1. |
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Let me tell you a story that you might have heard before
Pulling money out of welfare and putting it into war
They’ve got the nurses and the teachers working far too many hours
And the press are making targets of the public sector workers
And none of us are getting a decent day’s wage
So we fight amongst ourselves instead of channeling our rage
And these wars, aren’t meant to be won
They’re meant to go on and on, they’re meant to go on
Well they’re starving our services through austerity
Creating millions of people who just can’t afford to eat
There’s money in the country if you’re in the one percent
But there’s folk who find their wages barely cover what they’ve spent
There’s elections coming up, they want you on the run
So here’s another conflict with some guys we used to fund
And these wars, aren’t meant to be won
They’re meant to go on and on, on and on
These wars, there to distract us all
When the real war, the real war’s at home
So thanks to all our efforts securing oil for you and me
There’s a bunch of rich folks laughing while the poor are lost at sea
And what is it about this that the past will never teach us
Now there’s babies washing up on the shores of foreign beaches
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2. |
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Here's to all garage bands who got the world to go
A red guitar & 3 chords, it's all you need to know,
Here's to those who never lose the clarity of youth,
Who come to set the record straight with nothing but the truth.
Stay cool, keep left, shine bright.
Here's to all those centuries, an end to all those wars,
Those nights in Barcelona. those goals we almost scored,
Here's to all our children, & their children yet to come,
Here's to all those voices who will not be struck dumb.
Stay cool, keep left, shine bright.
Here's to all those big words in the little things we do,
Diversity, solidarity, the local union news,
Running on love & fuelled by justice
From Tolpuddle to Timbuktu
Stay cool, keep left, shine bright
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3. |
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Heads held high, we stand shoulder to shoulder
See the banners fly, they’re the flags of a future much bolder
It’s taken time but time’s always been on our side,
Minutes, seconds slide but the hope of it all never dies
It goes on and on and on
And the walls that stood like a prison before
Tumble to a nation’s applause
As conscience speaks up for the cause
It goes on and on and on
And the hardest of hearts couldn’t fail to be moved
By all that they were witness to
We’re not a cavalcade just passing through
We go on and on and on and on and on
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4. |
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I met a stranger on the tube today
Saw all the people as they turned their heads away
Kept my mouth shut; didn't know what I should say
But I doubt it would've mattered anyway
She was dressed up in red, white and blue
A bag on her back that she kept fumbling through
It was full of badges, flags and the posters that she drew
And I honestly could not think what to do
The silence in the dark there
Stalled the beating of my heart
She'd come to brag
If they wave that flag
They shall not pass
She wore proudly a cap on her head
That she kept removing to admire what it said
A bloody red colour and stitched in silver thread
The words she lives by: Let's Make Britain Great Again
She had a UKIP badge in her lapel
A "Free Tommy!" placard and a flag to match as well
A racist rhetoric in merchandise to sell
Yeah, she'll fight to spring her prophet from his cell
A stranger on a train
Is spreading hatred once again
Please mind the gap
If they wave that flag
They shall not pass
I asked her quietly what she believed
She said, "We march today to set our country free.
They're coming over hear to steal from you and me.
Yeah, we need to get this filth off of our streets."
