"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

Nazis Were and Are on the Right

There are a lot of people who believe that the Nazis were on the Left or that they were half on the Left and half on the Right. This is because the other way to refer to fascists is: “national socialist.” Here are some reasons why the Nazis were much more on the Right than on the Left:

* That Hitler guy was a total ass-hole- NO WAY was he on the Left : ).

(seriously though, here are some reasons)

* I can’t remember exactly what the details were, but Hitler’s regime had a mixed attitude towards capital- some good, some bad (for capital). I believe it was lower taxes on business, but more government intervention (overwhelmingly not for the workers or consumers or for other progressive goals, but for things like the re-arming of Germany). UPDATE 6/18/12 The Nazis also provided some companies with slave and/or conscripted labor.

A: One very good source says that Hjalmar Schacht, "was a staunch defender of capitalism." Although never a member of the Nazi Party, Hitler appointed him head of the Reichsbank in 1933. ++ p. 90

B: Hitler's first economic plan (the Reinhardt Plan) included tax breaks for businesses. ++ p. 91



* They simply got rid of the unions.

* They killed some communists and social-democrats and sent many to concentration camps.

* They elevated race and nation above class and tried to cover up class conflict without doing anything to erase or minimize income inequality.

A: In power the Nazis destroyed the trade-unions on May 2nd 1933. They were replaced by a Nazi employee organization which by the Fall of 1933 included “all working people regardless of economic or social position” including employers. It did two things which were sort of pro-worker: A) they improved some of the conditions that workers labored under- this included things like the playing of music, plants, good lighting, etc.; and B) made it easier for workers to go on relatively cheap vacations or attend concerts, etc.. ++ pp. 96-97
(But, it didn’t do anything to empower workers in labor conflict and did very little or nothing to narrow the financial gap between rich and poor)

* Probably the most important thing is to look at who allowed the Nazis into government. They were centrists and mostly conservatives (i.e. President Paul von Hinderburg). Even after Hitler created a dictatorship, many such politicians continued to be part of Hitler’s government.

* They got a lot of financial support from very successful, mainstream businessmen, especially in the last 2-3 years before they took power.

* A major leader of the Nazi’s left-wing, Otto Strasser left the party in 1930. His brother, Gregor, who had similar beliefs and was also a major leader of the Nazi left, was killed by Hitler’s men in 1934.

*They supported the right-wing side in the Spanish Civil War.

* Today’s neo-Nazis generally place themselves on the Right and in conflict with the left. This is found in the lyrics of Nazi Skinhead bands, and while they occasionally say something anti-capitalist, they much more frequently make anti-communist and anti-Left statements and pro-Right statements. American white supremacists spend much more time trying to work within the GOP than they do trying to work within the Democratic Party.


++ Jackson J. Spielvogel Hitler and Nazi Germany: A History Prentice Hall, 1996


In a blog discussion here another poster named "Ian" added three more facts:

* “They were ferociously anti-gay, imprisoning and killing thousands of gay men.”

* “They reintroduced Christian prayer into schools.”

* “They were anti-abortion, at least when it came to gentile Germans.”


UPDATE 8/9/12 The Southern Poverty Law Center published a good article about this, here.

Fun with Nazi lyrics

UPDATE 8/19/12 The intro for this post has just been re-done, primarily to shorten it.

I do a kind of poetry on this blog. I take the lyrics of songs I listen to and alter them in different ways. On average about 60% of the syllables in my version are mine, 40% are from the original (that was updated 3/28/20). One of the two main ways I alter the lyrics is that I take lyrics about N. Ireland and make them about general liberal-left stuff, or vice versa. The other way is to take lyrics that are politically offensive to me and twist them into more or less the opposite of what they were originally (i.e. I took a song called “Oh no Here Comes a Commie" and made it “Oh no, Here Comes a Fascist”) (those poems also often involve a change of subject as well, and there's a small number of poems that contain only a small amount of material in conflict with what the original authors believe, but at the very least there's that). Almost all of the offensive lyrics that I alter are from Nazi skinhead bands.

