Three New Poems

Three new poems. For more about how I write my poems, see this. To read the rest of the poems click on the lyrics label at the bottom.

1. Bush is a Fool. About the Iraq War.
2. Remember Bobby Sands. About the IRA Hunger-Striker.
3. Smash Internment. About the internment of Japanese and Japanese-Americans during WWII in America.

“Bush is a Fool” based on “Fools No More” by Skrewdriver. Original lyrics are here.

1. This is about the Iraq War.
2. An Improvised Explosive Device was the US military term for bombs.
3. I don’t think that Bush was honest about some of his many reasons for invading Iraq, and wasn’t honest about other things like Enron. His reasons for invading Iraq I described elsewhere in posts about anti-Semitism:

Bush's reasons for invading Iraq were many, Israel was a small part of it. There was the opportunity to give lots of money to corporations in multiple ways, the strong desire for using the US military that most GOPers have, the desire to teach the world a lesson in terms of what the US will do to them if they piss off D.C., the desire for oil, the idea of democratizing the Middle-East. I also heard something about it being connected to countering the growing strength of the Euro. It's possible they half believed that stuff about WMDs and Al-Qaeda. Israel was a small part of it.

4. This is not ABOUT the Iraq Veterans Against the War (now, About Face) and hasn’t been endorsed by them.
5. Tens or hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians were killed and I’m sure many of them were killed when weapons were aimed at them and triggers were pulled. See the last part of a music video for a David Rovics song here.
6. My theory is that the average member of the military was less enthusiastic about the invasion of Iraq than the vast majority of GOPers.
7. Although Bush was less racist as President than Trump is, he DID express support for displaying the Confederate flag and the vast majority of his supporters are okay with that flag. Even the late GOP moderate John McCain in 2000 said he was okay with it.
8. I think one reason for invading Iraq is that it provided multiple opportunities to give money to corporations. Besides arms contractors and those doing privatized work for the military, corporations getting money for reconstruction spent about half of what they got doing actual reconstruction (often a contractor would keep half and give the rest to a subcontractor and sometimes THAT corporation would keep half and give the rest to another subcontractor).
9. Although only about 5,000 soldiers and marines were killed, because they had advanced body armor (despite Donald Rumsfeld’s best efforts) I’m sure that the wounded were in the tens of thousands.

10. I don’t care if the term MASH (a term for a kind of Army hospital in the Korean War) is technically inaccurate when it comes to the Iraq War, it rhymes.
11. I imagine that soldiers and marines who opposed the war were called hippies and were spoken to as if they didn’t have substantive and non-pacifist concerns about what was being done in Iraq.
12. In a post here I describe what I did to oppose the invasion.
13. Although some white supremacists are anti-intervention, A) they’re fine with racial homicide, and B) in the Iraq War it was reported by the Southern Poverty Law Center that a LOT of Nazis joined the military hoping to get combat experience in Iraq.
13. **46% of this poem is me, 54% is the original.
14. UPDATE 5/17/20 I just changed "your" to "America's" in the 7th line of the first verse. I could argue that the way it was written originally should have been interpreted as referring to the Bush Administration, but this makes it clearer. UPDATE 5/27/20 "May not be" almost works but I just changed it to "aren't."

Patrolling in the streets, choppers in the sky.
You’re waiting for the IED, you’re waiting to die.
You’re looking all around, with fear in your eyes,
Looking for the enemy and you start to wonder why.
Obey all your orders, and you do what they say,
but you’re a pawn in Bush's imperialistic game.
And America's leaders aren't all that they seem
Your bravery’s exploited by a crooked regime.

Chorus
Be the fools no more.
Contact the IVAW and find out the score.

Thousands of men and women are dying because of Bush’s plans,
And it’s not for the good of the American working-woman or man
They’re dying for profit and political greed,
but it’s always the soldiers not the politicians who bleed.
With few exceptions most of the GOP are total scum
who lie to the people whilst they beat on their drums
and they plead to the people to heed national pride,
But their idea of patriotism involves anti-Arab homicide

Chorus

It’s rarely been those with the flags in their hands
who have fought and have died out in the hot dessert sand.
While the leaders stay home with their massive cigars
They’re supported by those who fly the Stars and Bars
They take all the credit, and their pals take all the cash
whilst tens of thousands of working-class soldiers end up in a MASH
And if you dare to object and ask them to cease,
you’ll be accused of valuing nothing but peace

*********

“Remember Bobby Sands” based on “Farewell Ian Stuart” by No Remorse. Original lyrics are here.

1. This is about Bobby Sands, the first of 10 Irish republican hunger-strikers to die in 1981. They were demanding to be treated as Prisoners of War instead of criminals. There’s more about that here, here, and in the middle third of this.
2. The red, white and blue are the colors of the British flag.
3. Volunteers are members of republican paramilitaries.
4. In addition to the ten who died, there were 13 more who went on hunger-strike before it was called off, and/or their relative had them taken off medically.
5. David Rovics is a progressive American singer/song-writer who has done at least two songs about Irish resistance to British rule.
6. Provos is an old term for Sinn Fein and the IRA.
7. Che is Che Guevara, Mandela is of course Nelson Mandela, and Connolly is James Connolly, Ireland’s greatest republican-socialist (a large train station in Dublin is named after him).
8. 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).
9. An ASU is an Active Service Unit, a component of the IRA’s structure, probably comparable to a squad. I don’t know if he was a leader of one, but if he was the POWs leader in the few months before he went on hunger-strike, he was probably a leader outside prison as well, and I am trying to get an answer from the Bobby Sands Trust, but I don’t know when they’ll get back to me.
10. An estate is a neighborhood.
11. Sands was a singer/song-writer and guitarist.
12. Sands wrote a poem about oppression throughout the world and throughout history, including one reference to what was done to American Indians.
13. The Catholic Church considered involvement with the IRA to be a sin.
14. I decided at some point to refer to Sands in the third person because I didn’t know him, and I have mixed feelings about how I should refer him to (2nd or 3rd) so it’s a little uneven in that sense, but I’m just going to leave it like that.
15. Based on a fairly scientific approach, I have estimated that only .3% of the IRA’s operations resulted in civilian death.
16. **54% of this poem is me, 46% is the original, and that ignore the last two lines that I left out entirely.
17. No Remorse were British and supported the unionist and British causes in N. Ireland.

Bobby Sands, your comrades really miss you

You gave your life in defiance of the red, white and blue

You were a Volunteer, a hero, an inspiration to them all

there were dozens of men, that heeded to your call

Nine resisted by your example, and took that short hard road

Unmatched in dedication, and hearts that knew no cold


When you took on the system, you set it on fire

By attacking the Brits you turned the North into a quagmire

So with David Rovics in ears and the Provos in mind, this poem I'll write

To honor Bobby Sands, and remember the anti-British fight


Sands is missed by comrades, and remembered by friends

He did the best, he shone above the rest

He was an Irishman 'till the end

With Che and Mandela and Connolly he resides

He lives on in Valhalla because true heroes never die


His ASU, said “we look to you,” to lead them and defend the estate

His republican songs, could never be wrong

He spent years in prison because he fought to liberate

Through all the years, with all the Provo Volunteers

And the comrades he met on the way

The times in the cell, when they gave him hell

From the course never did he stray

Against the police and the Brits, with his index finger and wits

he stood up for the oppressed of the world

on the offensive and defensive,

So proudly the flags he unfurled


And they carried on, with the hope in his songs
To turn back would have been the real sin

Inspired by him they fought, when arrested they never talked

Because of his sacrifice they knew they would win


The POWs said farewell to a comrade, one who wouldn’t bend

He did the best, he shone above the rest

He was an Irishman 'till the end

Bobby Sands was a man they held so high
He lives on in Valhalla because true heroes never die

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

“Smash Internment” based on “Smash the IRA” by Skrewdriver. Original lyrics are here.

