Don't Vote GOP: Three New Poems

(this was originally published 4/27/20 but for some reason it stopped showing up, so I am republishing it now)

Here are three more poems. They are all based on offensive lyrics, I explain that here.

For all the poems, you can click on the "lyrics" label the bottom.

1. Stop the Klan. What you think it's about.
2. Irish Citizen Army. The Irish workers' militia of 1913-1916.
3. Don't Vote SDLP. What's wrong with Northern Ireland's Social Democratic and Labour Party.

“Stop the Ku Klux Klan” based on “Stand Up and Be Counted” by either The Klansmen in the 1980s or the racist assholes who originally wrote it several decades ago. Original lyrics are here.

1. In 2017 or 2018 or 2019 there were reports that caravans of refugees from Central America were traveling through Mexico on their way to the US. Trump used this, probably successfully, to whip up anti-immigrant hatred. These were definitely refugees and they were traveling in caravan for security.
2. I believe that there is a spectrum between democratic and undemocratic and I believe that, politically, the US is closer to the democratic end of the spectrum. But my thoughts about how we can make it more democratic politically are here. I worry greatly that Trump is a fascist, literally, and my thoughts about that are in the middle of a post here.

3. Trump is a racist. See this and this. There’s also his comments on the murder of an anti-fascist by a fascist in Charlottesville in 2017. And there’s this, that I published elsewhere on my blog:

[When asked about David Duke endorsing him, his] response in an interview was:

Well, just so you understand, I don’t know anything about David Duke. OK? I don't know anything about what you’re even talking about with white supremacy or white supremacists. So, I don't know. I don’t know, did he endorse me or what’s going on, because, you know, I know nothing about David Duke. I know nothing about white supremacists. And so you're asking me a question that I'm supposed to be talking about people that I know nothing about.

4. The Torah is the main Jewish text.
5. My thoughts about religion are found here, although a lot of those posts are only partly relevant.
6. **58% of this version is me, 42% is the original.

7. I give this poem 3 stars out of 5.

8. UPDATE 6/1/22 I believe there's a spectrum between democratic and undemocratic and I USED to believe we were in the middle but closer to the democratic end of the spectrum. With what the GOP has done in the last couple years I think we might be closer to the UNdemocratic end of the spectrum.

Chorus:
Stand up and be counted, welcome the caravans
Stand up and be counted, and stop the Ku Klux Klan

We are anti-racists and love our democracy true
We always can be counted on, when there's a job to do
We educate our communities day and night, to keep them Klan-free
And proudly display anti-racist bumper-stickers, promoting diversity

Chorus

The Bible’s pretty cool, but so are the Torah and Koran
We believe in gay rights, so fuck the Ku Klux Klan
In search of peace and liberty, with the constitution in hand
We will defeat Trump to save our democratic land

***********

“Irish Citizen Army” based on “Blackshirt and Roses” by Razor’s Edge. Original lyrics are here.

1. This is written from the perspective of an Irish Republican in the 1970s, or 1980s or 1990s in Ireland. The Irish Citizen Army was started in 1913 during a general lock-out (where, in response to labor activism, an employer throws their employees out of the factory, etc.) in Dublin. It was formed to protect workers from attacks by the police.  In 1916, when the Easter Rising (an attempt at getting the British out) took place, while most of the moderate Irish Volunteers failed to participate the (admittedly much smaller) ICA participated fully and James Connolly, the leader of the ICA, was the de facto leader of the uprising. Connolly was a Marxist theoretician and union organizer and considered Ireland’s greatest socialist- there is a train station in Dublin named after him.
2. The Starry Plough is basically the flag of republican socialism, although some non-republican socialists use it. At one point about 10-15 years ago, and maybe still today, the youth wing of the Irish Labour Party used it.
3. Connolly was one of the few European socialists to oppose the nationalism of World War I. (The original refers to WWII)
4. Razor’s Edge were/are British and support(ed) the British and Unionist causes in N. Ireland.
5. **54% of this version is me, 46% is the original.

6. I give this poem 4 stars out of 5.

They created the Starry Plough, an emblem of the Irish working-class
And they spread Marxism, patriotic workers struggling en masse.

(Chorus)
Fuck the British Empire
Ireland still recalls
The Irish Citizen Army
Heroes one and all.

Opposed the nationalist war in Europe, they knew the real enemy.
With the European Working-Class, they were in solidarity.

The flame they lit was not extinguished, still burning in our hearts today.
We're carrying on the fight because the ICA led the way.

(Chorus)

Fuck the British Empire
Ireland still recalls
Connolly and the ICA
Heroes one and all.

************

“Don’t Vote SDLP” based on “Freedom” by Razor’s Edge. Original lyrics are here.

