SONG
BOOK
[
Wild
about Song! ]
"When modes of music change, the
fundamental laws of the
state always change with them." [Plato, The Republic, Book
IV]
"When the mode of the music
changes, the walls of the city shake."
[Tuli Kupferberg]
_________________________________________________________________
SOAS Guerrilla Choir Facebook page: www.facebook.com/SoasGuerillaChoir/
SOAS Guerrilla Choir Song Book lyrics: www.geocities.ws/soasguerrillachoir
SOAS
Guerrilla Choir – Wild about song! – Join the choir!
We rehearse at SOAS every Thursday evening during term time – 6.00
to 7.30pm
Contact us at: [email protected]
_________________________________________________________________
Please note: This
is an ethnomusicological work in progress.
For further developments see:
https://www.facebook.com/RevolutionaryRadio
[ALPHABETICAL ORDER – CLICKABLE LINKS]
I DREAMED I SAW JOE HILL
LAST NIGHT
THE MAN WHO WATERS THE
WORKERS' BEER
____________________________________________
Adieu, sweet lovely Nancy, ten thousand times adieu,
I am going across the ocean, love, to seek for something new.
Come change your ring
with me, dear girl,
Come change your ring
with me,
For it might be a token of true love while I am on the sea.
And when I'm far upon the sea you'll know not where I am.
Kind letters I will write to you from every foreign land.
The secrets of your
heart, dear girl,
Are the best of my good
will,
So let your body be where it might, my heart will be with you still.
There's a heavy storm arising, see how it gathers round,
While we poor souls on the ocean wide are fighting for the crown.
There's nothing to
protect us, love,
Or keep us from the
cold,
On the ocean wide, where we must fight like jolly seamen bold.
There's tinkers, tailors, shoemakers, lie snoring fast asleep,
While we poor souls on the ocean wide are ploughing through the
deep.
Our officers commanded
us,
And them we must obey,
Expecting every moment for to get cast away.
But when the wars are over, there'll be peace on every shore,
We'll return to our wives and our families, and the girls that we
adore.
We'll drink out liquor
merrily,
And spend our money
free,
And when the money is all gone - we'll boldly go to sea.
YouTube clip:
____________________________
In Dublin City in 1914
The boss was rich and the poor were slaves
The women working and the children hungry
Then on came Larkin like a mighty wave
The workers cringed when the boss man thundered
Seventy hours was their weekly chore
They asked for little and less was granted
Lest getting little they would ask for more.
But on came Larkin in 1914
A mighty man, with a mighty tongue
The voice of labour, the voice of justice
And he was gifted, and he was young
God sent Larkin in 1914
A labour man with a union tongue
He raised the workers and gave them courage
He was their hero, and a worker’s son.
In the month of August the boss man told us
No union man for him could work
We stood by Larkin and told the boss man
We'd fight or die but we'd never shirk
Eight months we fought, and eight months we starved
We stood by Larkin through thick and thin
But foodless homes and the crying children,
They broke our hearts and we could not win
When Larkin left us
We seemed defeated
The night was black for the working man
But on came Connolly with new hope and counsel
His motto was that we'd rise again
In 1916 in Dublin City
The English soldiers they burnt our town
They shelled the buildings and shot our leaders
The harp was buried beneath the crown
They shot McDermott and Pearse and Plunkett
They shot McDonagh and Clarke the brave
From bleak Kilmanham they took their bodies
To Arbour Hill to a quicklime grave
But last of all of the seven leaders
I’ll sing the praise of James Connolly
The voice of labour, the voice of justice
Who gave his life that we might be free.
YouTube:
____________________________
Una mattina mi son' svegliato
O bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao
Una mattina mi son' svegliato
E ho trovato l'invasor.
O partigiano porta mi via
O bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao
O partigiano porta mi via
Che mi sento di morire.
E se io muoio da partigiano
O bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao
E se io muoio da partigiano
Tu mi devi seppellir.
Mi seppellire lassù in montagna
O bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao
Mi seppellire lassù in montagna
Sotto l'ombra d'un bel fior
E le genti che passeranno
O bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao
E le genti che passeranno
Griderann’: "O che bel fior".
È quest’ il fiore del partigiano
O bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao
È questo il fiore del partigiano
Morto per la libertà.
YouTube clip:
[https://youtu.be/4CI3lhyNKfo]
____________________________
As we come marching, marching in the beauty of the day,
A million darkened kitchens, a thousand mill lofts gray,
Are touched with all the radiance that a sudden sun discloses,
For the people hear us singing: "Bread and roses! Bread and roses!"
As we come marching, marching, we battle too for men,
For they are in the struggle, and together we shall win.
Our lives shall not be sweated from birth until life closes;
Hearts starve as well as bodies; give us bread, but give us roses!
As we come marching, marching, unnumbered women dead
Go crying through our singing their ancient cry for bread.
Small art and love and beauty their drudging spirits knew.
Yes, it is bread we fight for -- but we fight for roses, too!
As we come marching, marching, we’re standing proud and tall.
The rising of the women means the rising of us all.
No more the drudge and idler – ten that toil where one reposes,
But a sharing of life's glories: Bread and roses! Bread and roses!
YouTube clip:
From the film “Pride”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNQs6gSOkeU
____________________________________________
They used to tell me I was building a dream
And so I followed the mob
When there was earth to plow or guns to bear
I was always there right on the job
They used to tell me I was building a dream
With peace and glory ahead
Why should I be standing in line
Just waiting for bread?
Once I built a railroad, I made it run
Made it race against time
Once I built a railroad, now it's done
Brother, can you spare a dime?
Once I built a tower up to the sun
Brick and rivet and lime
Once I built a tower, now it's done
Brother, can you spare a dime?
Once in khaki suits, gee we looked swell
Full of that yankee doodly dum
Half a million boots went sloggin' through hell
And I was the kid with the drum
Say, don't you remember, they called me Al
It was Al all the time
Why don't you remember, I'm your pal
Say buddy, can you spare a dime?
Once in khaki suits, ah gee we looked swell
Full of that yankee doodly dum
Half a million boots went sloggin' through hell
And I was the kid with the drum
Oh, say, don't you remember, they called me Al
It was Al all the time
Say, don't you remember, I'm your pal
Buddy, can you spare a dime?
_______________
Songwriters: E. Y. Harburg / Jay Gorney
____________________________________________
Bob
Dylan (1964)
Far between sundown's
finish an' midnight's broken toll
We ducked inside the doorway as thunder
went crashing
As majestic bells of bolts struck shadows
in the sounds
Seeming to be the chimes of freedom
flashing
Flashing for the warriors whose strength
is not to fight
Flashing for the refugees on the unarmed
road of flight
An' for each an' ev'ry underdog soldier in
the night
An' we gazed upon the chimes of freedom
flashing.
Through the city's melted furnace,
unexpectedly we watched
With faces hidden as the walls were
tightening
As the echo of the wedding bells before
the blowin' rain
Dissolved into the bells of the lightning
Tolling for the rebel, tolling for the
rake
Tolling for the luckless, the abandoned
an' forsaked
Tolling for the outcast, burnin'
constantly at stake
An' we gazed upon the chimes of freedom
flashing.
Through the mad mystic hammering of the
wild ripping hail
The sky cracked its poems in naked wonder
That the clinging of the church bells blew
far into the breeze
Leaving only bells of lightning and its
thunder
Striking for the gentle, striking for the
kind
Striking for the guardians and protectors
of the mind
And the poet and the painter far behind
his rightful time
And we gazed upon the chimes of freedom
flashing.
In the wild cathedral evening the rain
unraveled tales
For the disrobed faceless forms of no
position
Tolling for the tongues with no place to
bring their thoughts
All down in taken-for-granted situations
Tolling for the deaf an' blind, tolling
for the mute
and the mistreated, mateless mother, the
mistitled prostitute
For the misdemeanor outlaw, chained an'
cheated by pursuit
And we gazed upon the chimes of freedom
flashing.
Even though a cloud's white curtain in a
far-off comer flashed
An' the hypnotic splattered mist was
slowly lifting
Electric light still struck like arrows,
fired but for the ones
Condemned to drift or else be kept from
drifting
Tolling for the searching ones, on their
speechless, seeking trail
For the lonesome hearted lovers with to
personal a tale
And for each unharmful gentle soul
misplaced inside a jail
And we gazed upon the chimes of freedom
flashing.
Starry-eyed and laughing as I recall when
we were caught
Trapped by no track of hours for they
hanged suspended
As we listened one last time an' we
watched with one last look
Spellbound an' swallowed 'til the tolling
ended
Tolling for the aching ones whose wounds
cannot be nursed
For the countless confused, accused,
misused, strung-out ones an' worse
An' for every hung-up person in the whole
wide universe
An' we gazed upon the chimes of freedom
flashing.
YouTube
clips:
Bob
Dylan:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8pNtpPnhwk
As Springsteen says... "One of the greatest songs about human freedom ever
written..."
Bruce Springsteen:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3onnJuBS18
____________________________________________
The Men They Couldn't Hang
I am a member of the council of the naval
mutiny
And no traitor to my conscience having
done my sworn duty
These are my last words before the
scaffold, and I charge you all to hear
How a wretched British sailor became a
citizen mutineer
Pressed into service to carry powder
I was loyal to the crack of the whip
If I starved on the streets of Bristol,
I starved worse on a British ship
Red is the colour of the new republic
Blue is the colour of the sea
White is the colour of my innocence
Not surrender to your mercy
I was woken from my misery
by the words of Thomas Paine
On my barren soil they fell
like the sweetest drops of rain
Red is the colour of the new republic
Blue is the colour of the sea
While is the colour of my innocence
Not surrender to your mercy
So in the spring of the year we took the
fleet
Every sail and cannon and compass sheet
And we flew a Jacobin flag to give us
heart
While Pitt stood helpless we were waiting
for Bonaparte
Red is the colour of the new republic
Blue is the colour of the sea
White is the colour of my innocence
Not surrender to your mercy
All you soldiers, all you sailors,
all you labourers of the land
All you beggars, all you builders,
you've come here to watch me hang
To the masters we are the rabble,
we are the "swinish multitude"
But we can re-arrange the colours
of the red and the white and the blue
Red is the colour of the new republic
Blue is the colour of the sea
White is the colour of my innocence
Not surrender to your mercy
Red is the colour of the new republic
Blue is the colour of the sea
White is the colour of my innocence
Not surrender to your mercy
YouTube clip:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNKLBwAcP04 ____________________________
As I went down in the river to pray
Studying about that good old way
And who shall wear the starry crown
Good Lord, show me the way!
O sisters let's go down,
Let's go down, come on down,
O sisters let's go down,
Down in the river to pray.
Following verses: O brothers...
O fathers... O mothers... O sinners...
YouTube clip:
_______________________
Woody Guthrie
The crops are
all in and the peaches are rotting,
The oranges are piled in their creosote dumps.
They're flying you back to the Mexico border,
To pay all your money to wade back again.
My father's own father, he waded that river,
They took all the money he made in his life.
My brothers and sisters they worked in the orchards,
And they rode the big trucks till they laid down and died.
Goodbye to my Juan, goodbye,
Rosalita,
Adios mis amigos, Jesus y Maria.
You won't have a name when you ride
the big aeroplane,
All they will call you will be
"deportees".
Some of us are illegal, and some are not wanted,
When contract is out, we've got to move on.
Six hundred miles to the Mexico border,
They chase us like outlaws, like rustlers, like thieves.
We died in your hills, and we died in your deserts,
We died in your valleys and died on your plains.
We died 'neath your trees and we died in your bushes,
Both sides of the river, we died just the same.
Goodbye to my Juan, goodbye,
Rosalita,
Adios mis amigos, Jesus y Maria.
You won't have a name when you ride
the big aeroplane,
All they will call you will be
"deportees".
The sky plane caught fire over Los Gatos Canyon,
A fireball of lightning, it shook all our hills,
Who are these friends, all scattered like dry leaves?
The radio says, "They are just deportees".
Is this the best way we can grow our big orchards?
Is this the best way we can grow our good fruit?
To fall like dry leaves and rot on our topsoil,
To be known by no name except "deportees"?
Goodbye to my Juan, goodbye,
Rosalita,
Adios mis amigos, Jesus y Maria.
You won't have a name when you ride
the big aeroplane,
All they will call you will be
"deportees".
All they will call you will be
"deportees".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woody_Guthrie
YouTube clip – Woody Guthrie [original version – short]
YouTube clip – Joan Baez and Bob Dylan [very beautiful]
____________________________
By a
lonely prison wall
I heard a young girl calling
Michael they are taking you away
For you stole Trevelyan's corn
So the young might see the morn.
Now a prison ship lies waiting in the bay.
CHORUS:
Low
lie the Fields of Athenry
Where once we watched the small free birds fly.
Our love was on the wing we had dreams and songs to sing
It's so lonely 'round the Fields of Athenry.
By a lonely prison wall
I heard a young man calling
Nothing matters Mary when you're free,
Against the Famine and the Crown
I rebelled, they cut me down
Now you must raise our child with dignity.
By a lonely harbour wall
She watched the last star falling
As that prison ship sailed out against the sky
Sure she'll live in hope and pray
For her love in Botany Bay
It's so lonely 'round the Fields of Athenry.