I looked around the people on the train
The different colours, creeds and classes, all afraid
Just to speak out against one stranger spreading hate
On the doorstep of the home that they have made
Stuck there underground
And all too frightened to speak out
To voice the facts
If they wave that flag
They shall not pass
She got off at Westminster to join the crowds
The ranks assembled made their way through London town
Marched to Trafalgar Square with Nelson looking down
On the mass of Union flags upon the ground
Well, they wear my flag but they don't speak for me
I will not buy into their ideology
'Cause when the fascists come to set my country free
Well, that is not a sight that I am proud to see
So stand and raise your fist
Just like in nineteen thirty six
We will fight back
If they wave that flag
We'll voice the facts
If they wave that flag
Please mind the gap
If they wave that flag
They shall not pass
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5. |
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This won't end hate
I can see that worse is coming, poking it's head over the gate
and it's the date
when all your prayers are answered and not a minute too late
So you wave a plastic flag you bought made in a foreign land
While a hundred thousand people spill their water on the sand
There's no impact on you yeah, you're alright Jack
Because you voted to send them back
this won't end well
for the people who sold this there's a special place in hell
and I can tell
from the blank looks on your faces you don't know how far we fell
And if you don't like being call racist then don't do what racists do
And turn your backs on people in much more need than you
It was never about fishing, always about tax
But you voted to send them back
It was never about sovereignty but always about greed
About making ourselves a little cog in a big fucking machine
I don't think you understand yeah, we're further off track
But you voted to send them back
Yeah you voted to send them back
You voted to send them back
You voted to send them back
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6. |
Ealdfeond - Cheap Labour
05:22
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They are free and they never complain
About the minimum wage or the bosses disdain
The twelve hour days are natural
And toiling for pennies is contractual
Cheap labour is always smiling
Keeping the profits always stockpiling
Cheap labour doesn't need rights
Unions banned in wage apartheid
Cheap labour pays the bills
Ruling class gets the thrills
They are free to choose not to eat
Free to choose between food and heat
Subsidised to do the hazardous jobs
But not free to live like the spineless snobs
Cheap labour bears the expense
Cutting the margins with their own flesh
While the exec slices for his great performance
Measuring alone his great importance
Cheap labour takes the pain and the injuries
Working daily to live in rented misery
Pawns and borrows to stretch the week
No one to vote for to let them speak
And cheap labour is not negotiable
Be there working or be disposable
Cheap labour is always smiling
Keeping the profits always stockpiling
Cheap labour doesn't need rights
Unions banned in wage apartheid
Cheap labour pays the bills
Ruling class gets the thrills
Cheap labour requires bravery
But cheap labour is slavery
Cheap labour is always undercut
By cheaper labour's starving gut
Cheap labour is always smiling
Keeping the profits always stockpiling
Cheap labour doesn't need rights
Unions banned in wage apartheid
Cheap labour pays the bills
Ruling class gets the thrills
Cheap labour requires bravery
But cheap labour is slavery
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7. |
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Ministers, fine men of incorruption
Let us stand you one drink - you'd better sit down
Here's to your reign of destruction
Now run along and get out of this town
So long, dasvidaniya
Thanks for nothing
You can't win em all, can ya
Workers of the world unite
For the love of mankind
And fight
Citizens, come gather, for we bring you
Peace, bread and land to share in
Who would've thought you'd ever have it in you?
To show the world the little man can win
Madmen, criminals, crusaders
With blood of every colour on your hands
The world is turning in our favour
And your guns shall not liberate this land
Comrades among the living
You know now what is to be done
The road ahead is long and not forgiving
But our journey has only just begun
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8. |
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These are my people
We're red, green and blue
We don't fit in boxes like you want us to
These are my people
We're black, brown and white
We dance and we laugh and we love and we fight
These are my people
They're all good by me
From tenth generation to new refugee
These are my people
When all comes to pass
We are many colours but one Working Class
These are my people
We're all just like you
Christian, Muslim, Sikh, Hindu and Jew
These are my people
Let harmony ring
From the 10,000 ways we can say the same thing
These are my people
Our tribes and our clans
We're lesbian, gay, straight, we're bi and we're trans
These are my people
When all comes to pass
We are many voices but one Working Class
These are my people
We're old and we're young
Our stories untold and our deeds are unsung
These are my people
Our lives intertwine
My struggles are theirs and their struggles are mine
These are my people
We don't reason why
In peacetime we're poor and in wartime we die
These are my people
When all comes to pass
We're your cannon fodder we're one Working Class
These are my people
The ones you attack
You've kicked us so long now we need to kick back
These are my people
You can't keep us down
We all spit tomorrow and you bastards drown
These are my people
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9. |
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What will we say, to our future kin
Of these dark times, we are living in
Will we remain silent or stand and be heard?