1. This is NOT written from my perspective, but the perspective of  the type of person I probably could have collaborated with politically if I had lived in the Nationalist community of Northern Ireland in the 1970s, 80s or 90s (I’m American). It’s from the perspective of someone who lives in a working-class Nationalist area in the 1990s and is sort of pacifist and a left-wing social-dem and doesn’t like Sinn Fein very much because of the violence and doesn’t like the Social Democratic and Labour Party for the reasons I give here (there are some more thoughts about the SDLP here, while discussing the episode “Rising Star”).
The thing is, the British Labour Party hasn’t ever organized in the North and recently had to be taken to court to allow Northerners to join, but they refuse to let the Party run candidates there (which is more of a good thing than a bad thing). There are multiple tendencies in the BLP when it comes to N. Ireland and I think the dominant one is to support their official sister organization the SDLP. I don’t think they ever called for the IRISH Labour Party to organize there and it wasn’t until tension developed between the ILP and the SDLP in 2001, 2002, and 2003 that the ILP started a transitional process of organizing there that was supposed to result in them running candidates as rivals to those of their official sister party. I did an essay/article/post PARTLY about that here.
So, this person has little or no options for voting (even if the BLP had been running candidates there, this person wouldn’t have voted for them (unless they were comparable to Tony Benn or Ken Livingstone)).
2. The red, white, and blue are the colors of the British flag.
3. The SDLP encouraged their supporters to do little more than vote. They were more or less against marching and probably against rallies as well. It’s true that non-SDLP supporters could have become involved and the inevitable friction with the security forces may have been difficult for stewards to control and a riot could have developed. But they still should have tried it, maybe with double the usual number of stewards. If there weren’t enough good stewards in the SDLP, maybe, in the 1970s and 1980s, they could have acquired the help of members and former members of the Official IRA, whose movement the Provisionals (SF and the IRA) had split from, and which was committed to a relatively non-violent path (I just think it would have been great if they HAD organized marches and I wanted to explain that they could have found a way to do it with a low risk of them turning into riots). The failure to offer mass struggle as an alternative to armed struggle weakened the overall effort to advance the interests of the Nationalist population.
4. The SDLP was socially conservative and although they probably did a better job of attracting Protestants than the Provos did, they were also closer to the Catholic Church.
5. Critics sometimes call the SDLP the Stoop Down Low Party.
6. In the 70s and 80s and probably the 90s as swell, I can imagine SDLP canvassers at election time being uncomfortable when whoever they’re talking with informed them that they’re gay. That homophobia is largely gone now, and I don’t think it was all that hateful in the first place, but they were homophobes.
7. They’re in the Socialist International and today maybe the SI almost deserves them, but with their social conservatism and moderate, almost capitalist, economics, they certainly didn’t belong there in the 1990s and 2000s and probably not in the 70s and 80s.
8. My thoughts about what the Provos did are here.
9. Razor’s Edge were/are British and support(ed) the British and Unionist causes in N. Ireland.
10. **66% of this version is me, 34% is the original.

11. This poem gets 5 stars out of 5.

Sell-out politicians always seem confused
They can’t figure out how to eject the red, white and blue
the only time you matter is on Election Day
so they can grab your vote and then tell you to go pray

(Chorus)
Options, no options
For pacifist social-dems in this community
Options, no options
The Stoops offer no mass struggle opportunities

A community defended by heroes but who then go too far
There are too many problems with their repertoire
But the only time you matter to the Stoops is on Election Day
They really want your vote unless you’re lesbian, bi or gay

Chorus

With their moderate instincts, the community gets left behind
if you think they’re helping us, you must be f*cking blind
the only time you matter is on Election Day
They’re in the International, but they’re pro-life and anti-gay

"The Connolly/Larkin Brigade" A New Poem!

A new poem. I explain how I write my poems here. This one is based on a song that I like politically. For the rest of the poems, click on the "lyrics" label at the bottom.


"The Connolly/Larkin Brigade," based on “Last Lincoln Veteran” by David Rovics. Original lyrics are here.

PLEASE READ!! 1. This is a bizarre one. It’s about a very alternate history. Written from the perspective of an American socialist in, about, 2040, it’s about fictional events in the 1980s, (which is similar to the chronological perspective of the original (the original was written about 65-70 years after the events in it, when there were still some Lincoln veterans alive)).
It’s based on a song about the anti-fascist foreigners who fought in the Spanish Civil War (there was an Irish anti-fascist contingent, largely ex-IRA members, called the Connolly Column). The premise of this poem is that at some point in the 1980s, a similar call is made for people to fight in the North of Ireland. It IS possible that if the IRA had a launched a Tet-style offensive (in the Vietnam War, there was the Tet Offensive by the VietCong in 1968) as they had planned to in the 1980s, the conflict would have been transformed and it would have made sense to call for large numbers of foreign fighters.
3. James Connolly and Jim Larkin were senior or semi-senior leaders of the broad Irish republican family in the first 2-3 decades of the last century. Both spent time as union organizers in America.
4. May 1st is International Workers Day.
5. Dixieland is a racist term for the American South. Orange is the color of anti-Catholic bigotry in the Irish-British context. (UPDATE 3/18/20 I used Dixieland because A) it rhymed, B) I thought it would indicate that I was comparing the North with the South in the sense that they were both bigoted, etc.)
7. The West Bank refers to the 99% nationalist part of Derry, to the west of the River Foyle. It’s where 14 anti-internment/civil rights marchers were killed by the British Army on Bloody Sunday in 1972.
8. Chronologically three of the cities/places I chose don’t make much sense, since they were sites of ongoing struggles in the 1980s OR, the struggle hadn’t begun. Whatever.

Ramallah is in the West Bank in PALESTINE. There’s a lot of solidarity between the Irish and the Palestinians.

Paris. When Bobby Sands died (see this and the middle third of this), the socialist Prime Minister of France offered to attend the funeral, but he consulted Dublin and they said no.

Chiapas. In 1998 or 1999, on May 5th (Cinco de Mayo and the day in 1981 that Bobby Sands died) I went to a fundraiser for the Chiapas Coalition in Denver, CO (the CC were supporters of the Zapatistas, the EZLN). I asked if I could say something about Bobby Sands and they let me speak for a couple minutes. Later, another speaker who had spent time with the EZLN, said that they (the EZLN) were very concerned about the North.

Cape Town. The ANC strongly supported the IRA (see this). I think their military wing was large and I THINK they had trouble finding work for everyone and it MIGHT have made sense, in this scenario where a call is made for foreign fighters, to send some.