I can't remember exactly how it started, but I decided that I like taking the lyrics of racist songs and twisting them into more or less the opposite of what the original said. I like the idea of taking their songs and throwing them back in their face, saying "look what I did, I took your lyrics and twisted them into the exact opposite of what you intended, you racist mother-fucker!” I imagine them reading my poem and recognizing some of the lines and getting pissed off about that in connection with what AT LEAST one line that I put there says (or a word in a line, etc.). Another way of looking at it is that it's like in those cartoons where Elmer Fudd points a gun at Bugs Bunny and Bugs bends it so that the gun is pointed at Fudd. Also, sometimes it's entertaining to read the original lyrics and then read my poem, at least when my version says the opposite of what the original says. I have also frequently done poems based on lyrics I like. (I have often referred to the poems based on offensive stuff as “Those Lyrics”). Almost all the time when I'm twisting offensive lyrics, I more or less change only what has to be changed- if it's completely different from the original, that kind of defeats the idea, although it could still be a good poem. I have also started twisting loyalist lyrics like I twist the racist stuff.

I do these poems because writing them is a fun, creative process, I get to express myself and explains stuff, especially through the notes, and some are really good.

A lot of the poems about N. Ireland are based on lyrics by people who more or less support(ed) the British and/or unionist causes in N. Ireland. With the rest of the N. Ireland poems based on racist stuff from other  countries with a significant chunk of the Irish diaspora, I have included at least one bit of something hostile to white supremacists (See this for more about that). Some of the former bands are Skrewdriver, No Remorse, and Brutal Attack. Some of the latter bands are Final War, Bound for Glory, and Bully Boys. Some poems are based on Nazi Skinhead stuff from other countries like Belgium. Without a lot of Irish-Belgians around talking about "the Cause" I think they probably just go with what their hero Ian Stuart of Skewdriver said about the North.

I have done my best and last calculation of how much of the lyrics are me and how much are the original. I counted all the sylables, and then the sylables of the words I put in the poem and came up with what % of the lyrics are me. ** marks this last, best, and final calculation.

Although this probably goes without saying, I am never or practically never referring to me when I use the first person. You might say the poems are about actual people who are not Tom Shelley or characters or something like that. I was not interested in changing all the first person statements, but I am no Walter Mitty!

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


Why do I listen to that kind of music? (between late 2008 and mid-2018, I’ve spent an average of about 1 hr. a day listening to music by Nazi Skinheads (probably an average of about 5 hours a day listening to more or less anti-racist or neutral music):
1. I’ve always been interested in skinheads and very much opposed to Nazi Skinheads. In general, there’s something about listening to the music of my enemy that I find fascinating.
2. Although I don’t have to listen to study the lyrics, that is part of why I listen. It’s kind of research. Same for the fan-vids I downloaded from YouTube that have a lot of imagery.
3. The ones I listen to are MUSICALLY good- I like the sound.
4. These "poems" I write (and inspiration often strikes when I'm listening, so I kind of DO need to listen for this reason).

Some other things about me listening to that music:

1. I listen to a small amount of N. Ireland loyalist (anti-Catholic/anti-Irish) music and several of the Nazi songs I listen to have the same message (I’m Irish-American and Catholic).
2. I have heard of other people doing something similar.
3. From about 1989 til 2009 about 70% of the FICTION that I read was by people like Tom Clancy and Stephen Coonts, people who are very close to the political center, and yet half that time I was doing a ton of left-wing activism (the rest of the time I was doing almost nothing political).
4. I have done a ton of activism on anti-racist and/or anti-homophobic issues and did a pretty good job of organizing that way on other issues. This blog has a ton of material that’s anti-racist, anti-homophobic and even more material that is against anti-semitism. 

 

UPDATE 1/21/19 I am leaving the above 2 sections because I DID for about 10 years listen to that music, but I also need to announce that I stopped listening to it recently. I learned recently the hard way that listening to it when I'm already depressed just makes my depression worse, and I also worry that anti-racist people will attack me over listening to that stuff. On the other hand, the last thing I'm going to do is delete my poetry from this blog. To one degree or another it's really good.

Why do I provide a link to the original lyrics even when they are offensive fascist or loyalist stuff?