1. This is about the WWII Internment of Japanese people in America, which included many American citizens. It's written from the perspective of a non-Japanese American in about early 1944. I'm not sure when the fighting was in Italy and when the internment camps were closed, but there must have been several months when there was fighting in Italy and the camps were open.
2. The 3rd line might sound a little weird, but it rhymed and makes sense and although they contributed in many ways (as workers for example), they also made our society richer culturally.
3. Although unemployment was above zero (so there wasn’t a shortage of workers) I’m sure that many of those interned would have been, for example, better on airplane assembly lines than some of the non-Japanese-Americans doing that job. In general, some should have been kept out of the Defense industry, but there should have been an assumption of innocence until they were proven to be sympathetic to Japan. If that were done with high standards in the the following cases, the US could have recruited many more native or at least fluent Japanese speakers for things like intelligence, interrogating prisoners, etc. I doubt they had 100% of the people they needed for that. And those that would have been kept out of certain jobs could have been surveilled and those who were serious security risks could have been interned like a handful of Germans and Italians were with good reason. But the indiscriminate wholesale internment of Japanese and Japanese-American people was very wrong and counter-productive.
4. Those who advocated for internment were in conflict with, for example, the FBI who said they had the situation under control and that internment wasn’t needed. I think the military also didn’t request internment. Also, in Hawaii, where there was a small but actual threat of a Japanese attack, hardly any  members of the Japanese community were interned, because if they had been interned wholesale, the economy and society of those islands would have collapsed. The Japanese community wasn’t, with some exceptions, a threat to the security of the US.
5. The 442nd Regimental Combat Team was a segregated Japanese-American unit of the US Army. I think some of the officers were white but I think a lot of them were Japanese-American. They fought in Europe and saw more combat than any other similarly sized unit of the US Army in Europe during the war. After the war, it was the most decorated Army unit its size in all US military history up to that point. There’s more information about them and a poem I wrote here.     
6. My thoughts about FDR are found in note #2 of the first poem here, in a post with two poems about the Allied effort during WWII, something I have positive thoughts about. My posts that are partly about WWII are here.
7. Although the original lyrics are about the IRA, Skrewdriver was a Nazi skinhead band. So, this version is in conflict with what the authors of the original lyrics believe.
8. **80% of this poem is me, which ignores the last line of the chorus, which I ignored. Also, in the last verse, I switched the first two lines with the last two lines and remembered that when calculating what % is me.

On the West Coast, because of America’s racist syndrome
Japanese people were taken away from their homes.
They contribute to our nation and society beautifully
Gotta stand with them, support the Japanese community

Smash. Smash. Smash Internment.
Smash. Smash. Smash Internment.
Smash. Smash. Smash Internment.

Gotta end internment and release the Japanese
Let them help our nation defeat the Axis disease
Stupid politicians and sniveling racist scum
Justify Internment with bullshit analyses
 

Come on America!

Are we gonna continue disgracing our country?
Are we gonna listen to racists spreading nativist lies?
Japanese-Americans in the 442nd are marching on the Axis in Italy.
Are we gonna intern their families while they fight and die?
 

Come on America!

Jewish Skinhead Army: A New Poem

Here's a new poem. For various reasons I'm doing it now instead of waiting for 2 more to be ready. You can read about how I write my poems here. This one is about anti-racist skinheads and general notes for that kind of poem are here.

You can find all the other lyrics by clicking on the "lyrics" label at the bottom. The other SHARP/RASH poems are here.

 “Jewish Skinhead Army” based on “European Skinhead Army” by No Remorse. Original lyrics are here.

1. This is about Jewish-American skinheads. I’m not sure how many of them are members of anti-racist skinhead crews (a skinhead gang but, with non-Nazi skinheads, it doesn’t mean what you think), but I’m sure some of them are.
2. The first 1/3 of a post here is relevant to this.
3. The Nuremberg Laws stripped Jews in Nazi Germany of their citizenship and contributed to the creation of a kind of Apartheid for German Jews.
4. Normally I wouldn’t encourage White people to brag about being white, but Nazis don’t think that Jews are White like, for example, Irish-Americans are (of course there are Jewish Irish-Americans).
5. “Bourgeoisie” is a term for the upper-class. Anti-racist skinheads are overwhelmingly working-class and proud of it. Very few are socialists or anarchists, but some are and I’M writing the poem (if that implies I’m a skinhead, I’m not).
6. “Sunwheel banner” is a term for the Swastika.
7. ZOB is the Polish acronym for the Jewish Combat Organization, the group that carried out the rebellion in the Warsaw Ghetto during WWII.
8. Bonehead is an anti-racist term for Nazi skinhead.
9. In the movie “Uprising” a member of the ZOB dressed in a German Army uniform jokingly says “Heil Shitler!”
10. 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).
11. Oi! is music that most skinheads (and some other fans of what you might call the kind of music that inspires moshing) listen to. I’m not sure how to describe it musically, although it resembles punk. I think it’s sort of defined by lyrics about violence and the working-class and being skinheads and the hair cut of most people in Oi! bands.
12. Hallah is a kind of Jewish bread.
13. **65% of this poem is me and 35% is the original.

On the Nazi boneheads we’re gonna go medieval
We're shaving our heads because it's good against evil
We've got the music, we've got the bands,
We never lose, we play the winning hand

Chorus:
Jewish Skinhead Army,
We stand together in the anti-fascist cause,
Jewish Skinhead Army,
We smash those who admire the Nuremberg Laws

We're on the streets, every night,
We’re of the working-class and we’re also White,
Smash the bourgeoisie, socialize their manors!
We raise our middle fingers to the sunwheel banner

We remember the ZOB, and fuck Shitler,
the Nazi bonehead is a class traitor,
If we fall in battle and go to Valhalla,
We’ll listen to oi! and eat some Hallah

Irish Unity: Three New Poems

Three more poems. For info about how I write my poems, see this. 2-3 of these poems are based on lyrics I find offensive, see the next paragraph. The last poem is about anti-racist skinheads. There are notes for those poems in general here.

I have until recently been very unsure about whether or not “Sweet Home Alabama” is a racist song. But, if wikipedia is not totally full of shite, I lean very heavily towards saying that it’s racist. That’s based partly on the song’s wikipedia page. I looked at the interview with the back-up singer, and I looked at the page with the statement by Ed King. Also, although Neil Young says they were right to be angry about his song “Alabama,” “Sweet Home Alabama” refers to the Neil Young song “Southern Man,“ which he doesn’t apologize for and which is (lyrically) a fairly-very good anti-racist song. I also found an article in The Atlantic that  makes it pretty clear they were racists when the song was written (the confederate flag has always been a symbol of racism).

You can find the rest of the lyrics, about ten pages of them, here.

1. "General Maurice Rose" About the Allies in WWII and specifically about Jewish-American soldiers who fought Nazi Germany.
2. "The North." N. Ireland. (A BLACK AND GREEN POEM)
3. "Skinhead Unity." Anti-racist skinheads.

“General Maurice Rose” based on “European Skinhead Army” by No Remorse. Original lyrics are here.

1. This is a little complicated. It started out as a poem about the US Army IN GENERAL in the European part of WWII. But then I needed something that rhymed with “Valhalla” (see below) and I found a kind of Jewish bread. Then I remembered about General Maurice Rose (see below) and made it PARTLY about Jewish-American soldiers in that theater (it's not from General Rose's perspective, and I imagine a lot of Jewish-American veterans might not know what to think about the part about Odin, but I explain that below (for whatever it's worth, the reference to Odin was already there)).
2. A medical center in Denver is named after the late General Maurice Rose. On their site they say the following about a point in 1945:

“It was around this time that news broke that General Maurice Rose, a Denver son and the highest-ranking Jewish officer in the U.S. Army during World War II, had been killed in combat. Rose was known for his aggressive style of leadership, directing his units from the front rather than a rear command post. When he and his staff, surrounded by German troops, were attempting to surrender, a panicked young German tank soldier fired one shot to Rose’s head, killing him instantly. His death caused an uproar: demands were made by congressmen for an investigation, and it was front-page news. Suddenly, the committee knew they could achieve two goals—create the new Jewish hospital and memorialize a fallen Jewish hometown hero.”

3. The Waffen-SS was the tactically-elite military, as opposed to paramilitary, part of the ideologically-based SS.
3. The Rhineland was a strategically important part of western Germany with a lot of industry.
4. FDR was the President of the US during almost all of WWII, until he died about a month before Nazi Germany was defeated.
5. Nazis made Jews wear a yellow star armband.
6. Although it’s true that the WESTERN Allies rarely carried out night assaults A) The Soviets frequently did, B) it rhymes, and C) sometimes they DID- see this and this.
7. The Wehrmacht was the German military, although it’s unclear if the Waffen-SS was part off the Wehrmacht.
8. The “sunwheel banner” is a term for the Swastika flag.
9. Odin is the god of Valhalla. 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). I MADE A POINT OF REFERRING TO ALL U.S. SOLDIERS IN THAT THEATER NOT JUST THE JEWISH ONES, TO LESSEN THE DEGREE TO WHICH I AM SAYING THAT GENERAL ROSE (SPECIFCALLLY) WENT TO VALHALLA. (also I’ve done six other poems where I imply that people who don’t believe in Valhalla go there, and one of them was about Allied soldiers in the Western European theater (the other five references to Valhalla were largely but not exclusively about Irish Republicans)
10. After Germany was defeated, a process was started that resulted in a democracy being created in what would be West Germany. Although some would point out that it was done through military occupation and an effort called “de-Nazification”, I think the entrenched nature of Nazism in Germany meant that there was no other way to create a democracy there. If it weren’t for a lot of Allied soldiers, de-Nazification would have been impossible to enforce, and the German Army would have reconstituted itself.
11. The second to last line. It’s meant to refer to members of the Waffen-SS. They were responsible for massacres of civilians (even in the West), the execution (in ONE incident) of American POWs, and some of them were concentration camp guards. Such people, IF soldiers in general go to Valhalla (see above), don’t go to Valhalla, in my opinion.
12. Hallah is a kind of Jewish bread.
13. You have to emphasize the “er”s in “banner” and “shatter” to make them rhyme.
14. **73% of this poem is me, 27% is the original.

On the Waffen-SS, we’re gonna go medieval
The Allies have teamed up and it's good against evil,
We've got the tanks, we’re heading for the Rhineland
We won’t lose, we’ll play the winning hand

Chorus:
United States Army,
We fight together, commanded by FDR
United States Army,
We fight for the people who wear the yellow star

We're advancing day and night,
Behind the front our air support takes flight
Smash the Wehrmacht, make it shatter
We raise our middle fingers to the sunwheel banner

many U.S. soldiers will meet Odin, unlike Hitler,
After we take Berlin, a democracy we’ll configure
When we kill Nazis in battle, they won’t go to Valhalla
After the war, we’ll celebrate with some Hallah

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

“The North” based on “Sweet Home Alabama” by Lynyrd Skynyrd. Original lyrics are here.

1. See my thoughts above about whether or not the original is a racist song.
2. This is set around 1990.
3. I assume that BA units were flown into the North instead of traveling by sea.
4. “The Six” is short for the Six-Counties, a republican term for N. Ireland (I say “the Six” not because republicans say that (they don't) but because it rhymes).
5. In 1983 the very popular British Nazi skinhead band Skrewdriver did a song called “Smash the IRA” and I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of young, working-class, conservative and patriotic BA soldiers were fans. Skrewdriver’s vocalist and lyricist Ian Stuart Donaldosn started, in the late 1980s, a side project called The Klansmen, which was about the American South.
6. Margaret Thatcher’s constituency was Finchley.
7. “Tiocfaidh ar la” is a republican slogan coined by Bobby Sands and means “Our Day Will Come.”
8. There’s a theory, which must be embraced by N. Ireland anti-Catholic bigots, that Catholics aren’t real Christians.
9. Bangor is a medium-sized city (in the NI context, if Belfast is a large city, and Derry is also a medium-sized city) that’s almost entirely Unionist.
10. In my version the boos are coming from Nationalists and republicans.
11. The Provos is an earlier term for the movement made up of what we now call simply Sinn Fein and the IRA. I explain here how they had, 1981-1997 a comprehensive strategy for getting the British out and helping their community.
12. “The Falls Rd. Curfew” was a major turning point in the very first year of The Troubles. In Aug. 1969 there were massive anti-Catholic pogroms in Belfast which were destructively and lethally successful. Because of this, the British Army, who sort of saved the Catholics, was welcomed by a decreasing number of Catholics in the first several months after the BA came onto the streets of N. Ireland. On June 27th there was a major and partly armed, attack by loyalists on the isolated Catholic enclave of the Short Strand in East Belfast. The British Army wouldn’t help but about four members of the Provisional IRA successfully defended the area and killed five armed loyalists. 9 days earlier a British general election had been won by the Conservatives. The Unionists were furious about the PIRA action in the Short Strand and demanded action. The following is from the Conflict Archive on the InterNet:

********

Friday 3 July 1970
Falls Road Curfew
Beginning in the afternoon, the British Army carried out extensive house searches in the Falls Road area of Belfast for members of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and IRA arms. A military curfew was imposed on the area for a period of 34 hours with movement of people heavily restricted. The house searches lasted for two days and involved considerable destruction to many houses and their contents. During the searches the army uncovered a lot of illegal arms and explosives. However the manner in which the searches were conducted broke any remaining goodwill between the Catholic community and the British Army. During the period of the curfew there were gun battles between both wings of the IRA and the Army. Two people were killed by the British Army during the violence; one of them deliberately run over by an Army vehicle. Another person was shot and mortally wounded by the Army and died on 10 July 1970.

Saturday 4 July 1970
 The Falls Road curfew continued throughout the day. A man was killed by the British Army.

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

(I should clarify something- I don’t think there was any inter-republican fighting, but both the Provos and the Officials, separately, fought the British during the Curfew; also, although the official record doesn’t totally reflect this, a Polish-British photojournalist was killed by the BA, bringing the total to 4 civilians killed; one of the two local men shot was 62 years old)

13. The red, white, and blue are the colors of the British flag.
14. The Civil Rights Movement in N. Ireland in the late 1960s and the early 1970s was inspired by its counterpart in America, and at the very end, a delegation from the Southern Christian Leadership Conference attended the Bloody Sunday funerals.
15. **77% of this version is me, 23% is the original.

Jet turbines keep on turnin’
Carrying British soldiers to the Six
Singin' songs about the Southland
Occupying northeast Ireland because of Tory politics

Well I heard Mrs. Thatcher say the North is
as British as Finchley
Well, that’s nonsense and won’t stop us from
creating a border in the Irish sea

Chorus
Tiocfaidh ar la Derry
Where the skies are so blue
Tiocfaidh ar la West Belfast
Where Catholics believe in the Lord, too

In Bangor they love the Queen, (Boo! Boo! Boo!)
Now the Provos are doing all that they can do
The Falls Rd. Curfew angered me
An atrocity carried out under the red, white and blue

Now Southern Blacks had “We Shall Overcome”
And they overthrew segregation
They inspired us to march for our rights
And it turned into a struggle for liberation

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

“Skinhead Unity” based on “European Unity” by Brutal Attack. Original lyrics are here.

1. This is about anti-racist skinheads. Although there might not be any left in America, they used to exist, so I’m going to occasionally do poems about them.
2. I get the impression that when Nazi skinheads became part of the skinhead scene, non-racist and anti-racist skinheads initially didn’t do much to stop them.
3. D-Day was the Allied invasion of Europe during WWII.
4. Skinhead was started in connection with Jamaican immigrants in England. Nazi skinheads claim it isn’t true.
5. Most anti-racist skinheads are patriotic.
6. Anti-racist skinheads are frustrated by those skinheads who are more or less neutral.
7. Ska is a kind of Black music that a lot of non-racist and anti-racist skinheads (as well as others of course) listen to.
8. As far as I can tell in the 1980s and 1990s a LOT of anti-racist skinheads were homophobic, but I have reason to believe that, as homophobia became less common among youth in the last 20-30 years, it became less common among anti-racist skinheads.
9. Although anti-racist skinheads occasionally used guns, Nazis love guns. And there was a similar gap when it came to knives.
10. A mask is sometimes defined as a PROTECTIVE covering. So, they’re not hiding their reasons for being more or less neutral. I wouldn’t be surprised if they can’t handle the kind of beating that Nazis give anti-racists.
11. **50% of this is me, 50% is the original.
12. I just added "great" to the 4th line. It makes more sense, I forgot I'm not writing 10 years ago, when I wrote most of my poems.
13. Bonehead is an anti-racist term for Nazi skinhead.
14. UPDATE 4/14/20 I just changed "from" to "of" in the last line of the chorus.

You know our scene’s been taken over by fools
Mis-using their strength, inspired by the Nazi tools
Some of us are to blame for not stopping them right away
But now we’re fighting the fash like our great-grandfathers did on D-Day

Chorus
Skinhead unity
friendship, class pride, a diverse community
Skinhead unity
Our culture free of the Nazis

Our skinhead forefathers were Black English people you see
But that’s not what the boneheads would have you believe
So how come our scene’s been overrun?
By alien ideologies, the fascist atrocities, with the knife and the gun

So listen skinheads, listen very carefully
It’s time to wake up, time to make a stand you see
United we'll win, come here our call
If we stick together nothing’s gonna make us fall
It wont be easy it'll be a long hard task
And there are those fools who hide behind the neutrality mask
But we'll pull through, ‘cos ska wins in the end
To anti-Semitism and homophobia we will never bend

Irish Republican Army- Now in Poem Form!!