9.  Until late 2001 the RUC were the police in N. Ireland.
10. Orthodox republicans, if there are any left, believe(d) that the Republic proclaimed at the beginning of the 1916 Easter Rising still exists and has been usurped by the Northern State and the Southern State. I have never believed that, but it still seemed like a good adjustment to the original lyrics, and in the 1980s, I think that almost all Northern Sinn Fein members probably DID believe it, and probably a large minority of Southern SF members also believed it.
11. Margaret Thatcher was a hardcore Tory and British imperialist who was Prime Minister in the 1980s.
12. Ian Stuart Donaldson was, in the 1980s and early 1990s (until his hilarious death in 1993), the leader of the worldwide Nazi skinhead movement, and as a British Nazi, he was incredibly supportive of the British and Unionist causes in N. Ireland.
13. Ian Paisley was, between the mid-1960s and about 2005, a very visible, extremely Unionist and anti-Catholic politician.
14. In the late 1990s a US Representative, Donald Payne from NJ, sponsored legislation in the House that would ban the sale of plastic bullets to the UK. He had traveled to the North and I feel safe assuming that some US corporation was selling the plastic bullets used in the North (or he was just really cool and pro-active, but I bet they were being sold to the UK). (Payne is Black)
15. I mention they were Catholic because I recently decided it’s frustrating that American Catholics in general showed almost no interest in the conflict, frustrating because although there were other factors (anti-Irish bigotry, economic factors, etc.) to a large extent SECTARIANISM affected the lives of Northern Catholics.
16. I wanted to recognize the contributions made by gay members of the Nationalist community.
17. Here are some ways that Washington wasn’t neutral:

1) It seems that D.C. never privately put firm pressure on the British to dramatically change its policy in N. Ireland and/or create a significant role for the South in the affairs of the North (or even, better, begin a process of withdrawal). If they did this privately, it didn't work, and they should have done it publicly (it's possible that to some degree that happened between Clinton and Blair, and had some small effect on the GFA, but the GFA could have been much better, and then there's the ultimate goal of a British withdrawal).

2) Although at some point in the 1970s the President or Vice President of SF did speak at a committee hearing of the US Congress, from 1983 until 1994 the President of SF, Gerry Adams, was not allowed into the US. (he was first allowed into the U.S. in 1994). During this time SF represented about 35-40% of the Nationalist community, and probably about 60% of the poorest, most oppressed half of that community.

3) During the entire conflict, something like 20 former republican Volunteers went through either extradition or deportation proceedings. I think all the extradited were sent back to the UK, I think most of the deportation cases were deported. I know of at least one deportation, and this was probably the case with all of them, where the issue was that he said on the immigration paperwork that he was never convicted of a crime, and the U.S. government said that he in fact had been. The thing is, republican Volunteers don't consider themselves criminals, and even the British government, to some degree, has recognized this by treating them as prisoners of war during most of the conflict. But the U.S. Government disagrees. There's evidence that some very large majority of the nationalist community more or less supported the hunger-strikers of 1981 (see the middle third of this) whose struggle convinced the British to extend status as prisoners of war (or political status, basically the same thing), which makes me think that some very large majority of the nationalist community was more or less unhappy about the extraditions and deportations (also, the massive anti-internment march that was attacked on Bloody Sunday in 1972 was primarily organized not by republicans but by a senior SDLP politician).

18. I can’t abide praising Reagan for a lot of reasons. He and Thatcher were best friends.

19. Practically the entire last full verse was in the original, and the 95 yo is, I assume, someone David Rovics actually knew (possibly Robert Steck). That’s part of why I changed it to “she” and “her”. Like practically all of my poems, this is not written from my perspective, it’s some faceless American socialist character I invented. I don’t know any Communists- please tell the House Un-american Activities Committee that if they ask about me. :  )
20. The Short Strand is an isolated Catholic enclave in Unionist East Belfast.
21. I almost hate bringing this up, especially because the post I’ll link to needs some work but it’s massive and I don’t know when I’ll make it near perfect. I believe that during The Troubles, and especially after Apartheid was shattered by the ANC and before those assholes in Al-Qaeda attacked on 9/11, the world, to one degree or another kind of or totally dropped the ball when it came to solidarity with the Nationalist community. I focus like a laser on the American Left and to a lesser degree the west European Left. That post is here, and the relevant part starts with the mention of South Africa about 1/3 from the top.
22. I couldn’t make up my mind about how the story ends. But then I decided to make a few more changes and make it a happy ending- not what happened in the Short Strand, but Ireland being united in the end.
23. **36% of this version is me, 64% is the kick-ass original.
24. UPDATE 4/1/20 I maybe should have altered the very last part less than I did. I deleted the phrase "It's a place that we all know so well" because it's not well known among American progressives today, as I mention in note 21 above. I forgot that in this alternate timeline, it IS well known. But I'm going to keep it the way it is, I just didn't want anyone to think that I didn't like David's lyrics.
25. UPDATE 4/1/20 I deleted the word "most" from the 3rd line of the second verse. It implied, for example, that Hindus didn't fight. I was lazy and didn't alter that when I first wrote it, I didn't mean to exclude anyone.
26. As I prove in a fairly scientific way here, only .3% of the IRA's operations resulted in civilian death.

They were old when I was young Now they're all but passed away
Now it's just a second hand story we hear about on the first of May
When from all around the world They sailed off to Ireland
Where they fought against the Brits and to liberate Orange Dixieland
Who will recall the days When they all stood side by side
Now that the last Connolly/Larkin Veteran died

Beside striking workers Or in a St. Patrick’s Day Parade
You could see those who made the journey To join the Connolly/Larkin Brigade
When men and women of many nations Of every creed and hue
Catholics and Protestants, Muslims,  Atheists and Jews
Joined together in the West Bank To avenge the fourteen who died
Now that the last Connolly/Larkin Veteran died

The working class of many countries responded to the desperate invitation
With what weapons they could find They fought to unite the Irish nation
From Ramallah and Paris, Chiapas and Cape Town
Who will recall the Brigadistas Who bravely took the RUC down
There beside the Catholic people Even the sheep and cattle cried
Now that the last Connolly/Larkin Veteran died

The 1916 Republic had the people But the British Army had the tanks
Thatcher and Ian Stuart got only some of Paisley’s premature thanks
'Cause the plastic bullets to take down rioters Came from the USA
And the boys and girls they knocked down Were Catholic and some of them were gay
Uncle Sam wasn’t neutral, and praising Reagan is something I can’t abide
Now that the last Connolly/Larkin Veteran died

Some say people get conservative The older that they age
They say that being radical Is just a youthful stage
But the finest communist I've known Lived to 95
And she spent her whole life fighting For humanity to thrive
To forget these fallen heroes Is something I cannot abide
Now that the last Connolly/Larkin Veteran died
Now that the last Connolly/Larkin Veteran died

There's a neighborhood in East Belfast called the Short Strand
It was there that we showed our solidarity Where so many comrades made their final stand

New Poems: Saorsie is Irish for Freedom

Three new poems. In the next few months you'll see a lot more poems (as well as "reviews" of Babylon 5 TV show episodes and maybe a long essay) here. I explain some stuff about the poems here.

The rest of the songs/poems can be found by clicking on the "lyrics" label (there are four pages worth of posts, so click on the "older posts" at the bottom of the first page).

“Saoirse” based on “Freedom” by Brutal Attack, original lyrics are here.

1.This is about a loose collection of Irish political elements that might be described as “non-republican/non-nationalist but anti-partitionist, radical and fairly militant anti-Unionists.” It would, to one degree or another, include the late group Peoples Democracy, and probably around 50% of the Civil Rights Movement and probably somewhere around 25% of the movement in support of republican prisoners around 1980. It is basically set between the beginning of the civil rights movement (around 1967) and the 1981 Hunger Strike. (actually if it weren’t for some talk of socialism and the bit about Blacks, I would be on very safe ground attributing the positions in the poem to the nationalist community which would also include many of the people I referred to above (UPDATE 4/24/17 I'm increasingly unsure why I DIDN'T do that- I guess I wanted to do something a little bit different- there ARE people who are neither nationalist nor republcian but who still have very good positions on issues very central to the search for equality, justice and freedom for the nationalist community, AND who are also DEFINITELY VERY socialist and DEFINITELY VERY anti-racist (somewhere around 50-85% of the nationalist community is anti-racist and/or socialist, but ALL the miscellaneous people I'm thinking of are SOLID anti-racists and socialists)))
2. Orange parades should stay out of Catholic areas. For a good set of reasons why, see this.
3. The starry plough is generally the flag of republican socialism but there are non-republican groups that use it as well.
4. During the conflict frequently city centers were off limits to anti-unionist marches and rallies.
5. The RUC were the police until late 2001.
6. The anti-internment march attacked on Bloody Sunday was part of the civil rights movement. Although many of the original demands of that movement had been conceded, the existence of “emergency” legislation was also an issue addressed by that movement since it’s beginning.
7. Kent, Ohio is where the Kent State massacre took place in 1970. (Four anti-war college students were killed by the National Guard)
8. Squaddies is a term for British soldiers.
9.Bread is a term for economic justice.
10. In the mid and late 70s a struggle between republican prisoners and the prison authorities developed around whether they were prisoners of war or criminals. After about 2-4 years the prisoners had a majority of the nationalist community behind them. For more see the middle third of this starting at “For 3-4 years in the 1970s….”
11. When internment was phased out in the 1970s it was replaced by a series of mechanisms collectively described as a “conveyor belt.” This included the power to hold suspects for 7 days without charge, and non-jury courts.
12. “Bourgeoisie” is a term for the upper-class.
13. The original is by a British band that supported the Unionist and British causes in N. Ireland.
**14. 69% of this version is me and 31% is the original.
15. I give this poem 4 stars out of five.
16. Saorsie is Irish for freedom.
17. The second to last line, I’m not envisioning something where 100% of the people on the island are black. To a large degree it was just me being a smart ass twisting the lyrics of the original. It could be a future where Ireland is roughly 2-5 times as diverse as it is now and most of the relatively white population are less than 100% white.

when we don’t want an Orange parade on our streets the police won’t ban it
And take a look at history, the British began it.
Yeah, they’re afraid of us because we tell the world
As we stand up to them with the Starry Plough unfurled
My patriotic heart for my country feels so proud
But when we want to march in the city center we’re not allowed

Chorus
We want freedom from poverty and the British Empire
They’ve joined forces and against us they conspire
London can try to suppress us with their army and the RUC
we will emerge victors against the British bourgeoisie

the Civil Rights Movement marched in Derry against internment
We were shot down by state terrorists just like those in Kent
We don’t want no squaddies, and yes most of us are reds
We’ll resist, the Unionists, and push for universal bread

So let’s keep organizing, the prisoners need political status
We will not tolerate the British “conveyor belt” apparatus
We want a country full of reds, and why not a country full of blacks
we want a United Ireland with a progressive income tax

******

“Irish Revolution” based on “Final Solution” by No Remorse, original lyrics here.

1. The first verse is basically about the decades before the deployment of massive numbers of British Army soldiers in 1969. To a large degree British politicians were reluctant to get involved with the N. Ireland issue. The Tories especially deferred to the Unionists, who were part of their party. In the first 5 decades of N. Ireland, there were many protest efforts, political, or violent, or non-violent and the hands-off attitude of Westminster and #10 Downing St. contributed to the explosion of violence in 1969.
2. I believe that the use of force by the IRA did get London to briefly negoatiate with the republican movement in 1972. And I believe that two decades of IRA actions are part of why the combination of the Good Friday Agreement and the political scenery behind it was better than the combination of the 1974 Sunningdale Agreement and the political scenery behind IT.
3. The chorus is sort of influenced by the slogan “No Justice, No Peace.”
4. Some of the statements are about the IRA, not the nationalist population in general (I’m defining that as including northern republicans). Those are: Verse 1, line 1; verse 2, line 1 is about the IRA and rioters; same with the first half of verse 2, line 2; second half of Verse 2, line 4; first half of verse 3, line 1.
5. Based on what might be called a fairly scientific look, only about .2% of the IRA's operations intentionally resulted in civilian death.
6. As I explain in the middle third of a post here, what I wrote about global support was a bit off or something- huge chunks of the world didn’t want to be educated or be involved even though they should have.
7. The last two lines are about the protest among republican prisoners. There’s more about that in the middle third of this.
**8. 66% of this version is me, 34% is the original.
9. I give this poem four stars out of five.
10. No Remorse were British and supporters of the British and unionist causes in N. Ireland.
11. This poem is set basically in the decades before 1969 and ends roughly in the late 1970s.

Most of the Brits never listened Until the guns were in our hands
They read the Unionist papers and Ignored our democratic demands
We Nationalists protested for equality or fought to secede
London left it up to the Unionists, No matter where it would lead

Chorus:
Irish revolution
As conflict resolution

Our strategy is not to rock the boat We've got to blow it out of the sky
Got to make their nation tremble Expose and challenge all their lies
We’ll educate the world and isolate the British Tory scum
They may ignore our speeches But they'll listen to the gun

Chorus

As we gain momentum, The People continue to let loose
words, rocks, petrol bombs the BA and RUC are showered with abuse
As the blanketmen start the protest, the support starts to grow
The nationalists need defenders, they don’t want the IRA to go

Chorus

******

“Free Occupied Ireland” based on “Still Occupied” by Razor’s Edge, original lyrics are here.

1. In late 1968 the civil rights movement in N. Ireland seemed very strong. They had had two major marches, one of which was attacked in such a way that it generated a lot of anger among Catholics. The Prime Minister had made some moves towards meeting some of their demands and he SEEMED to have the support of the Unionist grass roots in doing so.
2. The RUC were the police until late 2001. A “game changer” march in early 1969 was attacked directly and indirectly by the RUC and the B-Specials (a semi-military force that could be described as a cross between the State Patrol and the National Guard in American states). In Aug. of 1969 the RUC and loyalist mobs joined together and unleashed a couple days of anti-Catholic pogroms or attempted anti-Catholic pogroms in Belfast and Derry.
3. The march that was attacked on Bloody Sunday was a civil rights march. The initial response to the massacre was a flurry of demonstrations, but in general the civil rights movement kind of ended shortly after BS and the Provisional IRA’s campaign intensified and became the dominant response to unionism and imperialism.
4.  James Connolly was Ireland’s greatest republican-socialist, Collins was a major leader of the IRA during the war of Independence and has been credited with developing urban guerrilla warfare, and
5. Che is Che Guevara, who has been credited with developing rural guerrilla warfare.
6. “West Brit” has multiple meanings- indigenous/relatively indigenous Irish people sympathetic to the unionists/British in relation to Ireland, friendly to the British monarchy, hostile to Irish culture, friendly to British culture (that last one isn't necessarily so bad, in this poem it refers to the others, especially the support for unionism/the British in relation to Ireland).
7. Green Tories are basically centre-right nationalists (in the South that refers to a political instead of community identity).
8. Most of the time, in most parts of the North there was intense conflict between republicans and the Church.
9. The Stoops are the Social Democratic and Labour Party, Sinn Fein’s more moderate rival in the Nationalist community. For more on them see this.
10. In 1974 a brief power-sharing attempt to resolve the conflict was made. It was aimed partly at destroying the IRA politically. Among other problems, the first half of the Sunningdale period PSF was a banned party, and when that was fixed, the UVF (a loyalist paramilitary) was legalized for about 1.5 years.
11. In recent decades and I think in the 1970s as well, republicans have been very supportive of the Palestinians.
12. Lines that end with * are referring to just the IRA.
13. I ignored a non-rhyming line at the end of both verses of the original lyrics.
**14. 80% of this version is me, 20% is the original.
15. I give this poem three stars out of five.
16. Estates are basically neighborhoods.
17. UPDATE 7/8/17 Calling N. Ireland a dictatorship (before the GFA) isn't the most accurate thing you could say, and to a large degree fascists were not among the most immediate enemies of Catholics in N. Ireland- the British government and Unionists weren't fascist, it's just a statement against fascism and dictatorship.
18. Razor's Edge were British and supporters of the British and unionist causes in N. Ireland.

in ’68 the future looked so bright,
It seemed we were so close to getting our civil rights
But then the RUC and loyalist mobs invaded our estates
Because for our civil rights we dared to demonstrate
The civil rights movement was shot off the streets by the BA
And now we’re fighting in the spirit of Connolly, Collins, and Che *

Chorus
Still occupied, we're not free -
But we are definitely off our knees!
Still it’ll be hard, hard to defeat *
the crown forces patrolling on our streets! *

The Brit, west brit, and green tory propaganda begins
to the priests conducting mass our resistance is a sin. *
The stoops are trying Sunningdale, but it’s just one big mistake
And we are fighting on for Irish freedom, whatever it takes. *
We're against fascism and dictatorship
We’re for freedom and justice, in the North and in the Gaza Strip

The Final War Songs

(I have deleted a republican poem which has always annoyed me. It's a feminist-republican poem, hence the paragraph below about that sort of thing.

