morphs into something else.”

- from Bruce Cockburn Set for Luminato Honours - 40 Years of songs to Live By by Brad Wheeler.

[MalevolentPixy]

Classic

Sadly, still relevant:

[Wanderfound]

[anon70983703]

They burned so bright and faded so fast.

[teknocholer]

Come you masters of war
You that build all the guns
You that build the death planes
You that build all the bombs
You that hide behind walls
You that hide behind desks
I just want you to know
I can see through your masks

You that never done nothin’
But build to destroy
You play with my world
Like it’s your little toy
You put a gun in my hand
And you hide from my eyes
And you turn and run farther
When the fast bullets fly

…

Let me ask you one question
Is your money that good
Will it buy you forgiveness
Do you think that it could
I think you will find
When your death takes its toll
All the money you made
Will never buy back your soul

And I hope that you die
And your death’ll come soon
I will follow your casket
In the pale afternoon
And I’ll watch while you’re lowered
Down to your deathbed
And I’ll stand over your grave
’Til I’m sure that you’re dead

[teknocholer]

[PatRx2]

Sometimes you don’t even need words.

[Wanderfound]

I heard Peggy Seeger do this live once:

In the classic folk tradition, it was a five minute song with twenty minutes of story and jokes as an intro.

[Wanderfound]

There is value in keeping it simple and hammering a point:

Nobody who listens to that will ever forget what they must never cross.

[teknocholer]

Hilarious intro to this one:

[strokeybeard]

Hmmm, needs more punk…

…it might be a bit Crass…

…some classic Fingers…

…a tasty Prawn…

…And everyone loves a bit of Cock

[teknocholer]

…a tasty Prawn…

…in their game?

The deputy sheriffs, the soldiers, the governors get paid
And the marshals and cops get the same
But the poor white man’s used in the hands of them all like a tool
He’s taught in his school
From the start by the rule
That the laws are with him
To protect his white skin
To keep up his hate
So he never thinks straight
’Bout the shape that he’s in
But it ain’t him to blame
He’s only a pawn in their game

[Wanderfound]

I like this version of that a lot:

[Wanderfound]

Listening to some Akala: