Copyright 2005 by Jeff Suzuki
All right, so I backslid and wrote a fourth political song. I had no intention, but I started writing a song about taxes and it morphed into this one. I might still write the song about taxes; I've written lines like “Since I am rich and so are you, let us tax the poor” and “Let all the roads turn to muddy paths, and let the schools decay.”
The music is Heart's Ease, though I recently recently that anything written to Heart's Ease also scans to the theme song from Gilligan's Island (an observation for which my wife and several other people now curse me for...).
Once long ago a mighty land Found itself trodden down, Not by a foreign conqueror But by its native crown. A boastful, boorish, beastly king In thrall to Bab'lon's whore, Who might have had but no effect, Until he made a war. The land was threatened, that is true And brave souls fought abroad, But back at home the king suppressed Those who would show his fraud. Spoken: He said... "A frightful, fearsome foe does lurk Among our loyal band, So if you'll give some freedoms up I'll save you from his hand. "And while I can, I'll fix some things That are not broken yet, But that's a problem I have solved Since legistators met. "If you're not for, then you're against, The mighty must be free. So help my friends and sacrifice, Your selves for them and me." Oft serpents hide beneath a shrub, A rose has many a thorn, In fear and pleasant promises Was tyranny reborn. And so this happy land fell into Gloom and dark despair, Take warning all if you should see Your own land headed there. No man is more a slave than he Whose rights for safety trades, Rise up and make your voices heard Until injustice fades!
Notes
I wrestled with this, since I didn't want to give the impression of denigrating the people and culture of Iraq (which contains what used to be Babylonia). However I decided to go with the reference for at least three reasons. First, it is a Biblical metaphor, so it will resonate with conservative Christians. Second, it is equally applicable to some of the regimes in the Middle East (the Saudis being the most notorious). Third...well, there are things I won't say in a public forum.
Originally I had a direction here: Spoken: Was there supposed to be a comma there?, i.e., the sentence was written as “So help, my friends, and sacrifice...”
A shrub is a bush. (I'm hoping this web page will be in existence twenty years from now...)
I know that “man” is not politically correct, and “one” has one syllable. If you want to use “one”, go ahead; I like the alliteration (Man is More) and it's easier for me to sing “No man...” than “No one...”.