Revolution is rising, all over the world
Enough excuses, apathy and blame
We have the power, to create a change
We must come together, we must unify
We shall - Educate, Agitate, Organise
In our society, many merely survive
The most vulnerable, they now pay the price
As we dismantle the triumphs of our past
We still have hope, but it may be our last
We have a duty, to raise our voice
Let the cities sing, and the streets rejoice
As we the people, march in our lines
There are no borders but those in our mind
Build bridges not walls, speak of hope not hate
We must act now, before it’s to late
The world is warming, the seas are sick
We must rally our comrades, our friends and our kin
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10. |
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11. |
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“Are you alright there, mate?”
Well, I’m alright here, and thanks for asking, but I really came in here for a beer
A quick pint of Stella is all I require - mate - I’ll pay in cash. Thank you. Cheers!
No, I don’t have a booking, and I don’t want a table, and at these prices, I wouldn’t eat here
But I’m happy to explain my position - mate - if you’ll just let me bend your ear
A Service Economy doesn’t meet the needs of the likes of you and me
I’m being fleeced, and you’re being screwed, that’s hospitality
Your bosses homogenise the product and service ’til there’s no point in going away
And guaranteed profit disappears into black holes, as civil society decays
They’ve outsourced the catering, outsourced the car park, outsourced security too
They’ve outsourced the IT, and building maintenance, they’ve outsourced cleaning the loos
Third party contractors now mow the lawns, consultants make the decisions
With 800 “colleagues” wiped off the payroll, their business is now making millions
We remember pub culture, we’d talk to total strangers
Where a game of darts in the valleys could change your entire life’s arrangements
Well, EBITDA has gone through the roof this quarter, commercial partners get their slice of the cake
Dividends are paid, plus alleged investments, and there’s bugger all left for you and me - mate
Well times are tight, and I was just passing. I don’t suppose I’ll come here again
And you’ll move on soon, so I doubt you’ll remember this grumpy old git’s refrain
A Service Economy doesn’t meet the needs of the likes of you and me
I’m being fleeced, and you’re being screwed, that’s hospitality
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12. |
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You’d be a servant to power
Maybe their soldier, come the hour
But will you be on the last starship out
When things turn sour?
You think your blood runs blue
Not red like me, like you
It’s time we settled this score
Would you like to know more?
You’re just a pawn in their game
Our losses will be their gains
You’re never gonna be a…
You’re the acceptable face
And their disposable grace
You’re never gonna be a…
Don’t be a pawn in their game
They’ll never even know your name
You’re never gonna be a…
You are a prisoner of doubt
Is it too late to bail you out?
You’re never gonna be a
Starship Trooper
And from the cosmos so wide,
You’d see the turn of the tide
The powerless will become powerful
If we take each other’s side
And when your uses are through
They won’t leave anything for you
Can’t we settle this score?
Would you like to know more?
You’re just a pawn in their game
Our losses will be their gains
You’re never gonna be a…
You’re the acceptable face
And their disposable grace
You’re never gonna be a…
Don’t be a pawn in their game
They’ll never even know your name
You’re never gonna be a…
You are a prisoner of doubt
Is it too late to bail you out?
You’re never gonna be a
Starship Trooper
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13. |
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Culture is created by the people,
Look at the peasants, their music talks of their life,
the tilling, the harvesting, the watering
A reference to history or a daily episode
It defines the enemy, and how to fight the enemy.
(Samora Machel)
Here, then is the truth, which we artists know full well.
Those who produce the wealth, have no share in art
So entirely are they cut off from it,
that, many, do not know their loss in this manner.
While the workers are debarred from having any art
Either in work, or their homes
The workers are doomed by, capital
to live their life without the pleasure, which is necessary to humanity
Yet, I am bound, to assert here and everywhere that art is necessary to man
Unless he is to sink into something lower than the brutes
(William Morris - excerpt 'Art or no art, who is to say')
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Morning Star Croydon, UK
The Morning Star is Britain's only socialist daily newspaper, owned by its readers. The Morning Star campaigns for peace, tells you what is said and done, educates,organizes and fights.
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