YouTube
clip:
____________________________
Fischia il vento ed infuria la bufera
scarpe rotte e pur bisogna andar
a conquistare la rossa primavera
dove sorge il sol dell'avvenir
...a conquistare la rossa primavera
dove sorge il sol dell'avvenir
Ogni contrada è patria del ribelle
ogni donna a lui dona un sospir
nella notte lo guidano le stelle
forte il cuor e il braccio nel colpir
...nella notte lo guidano le stelle
forte il cuor e il braccio nel colpir
E se ci coglie la crudele morte
dura vendetta fara dal partigian
ormai sicura è già la dura sorte
del fascista vile traditor
...ormai sicura è già la dura sorte
del fascista vile traditor
Cessa il vento, calma è la bufera
torna a casa il fiero partigian
sventolando la rossa sua bandiera
vittoriosi, e alfin liberi siam!
...sventolando la rossa sua bandiera
vittoriosi, e alfin liberi siam!
Fischia il vento ed infuria la bufera
scarpe rotte e pur bisogna andar
a conquistare la rossa primavera
dove sorge il sol dell'avvenir
...a conquistare la rossa primavera
dove sorge il sol dell'avvenir
YouTube clip:
____________________________
General Taylor gained the day
Walk him along, John, carry him along
Oh, General Taylor gained the day
Carry him to his burying ground
CHORUS
To me way hey, you Stormy
Walk him along, John, carry him along
To me way hey, you Stormy
Carry him to his burying ground
Oh I wish I was old Stormy's son
I'd build a ship ten thousand tons
I'd load her down with ale and rum
And every sailor should have some
Oh we’ll dig his grave with a silver spade
And his shroud of the softest silk will be made
And we’ll lower him down on a golden chain
On every link we'll carve his name
General Taylor's dead and gone
General Taylor's dead and gone
YouTube clip
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pia0mc3cjpc
____________________________
Bob Marley
Get up, stand
up: stand up for your rights!
Get up, stand up: stand up for your rights!
Get up, stand up: stand up for your rights!
Get up, stand up: don't give up the fight!
Preacherman, don't tell me,
Heaven is under the earth.
I know you don't know
What life is really worth.
It's not all that glitters is gold;
Half the story has never been told:
So now you see the light, eh!
Stand up for your rights. Come on!
Get up, stand up [etc]
Most people think,
Great God will come from the skies,
Take away everything
And make everybody feel high.
But if you know what life is worth,
You will look for yours on earth:
And now you see the light,
You stand up for your rights. Jah!
Get up, stand up! (Jah, Jah!)
Stand up for your rights! (Oh-hoo!)
Get up, stand up! (Get up, stand up!)
Don't give up the fight! (Life is your right!)
Get up, stand up! (So we can't give up the fight!)
Stand up for your rights! (Lord, Lord!)
Get up, stand up! (Keep on struggling on!)
Don't give up the fight! (Yeah!)
We sick an' tired of-a your
ism-skism game -
Dyin' 'n' goin' to heaven in-a Jesus' name, Lord.
We know when we understand:
Almighty God is a living man.
You can fool some people sometimes,
But you can't fool all the people all the time.
So now we see the light (What you gonna do?),
We gonna stand up for our rights! (Yeah, yeah, yeah!)
So you better: Get up, stand up! (In the morning! Git it up!)
Stand up for your rights! (Stand up for our rights!)
Get up, stand up!
Don't give up the fight! (Don't give it up, don't give it up!)
Get up, stand up! (Get up, stand up!)
Stand up for your rights! (Get up, stand up!)
Get up, stand up! ( ... )
Don't give up the fight! (Get up, stand up!)
Get up, stand up! ( ... )
Stand up for your rights!
Get up, stand up!
Don't give up the fight!
YouTube clip:
____________________________________________
In eighteen hundred and
forty-six
On March the eighteenth day,
We hoisted our colours to the top of the mast
And for Greenland bore away, brave boys,
And for Greenland bore away.
The lookout, on the crosstrees
he stood
With spyglass in his hand;
There's a whale, there's a whale,
There’s a whalefish he cried
And she blows at every span, brave boys
And she blows at every span.
The captain stood on the
quarterdeck,
The ice was in his eye;
Overhaul, overhaul! Let your davit tackles fall,
And launch your boats for sea, brave boys
And launch put your boats for sea.
The boats were lowered, and the
men aboard,
And the whale was full in view,
Resolved was each seaman bold
For to steer where the whalefish blew, brave boys,
For to steer where the whalefish
blew.
The harpoon struck and the line
played out,
With a single flourish of her tail,
She capsized our boat and we lost five men,
And we did not catch that whale, brave boys,
And we did not catch that whale.