(the title is inspired by something on The Simpsons)

Below are four more poems. I explain my kind of poetry here. For the rest of the poems, click on the "lyrics" tag below, there's at least four pages of poems, so click on "older posts."

I think that's it.

“Flying Columns” based on “Pride of a Nation” by Skrewdriver. Original lyrics are here.

1. This is about the IRA’s 1950s Border Campaign. For more on that see this (this page has a lot of information that I would normally put in the notes).
2. I’ve read that another mistake they made was ignoring Belfast - that meant they were not much of a threat to the State (I’ve also read of two explanations for not carrying out operations there, but one doesn’t really make sense). And beyond what the article says, they also failed to mobilize popular support and mass struggle alongside the armed campaign.
3. The Provisionals were the republican movement known in recent decades simply as Sinn Fein and the IRA; they came into existence in late 1969/early1970.
4. **55% of this version is me, 45% is the original.
5. I give this poem four stars out of five.
6. I don’t know how close i am to being accurate about what Volunteers during this campaign were wearing.
7. Skrewdriver were British and supported the British and Unionist causes.
8. Definitely about the IRA.

They won support in the North before the battle began
The day is getting closer, and they’re perfecting their plan
As they march towards the battlefield, the enemy is near
The first fight is coming, and their committment is sincere

(chorus)
Pride of a nation, freedom's salvation
Pride of a nation, they fought for our liberation

A uniform of green, with the tri-color and black mask
Their honor was their dedication, to complete their Northern task
They fought against such massive odds, earning glory in the fields
And in ‘57 many in the South responded to the republican appeal

Chorus

When the offensive stalled, the campaign was going nowhere
They brought it to an end and admitted they were in error
The fire would be rekindled, the flames would fill the skies
Like a phoenix from the ashes, the Provisionals would arise

******

“Freedom Fighters” based on “We Fight for Freedom” by Skrewdriver, original lyrics are here.

1. The Provisionals is an earlier term for what we now call simply Sinn Fein and the IRA.
2. The tri-color is the Irish flag.
3. Volunteers are members of republican paramilitaries. The 3 rd line refers to a volley of shots fired at a funeral for a Volunteer.
4. The Starry Plough is the flag of socialist republicanism.
5. **46% of this version is me, 54% is the original.
6. I give this poem three stars out of five.
7. This is not meant as an endorsement of armed struggle since 1997.
8. About the IRA.
9. In the first verse, the first half and the second half are about different things.
10. Skrewdriver were British and supported the British and Unionist causes.

Out of the ashes, the Provisionals arose
They charge at the enemy, their courage overflows
Our tri-colors are flying, our rifles aimed at the sky
As we say farewell to a Volunteer who has died

(chorus)
We're fighting for freedom, our destiny hangs by a thread
We're fighting for freedom, the flag of our nation at our head
We're fighting for freedom, the land of our ancestors must be united
We're fighting for freedom, British imperialism will be smited

Our enemies ranks are a mixture of imperialists, and unionists
We’re radical republicans, ready to resist, with the raised fist
We fight for our people, we fight for a future of light
For the dark surrounds us, so we must win this fight

Heed the sounds of battle, the screams of the wounded are loud
The warriors stand and they fly the Starry Plough
We know that victory will soon be ours, as we gaze at the sight
The flags of our nation are raised in victorious flight

*******

“Irish Republican Army” based on “European Skinhead Army” by No Remorse, original lyrics are here.

1. This is set in 1971 when barricades were put up around some Nationalist areas to keep the security forces out.
2. Probably about half of nationalists supported armed struggle at that point, probably about half of those people were supporting the Provisional IRA (probably a large minority sort of supported the IRA- After what happened in Aug '69 they probably liked having an armed IRA around if needed).
4. Many, probably a large majority, of Unionists workers are, (at least) in the mid- and long terms, sabotaging themselves with their sectarianism. It weakens the labor movement and the left and is more or less responsible for the fact that workers in the North are poorer than workers in Britain. They benefit from sectarian discrimination in pay and employment but don’t see the large picture where uniting Ireland and thus undermining sectarianism will likely transform Ireland into a democratic socialist state with equality between Catholics and Protestants. (for why that is likely, see the bottom half of this . You might also read this, which is about breaking down sectarian divisions)
5. In Aug. of 1969 there was one major pogrom and some minor ones, and an attempted major pogrom against the Catholic community. There’s more on that here and here.
6. The Starry Plough is the flag of republican socialism.
7. Gerald McCauley was a member of the IRA’s youth wing. Without being armed he was part of Nationalist resistance during the West Belfast Aug. 1969 anti-Catholic pogrom. He was killed and the area he was defending, Bombay St., was burned out.
8. 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)
9. RA is Republican Army, and is pronounced “raw.”
10. **77% of this version is me, 23% is the original.
11. I give this poem four stars out of five.
12. Definitely about the IRA.
UPDATE 3/18/15 13. I added "and mothers."
14.  UPDATED 2/5/16 Based on what might be called a fairly scientific look, only about .2% of the IRA's operations intentionally resulted in civilian death.
15. No Remorse were British and supported the British and Unionist causes.
UPDATE 4/18/20 the old last two lines are "With our comrades in battle or in Valhalla/We fight for Ireland, because we are the RA." The new lines are below. I don't think this more than  slightly changes what % of it is me.
16. The Jewish Combat Organization, referred to by it's Polish acronym ZOB, carried out the rebellion in the Warsaw Ghetto during WWII.
17. Hallah is a kind of Jewish bread.

Man the barricades, resistance has exploded
We're armed and ready, locked and loaded
We've got the people’s support, we've got the guns,
We never lose, we’ll fight til we’ve won

Chorus:
Irish Republican Army,
We stand together in a people’s war
Irish Republican Army,
We fight for freedom as our fathers and mothers did before

This is our land, we want it united
working-class unionists are so short-sighted
Another pogrom, we won’t allow
We raise our fists and fly the starry plough

For McAuley and for Bombay Street
We will fight until our victory’s complete
If we fall in battle and go to Valhalla
We'll meet the Jewish Combat Organization and try some Hallah


******

“Withdrawal” based on “Repatriation” by Final War, original lyrics are here.

1. This is set in the early 1970s. At some point, early in that period, I’m not sure exactly when, there were huge numbers of British troops coming into the North, and they started building more military installations, as the situation became less stable. The BA is the British Army.
2. As far as it being imperialist, I go into that quite a bit here, in the paragraph which is about 40% the way down from the top, and which starts with- “For a few reasons I'm.”
3. There had been 2-4 armed attempts at liberating the North since the formation of the state, attempts that went nowhere. Many senior members of the IRA in the 1970s we’re committed to a long war and fighting til victory. UPDATE 9/25/11 I have a theory (probably a very accurate one) of why they DID stop significantly short of victory- I explain that here.
4. The deployment of British troops on the streets of N. Ireland in August 1969 was seen in different ways. To a large degree their immediate effect was to save Catholic communites from being attacked beyond what they had already experienced (see this and this). But they also rescued the State from falling apart. And they made it difficult for the IRA to get support from Nationalists for an armed campaign against the British Army and government. In some cases the BA was accused of pointing their weapons at the Catholics, and some IRA members were arrested, after their communities had experienced what were pogroms (or attempted pogrom, in Derry).
5. Plantation is a word for a new colony (so it’s not a perfect fit with that line, but close enough).
6. I believe that one reason the British fought to retain N. Ireland is that the labor movement and the left were weaker there than in other areas of the UK, because of sectarianism.
7. I’m not sure if “peace-keeping” is the right way to describe the initial presence of the British troops, but I think it’s fairly accurate (I know that the rest of the conflict London would often talk about the BA as if they were peace-keepers, but this is different- the first 9 months they were fairly close to being peace-keepers).
**8. 72% of this version is me, 28% is the original (that includes the chnages I made in the fourth verse (As far as i can see, there is not a chorus).
9. I give this poem four stars out of five.
10. I believe that there should be a period of gradual change; so, the 2nd line of the 2nd verse shouldn’t be taken literally.
11. About the IRA.
12. 12. This version has one anti-racist line, which is in conflict with the politics behind the original. I talk about why that’s important here.

As instability and resistance spreads, the BA settles in
their transports fly into Belfast again and again
the British Army are on an imperialist crusade
we’re going to put an end to it, ‘cause we’re the IRA

We've been doing this for many decades
This time we won’t stop til their transports fly away
it's time to take action, time to make a stand
send ‘em back to their own island

British withdrawal must start today
British withdrawal it is the only way
British withdrawal that is our demand
British withdrawal take them right out of our land!

What do you think brought them here from their foreign nation?
The need to stabilize and secure their imperial plantation
the Tories want a pool of cheap labor for the capitalists
Like the KKK and racism, the Orange Order gives them an assist

A brief peace-keeping operation is all they thought it would be
But now we’ve started a popular insurgency
we've had enough British rule, can’t take it anymore
Let’s push them out and Ireland will be united once more

My last songs?

This probably WILL be my second to last lyrics post. I have two songs that I'm reluctant to post for various reasons. But here are three new ones. They're all "Those Lyrics," see this for more of an explanation.

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).

“Republican Flame” based on “The Flame that Never Dies” by No Remorse, original lyrics are here.

1. Considering the original, I should say that Irish pride is very different from white pride (most of the time). (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)
2. The south Armagh IRA made life very dificult for the British security forces, more so than the IRA in other areas.
3. In recent years, the 99% nationalist part of Derry on the west bank of the river foyle has been renamed the “West Bank” in solidarity with the Palestinians.
4. In nationalist areas curbstones are often painted green and orange as 2/3 of the colors of the Irish flag.
5. A lot of people exaggerate how religious the motivation for republicans and nationalists is- it’s close to zero.
**6. 36% of this version is me, 64% is the original.
7. I give this song/poem four stars out of five.
8. This song is not meant as an endorsement of armed struggle since 1997.
9. Awesome as it was, the IRA campaign in S. Armagh probably wasn't known world-wide (I've done one post and two poems indicating it wasn't) but it was possibly more well-known than most of the other IRA units.
10. No remorse are British and did support the unionist/loyalist cause in N. Ireland, therefore this poem is twisting the original.
11. In the west belfast verse, imminent victories is fairly unreaslistic, but an optimistic statement is okay.
12. Republicans do a lot of anti-racism work (see this).
13. Part of this is about the IRA, but much of it could be associated with un-armed republicans and some of it with nationalists in general.
UPDATE 2/10/20 14. in the second to last line of the poem I changed "people" to "women and men."

In every Irish heart, there burns immortal flames,
A pride that never wavers, a valor yet untamed,
The occupiers of the North won't cease to wonder why,
They can never beat - THE FLAME THAT NEVER DIES

In the south Armagh countryside, There's something in the air,
A pride filled sense, of resistance, of battle un-compared,
A drive for freedom, a rural offensive known world-wide,
And none can ever dampen - THE FLAME THAT NEVER DIES

On the streets of the West bank, the feeling's all around,
The spirit of resistance, against the British crown
The people look forward to when the British say good-bye
The Brits can try, but they can't stop- THE FLAME THAT NEVER DIES

On the streets of west Belfast, The flag is always seen,
A sign of imminent victories, curbs painted orange and green
To be united with the South, many heroes died,
No enemy could ever smash - THE FLAME THAT NEVER DIES

Across the North, a revolutionary spirit that does not come from Rome
There's justice in Irish unity, ensuring safer homes,
Diversity and culture, The Irish people's pride,
Together we will stand and fuel - THE FLAME THAT NEVER DIES

They can kill the Irish people, and try to keep us down,
They can jail us with non-jury courts, repression all around,
But as Irish women and men, we will not bend, our tri-colors we'll fly,
Again they've tried and failed to kill - THE FLAME THAT NEVER DIES

******

“Four Provinces” based on “Mother Europe” by Skrewdriver. Original lyrics are here.

1. This song about that part of the nationalist community who, the early 1970s, supported both the civil rights movement, and the use of armed struggle.
2. There are four ancient provinces of Ireland.
3. The Foyle is a river which divides Derry. In recent years (not, to be honest, in the early 1970s) nationalists have referred to the 99% Nationalist part of Derry as the West Bank in solidarity with the Palestinians. The West Bank is where the Bloody Sunday march took place, and 14 civil rights marchers were killed by the British Army.
4. To a very large degree, until the late 1960s, mass struggle was not part of the struggles of the nationalist community and republicans largely ignored the option of mass struggle and felt that the IRA would deliver freedom. The adoption of mass struggle in the late sixties, with a civil rights theme, was largely inspired by the American Civil Rights Movement, led by Martin Luther King Jr.
**5. 62% of this version is me, 38% is the original.
6. I give this song/poem four stars out of five.
7. UPDATE 12/12/10 In the last verse I replaced solely with mostly.
8. Skrewdriver was supportive of the Unionist and British causes in N. Ireland.
9. UPDATE 2/2/4/20 I added "most of" to the third line of the first verse.
10. UPDDATE 2/25/20 I screwed up a tiny bit with this, and I guess I need to say that it refers to the brief period immediately after Bloody Sunday, when A) there bad been a surge in support for the Provisonal IRA and B) there was a flurry of marches before the Civil Rights Movement practically died.

Many of our people, Ireland’s daughters and sons
faced so many tragedies at the barrel of British guns
We are most of the Nationalist working-class, marching side by side
As long as Ireland is divided, we’ll be there with flags held up high

Chorus:
Four Provinces, stand for unity
and standing with the Nationalist community

So many martyrs, whose blood has drenched the soil.
Including those who marched on the West Bank of the Foyle
So many warriors, whose bones are laid to rest
fighting for Irish unity, has been our noble quest

Chorus

For far too long we relied mostly on the IRA
but then we learned how to march, inspired by MLK
For freedom and justice are within our reach
we must continue the struggle for the victory that we seek

*****

“Carnival of Reaction” based on “White Kids Gonna Fight” by Bully Boys, original lyrics are here.

1. The lyrics only partly reflects the title. It would be better if I had been able to say something about the dominance of religious right politics in both parts of Ireland. Anyway, James Connolly, Ireland’s greatest socialist and greatest republican said, in 1914, that dividing Ireland would result in a “carnival of reaction.”
2. There are 32 counties in Ireland.
3. Orange is the color of anti-Catholic bigotry in the Irish-British context.
4. At a point early in the process of partitioning Ireland, many local government units in what became N. Ireland pledged their allegiance to the Dail (Parliament) in Dublin. The new government in Belfast had those bodies abolished and replaced with appointed (unionist) commissions until N. Ireland was completely established.
5. I’m not sure about how many IRA members were killed during the period in the North that I’m referring to. But some of them were killed. (Volunteers are republican paramilitaries).
6. 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. The civil war in the South  took place in the middle of the period that saw the establishment of N. Ireland.
9. My favorite song, “Your daughters and your sons” is, according to one source, about how the dream of freedom was passed from generation to generation between the founding of N. Ireland and the late sixties. The song refers to sowing "the seeds of freedom" in their daughters and their sons.
10. Michael Collins had a British figure partly in charge of security for the North killed in response to what Catholics in the North were going through.
11. The Orange card is used to divide workers and mobilize support for unionism by fanning the flames of sectarianism.
12. Republicans and nationalists were MUCH less likely to engage in anti-Protestant violence than Unionists were to engage in anti-Catholic violence (well, that's certainly true in the last seven decades- in the early 1920s, they might have been sort of close to being just as bad as the Unionists, I haven't read about that period for a while now (UPDATE 12/14/11 It's been a few months now, but I did read that stuff, and I would say that, yes they were a bit closer to being as bad as the Unionists during that period (early 1920s), but there was still a HUGE gap between the frequency of anti-Catholic incidents and the frequency of anti-Protestant incidents)). (UPDATE 8/5/24 I’m basing my thoughts about the early 1920s on Farrell’s “The Orange State” and I am talking about attacks on civilians)
13. This version isn’t as “twisted” (in conflict with what the authors of the original lyrics believe) as I had hoped- that’s because the original is American (see this). I couldn’t think of anything anti-bigot (other than opposing sectarianism) or anti-fascist etc. to twist it. But it’s sort of twisted based on the following:
A: The title is from a quote by James Connolly, a socialist.
B: The Bully Boys are officially connected to the Hammerskins (a Nazi skinhead group), who have chapters world-wide and at one point that included unionists in N. Ireland, so they’re probably not favorable to republicanism.
**14. 77% of this version is me, 23% is the original.
15. I give this song/poem five out of five stars.
16. The blame would be with the British who had encouraged sectarianism to oppress the Irish and divide the poor (workers).
17. It's kind of about the IRA and unarmed republicans but much of it could be embraced by nationalists, especially since I think there was more support for the IRA during that period around 1920 than was the case in the more recent Troubles.
18. UPDATE 2/24/20 I changed "knocked" to "keep" in the second to last line. And I added "some day" to the last line.

