The Indian Wars
With the Indians vanquished at Wounded Knee
The Empire shone from sea to sea
But we could not rest
Let salt stop this quest
For in far off lands there were more Indians to free
We needed to liberate Cuban Indians from Spain
Lucky for us—a travesty on the Maine!
We promised them freedom
But that’s not for heathens
So their new masters we became
Far away in the Philippines
We dispatched a squadron of Marines
The Indians of Manila
Turned into Guerrillas
And forced us to liberate them by any means
South of the border, Indians got out of line
Thinking owning their own land was just fine!
So we set up a school
To teach them who rules
And sent them a Condor to ensure they’re supine
In Vietnam the Indians resisted
Through a Phoenix the bad ones were listed
Three million lay dead
Three countries in shreds
Orange and Napalm greatly assisted
In Iraq we had global remit
Sanctions were harsh we have to admit
The price was steep
Indian life not cheap
But we think the half-million definitely worth it
Now the Great Plains are Afghanistan
The new Indian we call Taliban
Why we’re there no one remembers
Didn’t something happen once in September?
One things for sure—it won’t end in our lifespan
But the last war is yet to be fought
As empires collapse and lose their support
When the average man finds out we’re bankrupt
Trillions in debt—his temper will erupt
When austerity starts to be felt
With instructions from Washington to tighten one’s belt
The people of these United States you’ll see
Are the final Indians we’ll have to set free
The Triumph of Democracy
Rejoice!
For the Triumph of Democracy
A new king has come
The tyrant must flee
Now the wars may continue
Much as before
But with a commander and chief
Who isn’t a boor
Poverty persists
And remains unaddressed
But this president—importantly
Talks of progress
The prisons are packed
Slave trade in full swing
But the leader kisses babies
So who wouldn’t trust him?
The new boss has faults
Of course he tells lies
But at least he has the decency
To hide them from our eyes
Drone bombs continue
To kill kids from afar
But this we can tolerate
Just not the porn star!
On sexual assault
We’re actually not fussy
Just please no jokes
About grabbing some pussy
The War on Terror
May have dispossessed millions
But the important question:
Did he contribute with his billions?
No longer will a buffoon
This sacred office defile
We care not for substance
It’s all about style
This God has not failed
That could not be
For his job is protecting
The powers that be
The people placated
Rejoice from sea to shining sea
The Empire remains
And that—
Is the Triumph of Democracy
Black Lives Matter
Black lives matter
Every time comes the hour
We need their vote in elections
To keep ourselves in power
Black lives matter
It’s always been the case
From picking cotton—to prison labour
The negro has his place
Black lives matter
They buy up CIA crack
Funding Contra armies
Whenever Congress gets slack
Black lives matter
In the Congo most of all
For rubber, gold and coltan
We need blacks backs to haul
Black lives matter
We celebrate heroes like Hampton, X and King
Just don’t ask how they died
The investigations were strangely thin
Black lives matter
As we keep COVID at bay
A million starving Africans
Is a price we’re willing to pay
Black lives matter
How else would we carve up society?
Divide and conquer strategies
Require a level of ethnic variety
Black lives matter
But what do black lives matter for?
To advance the march of Empire
Black lives matter for that and nothing more
When the Towers Came Down
A century begins
A millennium too
Filled with hope
Of a world renewed
The Cold War long over
Conflicts end
Peace on Earth
Goodwill between men
War no longer
Seemed the choice
Brought no rejoice
Then the Towers came down
Then the Towers came down
And the Empire is born again
A shock to the system
Shock to the heart
Pillars of strength
Crumble apart
As the Towers came down
As the Towers came down
The cry to war
Is readily received
Far of enemies
Easily perceived
And love or hate them
At this times like these
Aren’t our politicians to be believed?
When the Towers came down
When the Towers came down
To Afghanistan
To get Bin Laden
That’s the plan
We don’t need no deal
With the Taliban
But somehow—he escapes
To Pakistan
And wouldn’t you know it…
The Empire had to make the most
Of the Towers coming down
Back at home
Security was tightened
Liberties be damned
When people are frightened
The population surveilled
Detention without trial
Torture and assasination
Are the new style
Then before we know it
Iraq in our sights
The war on terror
Because the Towers came down
What a gift to Empire
When the Towers came down
Few dared question
The state’s stated script
Wouldn’t remain tight lipped
Demanding an investigation
Into what went so wrong
And not just one
Singing the establishment song
Why did the Towers come down?
How did the Towers come down?
The CIA
Did not explain
Got on that plane
The NSA
Were asked nothing at all
About the intercepts
The DIA
Had Able Danger
But no one heard
The FBI
Cried civil rights
They couldn’t open Moussaoui’s laptop
They’re whiter than white
And so the Towers came down
And so the Towers came down
The Saudis certainly
Were not asked
Part of the task
Condi said
She couldn’t conceive
Planes as weapons
It’s too hard to believe
General Eberhart
What time his planes
Got out the gate
George refused
To take the stand
Without Dick there
To hold his hand
(And then only in private and off the record)
All these people
Kept out of sight
And so we don’t know
We don’t know
Why the Towers came down
We’ll never know
Why the Towers came down
Rupert warned
Scott described
Speculation has mounted
Since the fateful day
Who was really to blame
Did the culprits get away?
Was Bush the architect?
An inside job?
