The Oppressed of the UK (Lyrics!)

I've got three more songs. They're pretty good and have a common theme that inspired the title so I think I'll just do them now, not sure if I'll do any more on the same theme.

These songs are all based on stuff by an anti-fascist band called The Oppressed. I've done five other songs based on their stuff, four of them about N. Ireland. These three are all about N. Ireland and are more republican than the first four. The thing is, The Oppressed was a British band and it's kind of up in the air how the leader, Roddy Moreno, feels about N. Ireland. I have some reason to think he'd got the right attitude, but not much. I think the first four N. Ireland songs I did based on his stuff he'd like, but probably not these three. Anyway, the title is a reference to both the band and the nationalist population.

For the rest of the poems click on the "lyrics" label at the bottom (there are at least two pages worth of posts, so click on the "older posts" at the bottom of the first page).

“London” based on “Government” by The Oppressed, original lyrics are here.

1. It’s set during the decades between the formation of N. Ireland (the Six-Counties) in the early 1920s and the large-scale intervention by London starting in Aug. of 1969. During that time there was a devolved government for N. Ireland that was unionist-dominated and sectarian. London provided a fair amount of support to that statelet in various ways but refused to intervene in the interest of the Catholic and nationalist minorites who were experiencing discrimination and other forms of sectarianism.
2. The B-Specials were kind of like the national guard if the police were the Army. You could also call them a unionist, government-sponsored militia.
3. The Orange Order often marches through Catholic areas. See this for why those parades should not go through Catholic areas.
4. The line about white sheets is borrowed from my favorite republican song, Time To Go by Black 47. In both that song and in this one, it’s referring to anti-Irish racism, although that would apply much more to the Tories than to Labour in my opinion. White sheets is a reference to the KKK.
**5. 59% of this version is me, 41% is the original.
6. I give this song/poem four stars out of five.
7. Nothing about violent resistance.

The Six-counties are British, you like to insist
you say, we will be okay, if we don’t resist
But the B-Specials oppress us, with rifles that you sent
can’t you see, we don’t need, British government

Chorus:
Government, government, we don’t want British government
Government, government, we don’t want British government

we live with the poverty, the Orangemen on our streets
face it, you’re racists, all you’re missing are the white sheets
hiding behind your unionist Belfast parliament
But it’s your responsibility, you’re the government

*******

“Orange Society” based on “Violent Society” by The Oppressed, original lyrics are here.

1. It’s about the period 1970-1997; some of it (not the 4th line of the second verse) could be extended to some time around 2005-07, but it’s not meant as an endorsement of armed struggle since 1997.
2. The parades refers to Orange and other loyal parades. See this for why those parades should not go through Catholic areas.
3. The police, until sometime shortly after the Patten reforms kicked in in 2001 were very unionist, or Orange.
4. Squaddies are British soldiers.
5. The comprehend line is a reference to Protestants abandoning their anti-Catholic bigotry.
6. Prod is a derogatory term for Protestant but has been adopted by Protestants. Fenian is a derogatory term for republican and for Catholic, and in the sense that it refers to the former, has been adopted by republicans.
7. The sectarian divisions and sectarianism, primarily from the Protestants, weakens the labor movement and leftist organizations. That’s almost guaranteed to change when Ireland is united, see this.
**8. 49% of this version is me, 51% is the original.
10. I give this song/poem five stars out of five.
11. Except for the 2nd and 4th lines of the 2nd verse, it's not necessarily republican.

Orange society, been this way for decades
Orange society, with their police and their parades
Orange society, to oppress, the state is designed
Orange society, resistance in your mind

chorus:
Orange society x3
We'll make it go away

Orange society, violcence from the police
Orange society, no justice, no peace
Orange society, Squaddies kicking down the door
Orange society, Ireland unfree will always be at war

Orange society, when will they comprehend?
Orange society, when’s it gonna end?
Orange society, Prod fighting Fenian
Orange society, the worker can’t win

********

“Rioting” based on “riot” by The Oppressed, original lyrics are here.

1. It’s about the response to the death of hunger-striker Bobby Sands in 1981. See the middle third of this.
2. Buses were often hijacked and set alight as barricades during riots.
3. The behavior of the police (“peelers”) contributed to why nationalists would riot, as would have more generally the policies of Thatcher. The second line is kind of borrowed from another song by The Oppressed, “Same Old Story.”
4. the red, white, and blue are the colors of the British flag.
5. Land rovers are a british kind of vehicle, this refers to the versions used by the Army and the police in N. Ireland.
6. Stormont is where the Northern Ireland Office, the British government in N. Ireland is headquartered.
7. Orange was put in place of blue (a reference to the police) because it’s the color of anti-Catholic bigotry in N. Ireland, and the police at that time were motivated by Orangeism.
8. The Battle of the Bogside, in Aug. of 1969, saw the police defeated by nationalist rioters.
**9. This version is 53% me, 47% the original.
10. I give this song/poem four stars out of five.

There’s black smoke in the sky overhead
they just heard the news, Sands was dead
the kids are gonna set the bus alight
all this injustice makes them wanna fight

Chorus:
riot, riot on the street tonight
riot, riot, gonna do it right
riot, riot gonna scream “Brits out!”
riot, riot, we’re going to win this bout

who’s to blame, the peelers or the Tories
With Thatcher, it’s just the same old story
we’ll stick together, we’ll see it through
we’re gonna riot, fuck your red, white, and blue

Chorus

land rovers can burn, Stormont too
just like last time, when the petrol bombs flew and flew
we’re gonna smash your thin Orange line
Just like the Bogisde in August 1969

Chorus


One last note: Even with the songs that are only about 10% me (and at the upper end, one is 75% me), I have a request, although I don't have strong feelings or expectations about this. First, I want credit for these songs. Second, I'd appreciate it if the notes follow the lyrics around the internet. If you modify the lyrics further, please either make some notes for the changes if you leave some of my changes, or just provide a link to this URL so people can see my version. Although I'm not sure how many people will like what I'm doing with the lyrics, to one degree or another (depending on how much I changed them) I'm proud of these songs- and at the risk of getting a little personal, if people like the songs, I could really use the extra boost of getting credit for them right now.