This island used to be 32-counties as one
Now divided by the unionists and London
The Dail has the allegiance of our counties and towns
Now Belfast is shutting them down
In the South the British were beat
In Belfast loyalists are burning down Catholic streets
A Volunteer got shot at Clonard and Falls
Now he's feasting in Valhalla's Hall

chorus:
Burned out streets and smashed dreams
Our country is pulling itself apart at the seams
But we won't give up without a fight
We'll keep the republican flame burning bright

The seeds of freedom are now all we've got
And of course Collins had Wilson shot
Sectarian bunting in the shipyards
the unionists are playing the orange card
I think I know just who's to blame
but we won't play their sectarian game
the Brits will not keep us down
Some day we're going to fight this town by town


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?).

Fetch that Armalite (Lyrics)

Four more songs. They're all "Those Lyrics," see this for an explanation.

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).

I start with the ones that are okay and end with the ones that are good.

“Declaration Of War” based on “Let the Battle Begin” by Celtic Warrior. I can’t find the original lyrics on the internet, but I found a karoke-style Youtube video with the lyrics, here or you can email me and I’ll send them to you.

1. Since Celtic Warrior is Welsh and possibly sympathetic to republicanism or Irish nationalism, I included some elements that are hostile to fascism.
2. The AK-47 is a rifle, the RPG is the Rocket Propelled Grenade.
3. This is set at the beggining of the Troubles, in the early 1970s.
4. The plough is the Starry Plough, the flag of republican socialism.
5. The line about changing the world is a reference to the internationalism of republicans, for example in supporting the Palestinians.
**6. 16% of this version is me, 84% is the original.
7. I give this song three stars out of five.
8. 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)
9. Considering the original, I should say that Irish pride is very different from white pride (most of the time). (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)
10. This is overwhelmingly about the IRA, although it would make sense to say that the second half of the last line is more about their fellow republicans in SF.
UPDATE 1/28/11 11. When I say they're anti-fascist soldiers, I am not saying that their enemy is fascist, although a minority of them are. Even though they are not battling fascism, they are both soldiers and anti-fascist, so it makes sense.
UPDATE 3/18/15 12. I added "and mothers."
13.  UPDATED 2/5/16 Based on what might be called a fairly scientific look, only about .2% of the IRA's operations intentionally resulted in civilian death.

Chorus:
let the battle begin, there’s no time to spare
let the battle begin, war has been declared

in the distance i see the smoke the flames and darkened sky
as we march forward to victory can you hear the battle cry

with AK and RPG we lead the fight our fathers and mothers did before
we’re anti-fascist soldiers, proud to be Irish, we’re fighting a liberation war

Chorus

thunder roars, lightening strikes the bells in hell start to chime
we’ll slay the beast, even the score yeah drive them out this time

blood is spilt, victory is ours, we will never face defeat
but if i die fighting for my people, in valhalla save my seat

Chorus

united we’re strong, united we stand, standing for our nation’s sake
Irish men and women together as one, calling out for Ireland to awake

our destiny awaits, the white flame burns, we march on with the plough unfurled
we take back what’s our’s, reclaim our land and we’re gonna help change the world

Chorus

****

“We are the threat that is red” based on “Red Threat” by Ian Stuart and Stigger, original lyrics are here.

1. Ian Stuart was the leader of Skrewdriver and was a big supporter of the British and Unionist causes in N. Ireland.
2. This takes place in the mid-1990s. At that point N. Ireland was slightly less orange than it had been about 5 years earlier (the UDA, a loyalist paramilitary, was first banned from the airwaves and then banned completely) and much less orange than it had been 30 years earlier, and the re-dawning would mean going backwards to some degree.
3. The RUC were the police in N. Ireland until late 2001.
4. Although my experience reading the BBC web-site and comparing what’s there with what’s reported in Irish/Irish-nationalist/Irish-republican news sources makes me think that the BBC, at least since the late 1990s, has been okay (not good) covering the North there’s still a lot of room for improvement and republicans have often criticized the BBC.
5. When this takes place, probably some small majority of republicans would have called themselves marxists (I'm not sure what I would say about Marxists in the ANC in the mid-1990s, it was probably something similar (this is not the best line I've done, but at the time it seemed like it was the best option I could think of at the time). UPDATE 1/28/11 I just deleted the word Marxist. It says instead, "fighting for freedom."
6. Republicans are generally in favor of religious and racial “mixing” and believe that it is good for society.
7. Bread is a symbol of economic justice.
8. The Dail is the Irish parliament and it has pretty much never shown as much concern about partition as it should.
9. Orange is the color of anti-Catholic bigotry in the Irish-British context.
10. Considering the source of the original, I feel like I have to point out what is probably obvious: as long as it doesn't cross a certain line (and I imagine it rarely does) Irish pride is very different from 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)
**11. 31% of this version is me, 69% is the original.
12. I give this song/poem three stars out of five.
13. This is about the IRA although the BBC part could apply to unarmed republicans and to nationalists.

This is a warning, against an Orange day re-dawning
With the RUC trying to bash you in your head
Take on the BBC, we’re fighting for freedom like the ANC
Come on all you Irish, we are the threat that is Red

We encourage people mixing, to us it is so fixing
We fight for freedom, for democracy and for bread
Just for one occasion, let the Dail think of our divided nation
Come on all you Irish, we are the threat that is Red

We'll fight in the cities, we'll fight in the country
And we'll fight, the Orange peril, our pride we'll not shed
For the strength of the Irish nation, will be our salvation
Come on all you Irish, we are the threat that is Red

****

“Fetch That Armalite” based on “Fetch The Rope” by The Klansmen original lyrics are here.

1. The Klansmen was a side project of Ian Stuart Donaldson of Skrewdriver. Ian Stuart was a big supporter of the British and unionist causes in N. Ireland, so this is twisting the original.
2. Volunteers are members of republican paramilitaries.
3. Although James Connolly (Ireland’s greatest socialist and greatest republican) was killed about 6 years before Ireland was divided, he predicted that the result of partition would be a ”carnival of reaction” which has basically happened, especially in the North.
4. A good description of what kind of state the Catholics were in is here. A longer and better source is the book “Northern Ireland: The Orange State” by Michael Farrell.
5. Armalites are rifles often used by the IRA.
6. Squaddies are British soldiers.
7. Orange is the color of anti-Catholic bigotry in the Irish-British context.
8. Also, the first line is a reference to how the IRA never or almost never retaliated against civilian people.
9. The line about justice and peace dying is a reference to the early 1970s when Bloody Sunday saw the civil rights movement shot off the streets by the British Army.
**10. 80% of this version is me, 20% is the original (80% is a new record, one I probably won’t break)
11. I give this song three stars out of five.
12. This song is NOT meant as an endorsement of armed struggle since 1997.
13. This is about the IRA.
14.  UPDATED 2/5/16 Based on what might be called a fairly scientific look, only about .2% of the IRA's operations intentionally resulted in civilian death.

Them good old Volunteers they held their fire despite the rising hate
Black masks, automatic rifles, they took on the British state
When the nation was cut in two, Connolly had predicted what did ensue
The Catholics were left in a one party state, no democracy, lots of hate

don't give up the fight
your cause is so right
don't give up the fight
Fetch that armalite

Squaddies from across the sea said they were there to keep the peace
But they turned out just as bad as the sectarian police
When justice and peace really died, the volunteers didn't hesitate
They were determined to smash the orange six-county state

*****

“Eamonn Joined The IRA” based on “Johnny Joined The Klan” by The Klansmen original lyrics are here.