1. I probably have nothing to worry about, but I DO worry about getting sued or legally harassed by the authors of the original lyrics, who despise me. I think that linking to the original lyrics might make it less likely that sort of attack on me would work.
2. I would say something similar about being criticized for stealing from artists without giving them credit.
3. Some of the best lines in my poems are unaltered from the original and I believe strongly in giving credit it when it’s due.
4. When less than about 50% of my poem is me and at least 51% of it is the original and my poem is saying the opposite of what the original was saying, sometimes it’s kind of amusing to read the original and then read my poem.
5. Sometimes the best lines were mostly or entirely written by me and I want people to know which amazing lines were written by me.

That's about it. Here are the poems- with some notes, which are probably more or less needed.

1. Costello's Song. Irish politics.
2. Red Power. American politics.
3. The Spirit of Che Guevara. Global resistance to oppression.
4. Fuck Orangeism. Anti-Sectarian Protestants in N. Ireland.

Costello's Song

Based on "White Power" by Skrewdriver, original lyrics are here.

1. Seamus Costello was a socialist republican leader in the 1970s, for more see the post below this.
2. FF and FG are Fianna Fail and Fine Gael, the two largest parties in the Republic, more or less centrist/centre-right.
3. The divison of Ireland and the sectarianism that goes with it weaken various liberal, left, progressive, and working-class movements, and therefore are part of the socio-economic problem; also, the two main unionist parties are basically centre-right, and Blair's economic policies have not helped the North.
4. "just sit and scoff" I'm exaggerating how little was done to stop it, buit 90% of the time, unless I have a good reason, I don't like to alter the lyrics unless neccessary (i.e. Red instead of White). Same thing with the line about corruption. Also, on a related note, it now exaggerates how little was done to stop the growth of corporate power- it might also exaggerate how powerful corporations in Ireland have become.
5. Aside from a huge chunk the loyalist paramilitaries, there aren't many fascists in Ireland (although, there's a large number in Britain and they often visit N. Ireland), and I don't advocate killing them, but I didn't have a good reason for changing that line any more than I did.
6. The line that ends with "begun," might not be the Queen's English, but I'm an Irish Republican, so fuck the Queen (seriously, though, it rhymes).
7. The North is a lot less Orange today than it used to be, but aside from uniting Ireland, there's still room for improvement on that front.
8. Ian Paisley was a notorious anti-Catholic bigot most of his life.
9. In my songs, I use the word "fascist" to refer to more than just Nazis, but also as a statement against bigotry (that doesn't mean I advocsate killing them, but in these first two poems using the word "fascist" is meant to bring up the subject of bigotry, something otherwise absent from the poem).
10. UPDATE Both Red Power and Costello's Song have a line about corporations taking over, and the second half of that line is different for each song. I'm switching them- the slam dance analogy makes more sense in the American context.
**11. 35% of this version is me, 65% is the original.
12. I give this song/poem four out of five stars.
13. Orange is the color of anti-Catholic bigotry in N. Ireland.
14. It's about republican socialists in general. I don't think Costello advocated the violent overthrow of the Dublin State. In any case this poem isn't advocating that. and today probably only a very small minority of republican socialists advocate that.

I stand and watch my country, going down the drain
The Brits and unionists, FF and FG, they are all to blame
The corporations have taken over, we just let them advance
But if we remember Seamus, we still have a chance

Red Power
For Ireland
Red Power
Today
Red Power
For the world
Before it gets too late

Well we've seen a lot of privitisation, we just sit and scoff
We've seen a lot of corruption, and the judges let 'em off

We've got to do something, to try and stop the rot
And the fascists that abuse us, they should all be shot

Are we going to finish what Seamus begun?
Have they got the Republican Left on the run?
Orange society is a mess
We ain't gonna take much more of this

What do we need?

Red Power
For Ireland
Red Power
Today
Red Power
For the world
Before it gets too late

Well, if we don't win our battle, and all does not go well
It's Apocalypse for Ireland and we'll see Ian Paisley in hell

********

Red Power

Based on "White Power" by Skrewdriver, original lyrics are here.