I've done six more songs. They're all "Those Lyrics" (explained here). They're all based on stuff by Final War and five of them are republican (who would have guessed that songs by a band called "Final War" could so easily be made into republican songs? (I tried taking Skrewdriver songs and turning them into songs about fixing stuff and it didn't work so well : ))). Since Final War is American, the republican ones all have something anti-right, left-wing, or anti-bigot. For why that's important, see this. I'm actually going to do a very brief post on something very similar shortly.

With the exception of "Mairead Farrell" I'm fairly-very happy with them, although I'm not sure I'm going to bother memorizing any of them (there's about 10 songs I've posted before this that I have not memorized and probably won't). I like the idea of "Mairead Farrell," but the quality just doesn't seem that good. On the other hand, I'm going to take this opportunity to do part of something I keep saying I'll do, which is address the issue(s) of women in Ireland. They're two videos on YouTube. One is here (unfortunately, they deleted the audio, the music is "I Am Woman" by Helen Reddy). The other one is here. There seems to be about 20 other YouTube videos that also celebrate the contribution made by women to Irish republicanism.

1. World Without the Right. A vision of a world without the political Right.
2. United Ireland. A vision of a United Ireland.
3. James Connolly. About the great Irish republican-socialist who practically led the 1916 Easter Rising.
4. Joe McCann's Song. About the Official IRA.
5. Ireland. Republican vision and struggle.

I think that's it. Below are the lyrics. The rest of the songs/poems can be found by clicking on the "lyrics" label (there are at least two pages worth of posts, so click on the "older posts" at the bottom of the first page).

"World Without The Right" based on "Land of The White" by Final War, original lyrics here.

1. As far as I can tell, this requries ZERO notes.
**2. 36% of this version is me, 64% is the original.
3. UPDATE 4/23/09 I CANNOT believe I missed this. In general, although I'm happiest when I DO chnage about 50% and it's a great song, I change as little as possible. Somehow I forgot what the original meant when it referred to "guilt." I'll come up with a substitute or maybe significantly change that line very soon, because I don't think it works well for this.
I just changed it, the first two lines of the last verse ("constructed"). It's still not perfect, but I think it's better than before.
4. I give this song/poem four out of five stars.
5. The 4th line of the second verse/chorus was apparently me adding a new line where there wasn't one.
6. To be both realistic and idealistic, the fight referred to would probably be about 95% non- violent.
7. UPDATE 2/4/11 I'm not sure about the 2nd line of what I think is the 2nd verse (pride). I don't know much about this subject, especially since this is meant to be more or less global. Is there a deficit of working-class pride today? That line implies that there is (I barely changed that line from the original). I wouldn't mind some feed-back on this, and for the forseeable future I'll just leave it the way it is.

I see a world, a world so fair
With oceans so blue and so clean the air
I see people with no financial stress
I see our class having more, not accepting less

This is our world, this world I see
This is our world so democratic, socialist and free
This is our world when we've won the fight
This is our world, a world without the Right

No capitalists in power with money to bribe
I see our class once again having their pride
I see our youth no longer going off to war
I see the bigots' lies being taught no more

I see the unions filled with pride in the struggle we conducted
I see workers now running the world that we constructed
I see a world united standing hand in hand
I see that we've finally realized our demands

****

"United Ireland" based on "Land of the White" by Final War, original lyrics here.

1. There was a potato blight, and a famine, in Ireland, but the percentage of the population that died or emigrated to avoid starving to death was so high (20-30%) because of British imperialism. The Catholic population was largely disempowered and mired in poverty as a result of being totally disempowered just about a generation earlier (that lasetd for about 125 years and ended about a generation before the famine), and crucially, food was being shipped out of Ireland to Britain while people were starving to death. (it would be more accurate to say something like "something close to genocide" but that's too long, and genocide is pretty accurate).
2. I'm not sure how often this happens, but I can easily think of at least 16 deaths (probably about 75 more) since 1968 caused by the security forces where they said that the victims, who were innocent civilians (in some cases, rocks or petrol bombs might have been thrown, but that doesn't justify killing them and the British often accuse people of doing that when they weren't) were not innocent (I'm compromising and only estimating somewhere around half the times when their very first response was to smear and then they backed off a day later, with that in mind, the number is probably around 100).
3. The cessation of teaching Orange lies is about getting the Protestants to understand that sectarianism is wrong, that Catholics have been seriously mis-treated (a minority (possibly a small majority) of Protestants, to one degree or another, already understand that).
**4. 44% of this version is me, 56% is the original (this is AFTER the edit I did with the 2nd line, 2nd verse).
5. Considering the source of the original, I should explain what is probably obvious, that Irish pride in Northern Ireland is rarely comparable to white pride. (I just heard something making me think that it's probably a small minority of northern nationalists that would talk about "Irish pride"; I still feel odd completely re-writing that line, so I'm going to keep it)
6. Basically from a republican perspective, but much of it would also be said by nationalists.
7. UPDATE 4/23/09 I CANNOT believe I missed this. In general, although I'm happiest when I DO chnage about 50% and it's a great song, I change as little as possible. Somehow I forgot what the original meant when it referred to "guilt." I'll come up with a substitute or maybe significantly change that line very soon, because I don't think it works well for this.
I just changed it, the first two lines of the last verse ("constructed"). It's still not perfect, but I think it's better than before.
8. UPDATE 4/29/09 I should have spent more time on this song. the line about accepting less seems to suggest that nationalists deserve more than unionists, in terms of jobs, etc. It's iffy if it does mean that and whether this update is worth it, and whether or not I'll change it (I hate changing lyrics after I publish), I might make a small change.
UPDATE 12/18/09 I'm still concerned that that line will be taken the wrong way, so I changed it (last line of the 1st verse).
9. I give this song/poem four out of five stars.
10. The 4th line of the second verse/chorus was apparently me adding a new line where there wasn't one.
11. UPDATE 2/4/11 There's a problem with the 2nd line of the what I think is the 2nd verse (pride). The problem is that as far as I can tell, there really isn't a problem with Irish pride being absent. I will change it soon.
UPDATE 3/3/11 I just changed that line. It now refers to the sectarian divide.
12. The original is American but this version involves a reference to multi-culturalism, which is important because of this.