1. The Klansmen was a side project of Ian Stuart Donaldson of Skrewdriver. Ian Stuart was a big supporter of the British and unionist causes in N. Ireland, so this is twisting the original.
2. Derry is the second largest city in N. Ireland. The West Bank is a new way of referring to what used to be called “cityside.” The area is on the west bank of the River Foyle, and using that term is an expression of solidarity with the Palestinians. The West Bank is almost 100% Nationalist. and had some large nationalist majority during the conflict when this song is set.
3. Eamonn Wright is a made up name for IRA snipers- “Aiming Right.” (I'm not sure who first thought that up, as far as I can tell two song-writers have used it, and that's where I got it from)
4. That’s a reference to sectarian murder of Catholics.
5. I’ve heard that, unsurprisingly, there was a problem with British soldiers harrassing Nationalist women sexually (there was already a reference to going after men who "victimized" “girls” in the original (I put victimized in quotes because Ian Stuart is talking about Black men who he just assumes have done something wrong))
6. Belfast is the largest city in N. Ireland.
7. The hope is that at some point there will be a serious decrease in how widespread sectarianism is among Protestants. Also, that they’ll understand that they have nothing to fear from a United Ireland.
**8. 76% of this version is me, 24% is the original.
9. I give this version three stars out of five.
10. This is about the IRA, although, I think almost by definition, all nationalists rejected the Crown.
11.  UPDATED 2/5/16 Based on what might be called a fairly scientific look, only about .2% of the IRA's operations intentionally resulted in civilian death.


Way up North in Derry town
in the West Bank where they reject the Crown
There was a neighborhood where the republican flame burned bright
Where lived an Irish boy named Eamonn Wright
Didn't like Brits patrolling night and day
So, Eamonn went and joined the IRA

Chorus
Go, go Eamonn go go
Go Eamonn go go
Go Eamonn go go
Go Eamonn go go
Well Eamonn joined the IRA

He would hide his rifle in the front garden
with every sectarian murder his committment would harden
Aiming for the Brits who harrassed the girls
Eamonn fired his rifle with Irish Flag unfurled
A dozen died at Eamonn’s hand
Eamonn took them out to free his land

Chorus

His mother told him one day we will be free
just like South Africa liberated by the ANC
he was known all over, from Cork to Belfast town
He was feared by those who fought for the Crown
One day the Brits will leave Ireland
And the Protestants will all understand

One last note: Even with the songs that are only about 10% me (and at the upper end, one is 80% 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?).

Revolutionary Dreams

I've got six more songs/poems (I'm in transition to using the word "poem" which is more accurate for what I've been calling "song"). They're all "Those Lyrics" see this for an explanation. I'm not sure how many more songs I'll be doing that aren't "Those lyrics" since I think I have altered all the songs that I can work with from one of the two main sources I have for non-offensive material to alter.

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).

Anyway, these are roughly in order from okay to good, although I'm not sure I would call any of them very good.

1. 65 Days. IRA Hunger-Striker Bobby Sands.
2.  Victory or Death. The IRA in N. Ireland.
3. The Left Sat. The American Left and N. Ireland.
4. Socialist Dream. Progressives in America.
5. People's Dream. About People's Democracy, the left-wing/civil rights/anti-partition group in N. Ireland that existed from 1968 until sometime in the 1980s.
6. 32-County Republic. Republican struggle in N. Ireland.


“65 days” based on “forty-six years” by Skrewdriver, original lyrics are here.

1. The song is about Bobby Sands, the first Irish republican hunger-striker to die in 1981. The hunger-strikers were demanding that republican prisoners be treated as prisoners of war instead of as criminals. He was on strike for 65 days before he died. See this and this for more info; see most of the second half of this for a description of how much support they had. He was 27 years old when he died.
2. The hope refers to how inspirational his sacrifice was.
**3. 40% of the lyrics are me, 60% is the original.
4. I give this song/poem three stars out of five.
5. Skrewdriver was supportive of the Unionist and British causes in N. Ireland.

Twenty-seven was his final year
his memory brings hope and tears
A man whose courage, it was unsurpassed
No surrender until the very last

(chorus)
65 days, 65 days
65 days, he stayed true to his cause

They tried to break him with their corrupt ways
tried criminalization until the end of his days
They wanted to see his spirit subdued
But his commitment was always true

Chorus

And now he's dead, they couldn’t break him
The London fools thought they could take him
a soldier who paid the ultimate price
We won't forget his sacrifice

****

“Victory or Death” based on “Win or die” by Skrewdriver, original lyrics are here.

1. The title is a republican slogan (at least, it's on a republican t-shirt I have). The song is more or less focused on members of republican paramilitaries, although there’s one bit about republicans who fought through mass struggle.
2. This is set in the first 1-2 years of The Troubles (starting in Aug. 1969).
3. the Nationalist community had some very large majority that was working-class or small farmers, and that was even more so for republicans.
4. Armalites are a kind of automatic rifle.
5. The Catholic Church was pretty consistent in being hostile to republicans.
6.Orange is the color of anti-Catholic bigotry.
7. Connolly is James Connolly, Ireland’s greatest republican and greatest socialist.
8. 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)
**9. 27% of this version is me, 73% is the original.
10. Considering the source of the original, I feel like I have to point out what is probably obvious: as long as it doesn't cross a certain line (and I imagine it rarely does) Irish pride is very different from 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)
11. I give this song/poem three stars out of five.
12. Skrewdriver was supportive of the Unionist and British causes in N. Ireland.

As we look 'round at our nation, the resistance starts to settle in
Our once united Irish land, as the revolution starts to begin
Arrests on the streets are often, house raids happen every single day
loyalists stalk the darkened streets, looking for defenceless prey

(chorus)
Fight for your country, fight for your class
Fight for your nation, with armalites or en masse

As the people stand up against it, the Brit propaganda begins
To oppose the northern occcupation, is counted as a sin
We're proud of being Irish, and we want to show the world
Against the Orange and reaction, we stand with flags unfurled

As we stand and face the future, our eyes raised to the sky
We pledge ourselves to struggle, we'll either win or we’ll die
We won't lose ground, and be knocked down, we've got a history
In Valhalla Connolly looks down on us, and prays for victory

*******

“The Left Sat” based on “The Snow Fell” by Skrewdriver, original lyrics are here.

1. In general it is based on the earlier post I did about how the world (overall, but the problem is focused in small number of countries and varies from country to country) and especially the left, didn’t do what it should have done on N. Ireland between 1968 and today, although it also varies from time period to time period, and the worst would be 1994 (when S. Africa was democratized) until 9/11 and crucially between 1994 and the Good Firday Agreement in 1998. I won’t bother going into it anymore than that, but you should read that post before you judge this song (since it was published in March, that post has gradually gotten even better and is now about 10% different than it was when originally published).
2. The first verse refers to Margaret Thatcher.
3. I don’t know if Thatcher had a desire to rule all of Ireland, but it’s possible, and if it wasn’t for republicans (during the War of Independence) London would still rule all of Ireland.
4. The reference to unions is sort of a tangent from the main thrust of the song, but is relevant as republicans are overwhelmingly pro-labor and concerned about British workers and it worked with keeping the word “power.”
5. The second half of the second verse refers to the period of the early 1970s when I’m pretty sure the world was probably doing a fair amount, although probably still not what they should have been doing considering the nationalist community was going through the worst of their 30-40 year nightmare. I assume that at some point, as the situation in Apartheid S. Africa got worse in the mid-1970s, that attention was shifted to that until 1994. That’s reasonable, but there are two problems. Strongly worded resolutions weren’t being passed and when S. Africa was democratized, none of that energy seems to have been shifted into N. Ireland work.
6. I believe that this failure on the part of the world and the left is what made the armed struggle go nowhere, and contributed greatly to Sinn Fein compromising via acceptance of the Good Friday Agreement. Another factor was that their nationalist constituents who had experienced the bulk of the violence aimed at civilians in the conflict were tired of the war and being terrorized by loyalist paramilitaries and the security forces.
7. The Union Jack is the British flag, Belfast is the main city in N. Ireland.
**8. 73% of it is me, 27% is the original.
9. I give this song/poem three stars out of five.
10. Skrewdriver was supportive of the Unionist and British causes in N. Ireland.
11. The second and fourth verses are about mainstream republicans including the IRA.
12. UPDATE 9/8/11 In the third line of the second verse, I'm actually not sure to what degree the left WAS concerned about the North in the early years of the Troubles. I might change that.
13. UPDATE 11/22/15 I added TRADE- to the last line of the first verse.
14. UPDATE 6/14/16 I changed THEY to YOU in the second verse Same with the chorus.