1. I exaggerate how little was done to stop the growth of corporate power and privitisation, but crucial parts of those lines are in the original.
2. "fascists" I don't advocate killing them (and with some exceptions I don't believe they should be shot either), but the vast majority of the time, unless I have a good reason, I don't like to alter the lyrics unless neccessary (i.e. Red instead of White).
3. I slightly exaggerate how bad things are for the poor and how judges treat corruption.
4. Obviously no one's being drafted, but it could happen, it's even slightly possible with Obama, and just recently it was very possible.
5. Obama, who is slightly to the left of the Clintonites, is probably going to disapoint, but A: he's probably still better than McCain (especially considering Palin), and B: overwhelmingly the current situation can be blamed on the two groups mentioned.
6. In my songs, I use the word "fascist" to refer to more than just Nazis, but also as a statement against bigotry.
7. UPDATE Both Red Power and Costello's Song have a line about corporations taking over, and the second half of that line is different for each song. I'm switching them- the slam dance analogy makes more sense in the American context.
8. "Slam dance." Probably something like 2/3 of concerts, slam dancing/moshing is the exact opposite of what I'm talking about. But "slam dance" rhymes and mostly makes sense. (of course it's been about 13 years now, but I doubt it's changed)
**9. 34% of this version is me, 66% is the original.
10. I give this song/poem four out of five stars.
11. Obviously corporations have been dominant in America for many decades, but in the last 20 or so years it's gotten worse- i.e. privatization.
12. This is about combating injustice in different ways and what I have in mind overall would be about 99% non-violent.

I stand and watch my country, going down the drain
The Republicans and Clintonites, they are all to blame
The corporations have taken over, it's a social slam dance
We used to have the New Deal, now the poor don't have a chance

Red Power
For America
Red Power
Today
Red Power
For the world
Before it gets too late

Well we've seen a lot of privitisation, we just sit and scoff
We've seen a lot of corruption, and the judges let 'em off

We've got to do something, to try and stop the rot
And the fascists that abuse us, they should all be shot

Are we going to sit while they draft our sons?
Have they got the unions on the run?
Capitalist society is a mess
We ain't gonna take much more of this

What do we need?

Red Power
For America
Red Power
Today
Red Power
For the world
Before it gets too late

Well, if we don't win our battle, and all does not go well
It's Apocalypse for the world and we'll see George Bush in hell

******

The Spirit of Che Guevara

Based on "Soldier of Freedom" by Skrewdriver, original lyrics are here.

0. UPDATE 2/15/19  The line about heroes bleeding- I could have sworn it was a fairly or at least sort of common line when discussing martyrs, etc. of armed struggle. And after searching for that phrase just now, it seems like practically no one uses it the way I was using it. I might change it sometime soon.
1. I'll keep this brief, but I don't believe universally in seperatism. There has to be either serious oppression and/or something like 65% support for it among the relevant population, or some kind of combination (that applies to independence, I have slightly lower standards for autonomy) (besides what I mention below, I support the Basques, Turkey's kurds, iraq's kurds, possibly some others, and potentially many non-European-American nations inside the US (the main issue there is how much popular support there is for seperatism among that nation, also possibly all residents of the area that will become independent (if a situation roughly geographically similar to the Irish situtaion develops, I would look at it roughly the same way); I do not, at this point, support Scottish Independence (UPDATE 4/11/16 I do NOW since last years British election saw the Scottish Nationalists get 56 out of 59 seats in Scotland (in the previous British Parliament they had 6 out of 59 which is believe is very close to what they have gotten in recent decades)).
2. I don't know how sympathetic Cheney was to Apartheid, but I believe that he voted for a resolution labeling Nelson Mandela and/or the ANC as terrorists. (UPDATE 1/31/09: Although I wouldn't be surprised if he did exactly what I said he did, I have found two things about him I'm certain of, which are basically the same as that (including one vote against sanctions on S. Africa))
3. Although I'm not sure that line is worded the right way, the World Bank and IMF frequently do stuff that makes poverty worse despite popular support for progressive economics in countries that get involved with the World Bank. In South Africa for example, one or both institutions thwarted the ANC government from advancing the economic policies they had campaigned on at the end of Apartheid (I'm not sure to what degree some of the people in the ANC had to be dragged into implementing WB's preferred policies, but the fact is that that kind of aid from international institutions shouldn't be used to discourage democratically elected governments from implementing the progressive economics they said they would when campaigning for office).
4. The last line is adopted from my favorite song, "Your Daughters and Your Sons." The lyrics are here.
5. Belfast is the capital of Northern Ireland.
6. Spain refers to the Spanish Civil War, which was won by the fascist side, which was followed by a fascist takeover of most of Europe.
7. S. Africa refers to the anti-Apartheid struggle.
8. The couplet that mentions Little Bighorn is referring to conflict between America settlers and the US Army on one hand, and Native Americans on the other. The tentacles part is about how after that battle, the westward settlement of the US continued.
9. The Warsaw Ghetto during World War II saw a rebellion by the Jewish occupants.
10. West Bank refers to the Palestinian struggle.
11. East Timor experienced a genocidal occupation by Indonesia until 1999.
**12. 48% of this version is me, 52% is the original, which doesn't count eliminating the 3-line chorus but does count adding two completely new lines at the very end.
13. I give this song/poem five out of five stars.
14. The reference to class pride is about WORKING-CLASS pride, and is not the best line I've done, (because most of the conflicts in this poem are more about national/religious/racial oppression than they are about class oppression) but it's okay.
15. UPDATE 7/9/12 This is not exclusively about armed struggle.
16. UPDATE 6/19/16 I changed WIN to SURVIVE in the 2nd line of the 3rd verse.