I see a land, a land so fair
With oceans so blue and so clean the air
I see a land with socialist progress
I see the nationalists no longer being oppressed

This is our land, this land I see
This is our land so democratic, multi-cultural, and free
This is our land when we've won the fight
A land where genocide won't accompany the next blight

No Brits in power smearing those who have died
I see Irish people crossing the sectarian divide
I see our youth no longer volunteering for war
I see the Orange lies being taught no more

I see our people filled with pride in the struggle republicans conducted
I see workers now running the country that they constructed
I see Catholics and Protestants standing hand in hand
I see that we've finally taken back our land

*****

"James Connolly" based on "Tales of Honor" by Final War, original lyrics here.

1. James Connolly, Ireland's greatest Republican/Socialist, was the main leader of the 1916 Easter Rising.
2. He was Commandant of the Dublin forces, but it's been suggested that since some very large majority of the action took place in Dublin, he was by far the most senior military figure.
3. The ICA was the Irish Citizen Army, Connolly's trade-union based group, and the Volunteers were the moderate-conservative part.
4. If somehow the Rising had succeeded, Connolly's leadership might have resulted in Ireland becoming socialist.
5. "Tiocfaidh ar la" is a republican slogan coined by Bobby Sands, which means "our day will come."
6. Che refers to Che Guevara, Hani refers to Chris Hani, a leader of the African National Congress's military wing, Spear of the Nation.
7. Valhalla is part of Norse mythology, it's a place where warriors go after they die, although there seems to be some debate about exactly who gets in- only people who die in combat? Anyway, the fascists love it and have sort of taken over the concept, but a friend told me that he likes the idea of the left claiming it and specifically said that if such a place exists, Che and others like him are probably there. (Do I believe in Valhalla? You could say I’m sort of an agnostic on that question and am sort of solidly a Christian. The way I see it, this is pretty flexible, don't take it too seriously, and one way to think about it is that if you believe in Heaven and would rather these people went there instead of Valhalla, maybe they can do both, spend some time in Valhalla and some time in Heaven; but my friend and I do like the idea of reclaiming it from the fash)
8. UPDATE 5/11/12 I just replaced the word "Northern" with the word "orange," which makes  a lot more sense (it refers to the Orange Order, see this for what's wrong with them)
**9. 56% of this version is me, 44% is the original, and there were five lines that I had to delete since the subject of the original, Rudolf Hess, was imprisoned for decades, while Connolly was held for about 12 days.
10. I give this song/poem three out of five stars.
11. UPDATE 12/7/10 i just changed lie to reside, in the third line of the chorus.

He took to the streets in 1916
appointed Commandant of the forces of red and green
This is the story of James Connolly a brave and loyal man
he Gave his life for his beliefs because he loved his land
On that day of April, 24th in 1916
He led the Volunteers and the ICA, a united republican machine
Destination- Freedom and socialism, Ireland Red and unchained
But what was to unfold from this revolutionary campaign?

Chorus:
Tiocfaidh ar la- James Connolly, your legacy lives on
Your courage and your honour keeps us marching strong
Tiocfaidh ar la- James Connolly, with Che and Hani you reside
You live on in Valhalla, 'cause true heroes never die

Imprisoned, for his attempt at freedom
An attack on the British imperialist scum
Held as a prisoner for 12 days
Until May 12th when the priest asked him to pray
Connolly was guilty of fighting against the upper-classes
Sentenced to death for fighting for the Irish masses
Wounded and tied to a chair, the Brits shot this Irishman
His memory continues to haunt the Orange Ku Klux Klan

(Repeat Chorus)

Change:
You're gone but not forgotten,
You live in our hearts and minds
What you have done to free your people
Sends chills down my spine
Every year on the 12th we fly our flags up high
And salute in remembrance
A true martyr of that time

*****

"Joe McCann's Song" based on "Pride and Tradition" by Final War, original lyrics here.