Has conspiracy helped
For the Towers coming down
For the Towers coming down
In time...
Al Qaeda resumed
Being Empire’s best friend
In Libya and Syria
Now twenty years on
A new world has begun
Upon which to feed
To centralise power
And service greed
One day the Towers
Will slip out of memory
A new generation
Sent to fight different enemies
And so the Towers
Will pass into history
With what really happened
Forever a mystery
But many awakened
Saw the world through different eyes
Absent disguise
More than two Towers fell down that day
But—
In another way
Towers of thought
Towers of perception
Came tumbling down
As we saw through deception
As our Towers fell down
A new world appeared
As our Towers fell down
A resistance began
Millions radicalised
The internet helped
Exposing the lies
Taking to microphones
A string of new sleuths
Asking the questions
New Towers take shape
The Empire’s—and ours
Fight for their place
With unequal power
Yet truth can only
Be on one side
It’s a weapon the Empire
Is forever denied
So the fight goes on
To expose this crime
It won’t end in our lifetime
Now the Towers are down
Now our Towers are down
A new world emerges
Now our Towers are down
Killing with Kindness
Then Judas the Iscariot said:
‘Why was this oil not sold for three hundred days’ wages and given to the poor?’
He said this not because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief and held the money bag and used to steal the contributions.
John 12:3-6
When in stories of conquest
You no longer buy
And the promise of security
Is seen for a lie
Then a different song
We’ll just have to sing
A siren call of compassion
That sounds so warm and nurturing
People in foreign lands
We mustn't neglect
We’re certainly no empire
But we have a responsibility to protect
We oppose foreign wars
Fought for profit and greed
Humanitarian intervention
Is our chosen creed
Millions may die
In our righteous crusades
But our intentions are pure
We come only to aid
We don’t mean to kill
Wars are just hard to manage
Besides don’t call it murder
It’s collateral damage
We care for your children
No child left behind
Under compassionate cover
We’ll control every young mind
We’ll push up your wages
It’s within our power
You might not have a job
But you’re worth fifteen an hour
We’ll look after your health
Just do as we say
Stay home, stay safe
Till Pfizer gives the okay
We’ll go to any lengths
In order to protect
Even if millions starve
As lockdowns take effect
We don’t so much work—as serve
Such is our nature
The extent of our devotion
To this legislature
We’ll take care of you
All your life long days
Just one demand
Never get in our way
Love is our sword
Compassion our shield
We’ll weaponise both
To ensure you yield
We’ll bring about unity
By imposing our will
And for those that resist
With kindness we’ll kill
Russian Propaganda
You may have heard
Some unkind words
Critique our motives with false candour
Pay no heed
To the lies you read
They’re Russian propaganda
Those pesky Reds
Are back under beds
Engaging in all sorts of slander
That old Bear
Would even dare
Defame our Chief Commander
They say Old Joe
Has got to go
He’s clearly quite demented
What baseless lies
Those Russian spies
Have plainly just invented
In 2016
Hackers intervened
It’s entirely documented
The coup they arranged
Sent us deranged
Four year of Trump lamented
They cry ‘FREE SPEECH!’
To help them breech
The sanctity of our nation
We used to agree
But speech ain’t free
It’s actually disinformation
We used to say
As clear as day
‘Ukraine is full of Nazis’
Now we know
That just ain’t so
More lies from Putin’s patsies
One more thing
They love to bring
In order to cause a schism
When they pretend to care
For Yemen’s fare
Just shout ‘WHAT-ABOUT-ISM!’
So don’t be deceived
Don’t be taken in
By baseless lies
By Putin’s spin
We tell you truth
You have no fear
We’d never lie
We hold you dear!
Oh what a ridiculous thing
Yet how useful it has been
To direct the populous’ dander
When inquisitive eyes
Turn to pry
Shout: ‘RUSSIAN PROPAGANDA!’
To the Last Ukrainian
We’ll fight them on the beaches
We’ll fight them on the shores
We’ll fight those Russians anywhere
Not with our lives—but with yours
We’ll fight them in the East
To stop them coming to the West
We’ll send you all the weapons
So by God do your best!
For well over a century
We’ve had to tame the bear
From Crimea to Kabul
And back home with Red Scares
The Japanese helped out
The Germans knock them for six
The Bolsheviks were the best however
They put the economy in the sticks
The Afghans stung them good
In an eight year war
It may have cost a million lives
But the Soviet Empire was no more
The boys from Harvard took them down
Through ‘structural reform’
By the time they got through
Starvation was the norm
It’s true, NATO has expanded
Moving ever East
Some say it’s aggression
But we’re just trying to contain the beast!
Now it’s the turn of Ukrainians
To step up to the plate
We may have got you in this mess
But you made such damn good bait
We’ll tell you that you’re heroes
And fly blue and yellow flags
That sounds like fair compensation
For putting your sons in body bags
Don’t ask us to negotiate
Appeasement ain’t for us
Besides life is perfectly fine here
So what really is the fuss?
We appreciate your sacrifice
In service of our grand imperial plan
It’s a worthy thing to die for
So conscript all those you can
You’ll join the ranks of heroes
Who have stood up to the bear
And when it’s all over—
Then: you’ll see just how much we care
We’ll fight them on the beaches
We’ll fight them on the shores
It’s easy to fight with other people’s lives
In our Russian proxy wars