I don't fight for money, the whole world is my land
I'm fighting for freedom, I know where I stand
I fight for the nations, that haven't yet died
I fight to stop Imperialism, creating global class pride

I fought in Belfast, where the heroes bled
I fought in Spain, but the Brown disease, it spread
I fought in South Africa, against Dick Cheney's pets
Now I see democracy undermined by World Bank debt

I fought at Little Big Horn, but the tentacles spread
We are determined to survive, we will plow on ahead
I fought in the Warsaw Ghetto and the West Bank
With our rifles and petrol bombs we took on their tanks

We won in East Timor, against mass slaughters
It'll happen again, because you sow the seed of freedom in your sons and your daughters

*****

This one is actually not based on a racist song, it's a N. Ireland version of my favorite anti-fascist song. Considering the source of the original (white British people) and the lyrics, it's mostly aimed at celebrating Protestants who are anti-sectarian, or even better, republican. The original is called "Fuck Fascism" by The Oppressed. I guess I call it "Fuck Orangeism," (Orange is the color of anti-Catholic bigotry in N. Ireland) although I don't change all the key lyrics since there are obviously racists and fascists there (and the vast majority of them are associated with the Unionist/Loyalist side). It's about a mixture of violence and, mostly, non-violence.

**10% of this version is me, 90% is the original.

I give this song/poem four out of five stars.

The web-site of The Oppressed has shut down and I can't find the lyrics on-line except for a long discussion, so I'll just post them below the altered version. UPDATE 3/9/20 I decided that I like this poem more than I used to, but I also decided that a few more words need to be changed- it was written in 2008 and talks about an Orange State as if there wasn't one at that time, and there kind of WAS- I guess you could say that now, in 2020 it makes more sense since it isn't Orange at all today.

"Fuck Orangeism"
You don't understand us, we're nobody's fool
We know there's no freedom, under Orange rule
You'll never oppress us, you'll never dictate
Don't you see, we don't need, your sectarian hate

FASCISM, FASCISM, FUCK YOU AND YOUR FASCISM
FASCISM, FASCISM, FUCK YOU AND YOUR FASCISM

We'll NEVER surrender, we'll NEVER give in
We will NEVER turn our backs or let the sectarians win
So, don't try and tell us, about your Orange state
Don't you see, we don't need, your racial hate


"Fuck Fascism"
You don't understand us, we're nobody's foll,
We know there's no freedom, under fascist rule,
You'll never oppress us, you'll never dictate
Don't you see, we don't need, your racial hate

CHORUS:FASCISM,FASCISM,FUCK YOU AND YOUR FASCISM

We'll never surrender, we'll never give in,
we will never turn our backs, or let the racists win,
So don't try and tell us about your fascist state,
Don't you see, we don't need, your racial hate


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?).