1. This song is a rarity, there will probably never be another one like this again on this blog. As I was writing it, I got the idea that it would have to be about the Official IRA. I'm actually not so sure that's true- the debate is over how much of the Provisonal IRA (now known simply as the IRA) in the period 1970 until Jan. 1972 were involved in or at least supportive of the Civil Rights Movement. I've gotten the impression that during that period it was probably somewhere around half, whereas with the Official IRA, it was probably 100%, although the other part of this is what percentage of the OIRA were at least unenthusiastic about the cease-fire their leadership called in 1972 and how many looked to Seamus Costello as a leader. I think that might have been some sort of large majority for the former and some large minority for the latter. More of my thoughts on the Officials are found about half-way through this post (the paragraph starting "at this " and the one right below it) and my thoughts about Costello are here. This song is dedicated to those members of the OIRA who followed Seamus Costello in 1974 when he left to form the Republican Socialist Movement.
2. Joe McCann was a local leader in the Belfast OIRA. He was killed in 1972, before the cease-fire. When a plaque was unveiled in his memory in 1997, almost everyone from the republican family was there- Workers Party (Official Sinn Fein), Sinn Fein, the Irish Republican Socialist Party, a splinter from the Offfical RM. He was very popular.
3. Squaddies are British soldiers, peelers are police.
4. Members of the OIRA during that period were probably all involved in the first half of the Civil Rights era, and probably continued marching for civil rights, but starting sometime in 1970 the OIRA were attacking the security forces a lot. There was a period starting roughly in June 1970 and lasting until late Jan. 1972 when there was a lot of armed struggle at the same time that the mass struggle of the Civil Rights Movement continued.
5. "Oglaigh na hEireann" is the formal name of the IRA, and translates to "Irish Volunteers." There will be some debate about the OIRA calling themselves that, but with the period I'm looking at, I think it was only towards the end that membership in the Provisional IRA was equal to or greater than that of the OIRA, so it's fairly reasonable to say, adjusting for the fact that during that period I would have leaned a bit towards the PIRA, it seems like they had a fairly equal claim (you could argue the OIRA had a better claim during that period, but I don't really care much, what matters is that the PIRA was, during that period, closer to being right overall than the OIRA was, and with the cease-fire of 1972 and their attack on the Republican Socialist Movement in 1975, the OIRA totally discredited themselves and the PIRA at that point deserved the title "Oglaigh na hEireann" much more than the OIRA (with their actions against the RSM in 1975, they didn't deserve that title at all, especially since what remained after Costello's followers left could barely be called republican)
6. Considering the source of the original, I should explain what is probably obvious, that Irish pride rarely is comparable to white pride. (I just heard something making me think that it's probably a small minority of northern nationalists that would talk about "Irish pride"; I still feel odd completely re-writing that line, so I'm going to keep it)
7. The dictionary definition I found for "Tradition" wasn't quite what I thought and culture seems like it would be closer than tradition to including language. Also, some people will say that there's something wrong or even fash about restoring Gaelic culture. First, a large majority of republicans, and overwhelmingly Sinn Fein, make it clear that they believe in a multi-cultural Ireland and socially progressive politics (abortion is kind of an exception, but that's it). Especially when you consider that the British did try to end the Irish language, promoting it and Irish culture in general is a legitimate part of the anti-imperialist struggle.
8. I found something indicating that somewhere around 75% of republican paramilitaries are under 30 years of age.
9. The reference to saying good-bye means that the British should leave or they'll be attacked.
10. James Connolly was Ireland's greatest socialist/republican.
**11. 35% of this version is me, 65% is the original.
12. I give this song/poem four out of five stars.

We marched through the streets demanding our rights
Now we look for squaddies and peelers to fight
Respected members of the working class
We use armed struggle while the people march en masse
We're not doing this for profit or fame
We stand proud, Oglaigh na hEireann is our name
Fighting with honor is our number one task
Fighting for our future and restoring the past

Chorus:
Pride and Culture will see us through
Republican army the proud and the few
Pride and Culture will see us through
Rising above we're Ireland's youth

War is declared, no turning back
Like a pack of wolves we're on the attack
Our mission is clear, Our goals are set
Our enemies ain't seen nothin' yet
Dignity forever remained
Amongst the suffering and the pain
The new dawn is not far away
We follow Seamus Costello from Bray

Chorus

The fact is that we'll never die
A hand and hand culture and pride
A heritage so rich and proud
Brits out! We shout out loud
Stand against us or say good-bye
It's your choice, It's do or die
No holds barred, freedom is our goal
Connolly's vision we will uphold

****

"Ireland" based on "Race Land" by Final War, original lyrics are here.

1. White laces are worn by Nazi skinheads on their boots. It rhymed and although throughout Ireland there's probably no more than 35 Nazi skinheads, it's a good line.
2. The ten names are those of the men who died on hunger-strike in 1981.
3. This is not meant as an endorsement of armed struggle since the IRA cease-fire of 1997.
4. Considering the source of the original, I should explain what is probably obvious, that Irish pride in N. Ireland  rarely is comparable to white pride. (I just heard something making me think that it's probably a small minority of northern nationalists that would talk about "Irish pride"; I still feel odd completely re-writing that line, so I'm going to keep it)
**5. 33% of this version is me, 67% is the original.
6. I give this song/poem four out of five stars.
7. Basically about the IRA although the first line and the entire chorus could come from unarmed republicans and from nationalists.
8. UPDATED 2/8/16 Based on what might be called a fairly scientific look, only about .2% of the IRA's operations intentionally resulted in civilian death.

I dream of a nation, socialist, proud and free
I dream of a revolution, destined to be
I'm hated by the Brits, but still my honour holds true
‘Cause my dream is of victory and I'll fight
...'Till the battle is through

I'll fight with honour, I'll fight with pride
I'll fight with victory on my side
I'll fight with courage, I have no fear
I'll fight for the people I hold so dear
I'll fight for our children, I'll fight for our land
Hold my ground and I'll make a stand
I'll fight 'till the last, I'll fight 'till the end
I'll make my pledge, for my people, I'll defend

Chorus:
I dream of a revolution and a land of all races
Free from oppression and free of white laces
A land in which our flag flies high
A world in which our revolution could never die...
...A world in which our revolution could never die

I'll fight with rifles, mortars and all my skill
A heart of steel and an iron will
For Sands, Hughes, McCreesh, O'Hara, Doherty
McDonnell, Hurson, Lynch, Devine, and McElwee
I declare warfare on the British
Ireland united, that is my wish
Never surrender, Never retreat
The British will soon...Be beat!


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 (or if you don't like them, they were all written by Sarah Palin- that fascist, what kind of sick person enjoys altering racist lyrics?).