She stood in a room in a home at number ten
She'd rule all Ireland if it wasn’t for the republicans
She'd stand and she’d stare at the city skyscrappers and towers.
for she was a beast as she hatched plans to break trade-union power.

(chorus)
as the left sat
abandoning it’s vision and ideals.
And the left sat
ignoring the Irish revolutionary appeal
And the left sat
You had to compromise in your people’s interests
And the left sat
and the revolution was so much less

You used the old methods that revolutionaries had used before.
You fought as the forces of light against the darkness in an insurgent war.
One day you were looking around and the left was concerned about the North
The next day the left went back to Apartheid and focused on that till 1994

(chorus)

But they weren’t even passing strongly worded resolutions
They had abandoned the nationalists and the Irish revolution
Then, after 1994, they were distracted by the environment and globalization
And did nothing to help the oppressed of the divided Irish nation

(chorus)

You finally came to the point where you decided to compromise
You had to, while the left sat your people were terrorized
Many people had fought and died their courage was unsurpassed
It still sickens my heart to see the Union jack flying in Belfast

(chorus)

****

“Socialist Dream” based on “European Dream” by Skrewdriver, original lyrics are here.

1. It’s about the US.
2. Depending on the circumstances, I’m quite comfortable with white supremacists being banned from marching on the public streets.
3. I have had this idea that the left could flip the right-wing slogan “Better Dead Than Red” since socialism would make- fatal accidents on the job less likely; fatal health problems connected to the environment or having poor or no health insurance less likely; and murders less likely.
4. Brown is the color of fascism.
5. In general, when I said liberal, I had trouble thinking of a word that would fit better, but I think the way it is now works. there are some liberals who, based on their beliefs should be friendlier to the left and less friendly to cops and capitalists. (see this for my thoughts about liberals)
6. The line about shooting cops is a reference to recent spate of cop-killings carried out by white supremacists.
7. By capitalist, in this case I meant those who have a lot of capital.
8. As far as cops helping Nazis, there's evidence that some do. My theory is that some very tiny minority are in bed with white supremacists and a tiny minority would drag their feet on going after them. There was a state trooper in, I think, Nebraska who turned out to be a Klansmen, and according to a Southern Poverty Law Center interview with a former Nazi skinhead, some cops would hang out with his Nazi skinhead group. I read a bunch of other stuff about white supremacists in the police in a mid-1990s book called "White Lies, White Power" by Michael Novick, plus some other sources.
**7. 56% of the lyrics are me, 44% is the original.
8. I give this song/poem four stars out of five.
9. I'm not sure I should have left the 2nd line of the 2nd verse the way it is- I might change it to something. In the meantime, I think it is possible to have some kind of progressive patriotism.
10. This is supposed to be at least 99% non-violent.
3/14/11 UPDATE 11. I can't remember what I was thinking when I referred to our land as democratic- I mean, to some degree it is, but I might change that line. (UPDATE 6/1/11 I just changed it to "western")

Brothers and sisters across the states
we have to end this fascist hate
I want to know just where we stand
we fight the nazis in this western land
They try to divide the workers- try to bring us down
spread their poison in all our towns
Police protect them as they march
and arrest those whose skin is dark

(chorus)
socialist dream, there's things that should be said
socialist dream, better red than dead
socialist dream, for freedom and for bread
socialist dream, better red than dead

It's the workers' country, we want it back,
love for our nation we do not lack
Why do some liberals put us down,
when the real enemy is the brown
It's not us who is shooting cops,
this right-wing hatred has got to stop
Racist cops and capitalists help them,
I hope all liberals realize before the end

****

“People’s Dream” based on “European Dream” by Skrewdriver original lyrics are here.

1. This is my second song about People’s Democracy, somehow towards the beggining of the process it just seemed like it would work best that way. PD was a militant, left-wing, and initially student part of the Civil Rights movement in N. Ireland starting in Oct. 1968 (it later became a political party and then around 1980 declined, and many members joined Sinn Fein and then it adopted another name). There’s more about them here and the first 1/3 of this. PD doesn’t exist anymore, so this doesn’t violate my rules on publishing songs about actual organizations.
2. There are six-counties in N. Ireland. I’m pretty sure that in the very early years of the PD it was organized just in N. Ireland, and in any case, it makes sense for the song to be about the northern members.
3. It takes place 1970 to early 1972, the time when republicans were engaging in armed struggle and the civil rights movement was still marching.
4. An explanation of why it’s wrong for the police to force Orange Order marches through Catholic areas is found here.
5. I have had this idea that the left could flip the right-wing slogan “Better Dead Than Red” since socialism would make- fatal accidents on the job less likely; fatal health problems connected to the environment or having poor or no health insurance less likely; and murders less likely.
6. The Dail is the parliament of the South of Ireland, which has pretty much always been hostile to the IRA.
7. PD offered critical support to the Provisional IRA (now known simply as the IRA).
8.The RUC were the police in N. Ireland until late 2001 and there’s evidence that to one degree or another they were sympathetic to loyalist paramilitaries. I explain that around 2/5 the way through the post here. The RUC also did quite a number on the Catholic population directly.
**9. The poem is 57% me, 43% the original.
10. I give this song/poem four stars out of five.
11. Skrewdriver was supportive of the Unionist and British causes in N. Ireland.

Brothers and sisters across the six
in the cities and out in the sticks
I want to know just where we stand
we resist the Brits in our Irish land
They try and crush us- try to keep us down
occupy our cities and our towns
Police protect Orangemen as they parade
it’s been that way for all these decades

(chorus)
people’s dream, there's things that should be said
people’s dream, better red than dead
people’s dream, for freedom and for bread
people’s dream, better red than dead

It's our country- we want it united
british imperialism will be smited
Why does the Dail put the IRA down
when the British Army’s on Irish ground
we support the ones planting bombs
and we’re the reds who are marching on
The RUC helps loyalists
they’re just public sector terrorists

*****

“32-County Republic” based “Aryan Nations” by Bound For Glory, original lyrics are here.

1. There are 32 counties in Ireland.
2. People claim that the British presence in N. Ireland isn’t imperialistic. I explain why that’s not true here (it’s about 43% the way down in a large paragraph, half of which is numbered points).
3. Squaddies is a term for British army soldiers. Volunteers are members of republican paramilitaries.
4. Belfast is the capitol of N. Ireland.
5. Stoops are the Social Democratic and Labour Party, Sinn Fein’s moderate rival in the Nationalist community. I describe what’s wrong with them here.
6. To one degree or another, what the vast majority of republicans envision is revolutionary change for Ireland.
7. This is set in the period 1970 till about 1990, before the Peace Process got going; when republicans were not interested in the compromises being offered by the British and/or unionists.
8. Republicans get a lot of inspiration from other struggles elsewhere, such as S. Africa and Palestine.
9. Since the original is American I made sure to include certain elements, see this.
**10. 54% of this song/poem is me, 46% is the original lyrics, although you could say it’s 60% me since I switched the third and fourth lines of the first verse.
11. Considering the source of the original, I feel like I have to point out what is probably obvious: as long as it doesn't cross a certain line (and I imagine that in N. Ireland it rarely does) Irish pride is very different from 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)
12. I give this song/poem four stars out of five.
13. In the 4th line of the second verse, I am talking about the dream of a 32-County Republic, which is alive in our minds.
14. This is about republicans, and a republican appeal to nationalists unhappy with the SDLP.
UPDATE 5/19/16 15. The third and fourth lines from the end are not meant as an endorsement of the traditional republican view that the 1916 republic still exists- they're meant as referring to what you might call a dream or vision, possibly in the hearts of republicans? (to be a little poetic about it). Something like that.

In the midst of our struggle, that we will sustain
I see through the lies and see the imperialistic reign
I can see oppression, 'cos there's squaddies all around
Volunteers are fighting soliders, every day in Belfast town
Now tell me would you work and vote for the stoops and their creed?
Are you willing to vote for their lies when revolution is what you need?

Chrous:
the 32-County republic is rising (rising) to make a brand new start
There is no disguising (disguising) the pride that's in our hearts
the 32-County republic is rising (rising) and we will never fall
the 32-County republic is rising (rising) to answer our people's call

we're too smart to play these reformist compromise games
We've got our own thing going now and revolution is it’s name
From the gay pride marches in Dublin to the workers with raised fists
The 32-County republic is still alive as long as the dream exists
Across the mighty oceans there lies our inspiration
we stand in soldiarity with those fighting to free their nation


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?).