The losing of those five jolly
men,
It grieved our captain sore,
But the losing of that spermwhale fish
Now it grieved him ten times more, brave boys
Now it grieved him ten times more.
The winter star doth now appear,
So, boys we'll anchor weigh;
It's time to leave this cold count-ry
And homeward bear away, brave boys
And homeward bear away.
Oh Greenland is a barren land
A land that bears no green
Where there's ice and snow, and the whale fishes blow
And the daylight's seldom seen, brave boys
And the daylight's seldom seen.
YouTube clip:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IVtbVSOs5Y
___________________________
I dreamed I saw Joe Hill
last night,
Alive as you or me
Says I, "But Joe, you're
ten years dead,"
"I never died,"
says he
"I never died,"
says he
"In Salt Lake,
Joe," says I to him,
Him standing by my bed,
"They framed you on a
murder charge,"
Says Joe, "But I ain't
dead,"
Says Joe, "But I ain't
dead."
"The copper bosses killed
you, Joe,
They shot you, Joe,"
says I.
"Takes more than guns
to kill a man,"
Says Joe, "I didn't
die,"
Says Joe, "I didn't
die."
And standing there as big
as life
And smiling with his eyes
Joe says, "What they
forgot to kill
Went on to organize,
Went on to organize."
"Joe Hill ain't
dead," he says to me,
"Joe Hill ain't never
died.
Where working men are out
on strike
Joe Hill is at their side,
Joe Hill is at their
side."
"From San Diego up to
Maine,
In every mine and mill,
Where workers strike and
organize,"
Says he, "You'll find
Joe Hill,"
Says he, "You'll find
Joe Hill."
I dreamed I saw Joe Hill
last night,
Alive as you or me
Says I, "But Joe,
you're ten years dead,"
"I never died,"
says he
"I never died,"
says he
Joe Hill, an IWW union organizer
and poet, was executed
in 1915 after being framed
on a murder charge.
YouTube clip:
____________________________________________
Paddy Ryan I’m the man, the very fat man,That waters the workers' beerI’m the man, the very fat man,That waters the workers' beerAnd what do I care if it makes them ill,If it makes them terribly queerI've a car, a yacht, and an aeroplane,And I waters the workers' beer Now when I makes the workers' beer,I puts in strychinineSome methylated spirits,And a bit of paraffineBut since a brew so terribly strong,Might make them terribly queerI reaches my hand for the water tapAnd I waters the workers' beer Now a drop of good beer is good for a manWho’s tired, thirsty and hotAnd I sometimes have a drop myself,From a very special lotBut a strong and healthy working classIs a thing that I most fearSo I reaches my hand for the water tapAnd I waters the workers' beer Now ladies fair, beyond compare,Be you maiden or wifeOh sometimes spare a thought for one Who leads a wandering lifeFor the water rates are frightfully high,And meths is terribly dearAnd there isn't the profit there used to beIn watering the workers' beer
____________________________
Bob Dylan
1. Come you masters of war
You that build the big guns
You that build the death planes
You that build all the bombs
You that hide behind walls
You that hide behind desks
I just want you to know
I can see through your masks
2. You that never done nothin'
But build to destroy
You play with my world
Like it's your little toy
You put a gun in my hand
And you hide from my eyes
And you turn and run farther
When the fast bullets fly
3. Well like a Judas of old
You lie and deceive
A world war can be won
You want me to believe
But I see through your eyes
And I see through your brain
Like I see through the water
That runs down my drain
4. You fasten all the triggers
For the others to fire
And then you sit back and watch
When the death count gets higher
And you hide in your mansion
All the young people's blood
Flows out of their bodies
And is buried in the mud
5. You've thrown the worst fear
That can ever be hurled
Fear to bring children
Into the world
Oh for threatening my baby
Unborn and unnamed
You ain't worth the blood
That runs in your veins
6. How much do I know?
Oh to talk out of turn
You might say that I'm young
You might say I'm unlearned
But there's a one thing I know
Though I'm younger than you
That even Jesus would never
Forgive what you do
7. Well let me ask you one question
Is your money that good?
Oh will it buy you forgiveness
Do you think that it could?
I think you will find
When your death takes its toll
All the money you made
Will never buy back your soul
8. And I hope that you die
And your death will come soon
I'll follow your casket
By the pale afternoon
And I'll watch while you're lowered
Down to your deathbed
And I'll stand over your grave
Till I'm sure that you're dead
YouTube clip:
____________________________
I’ll
sing you one-oh,
Red
fly the banners-oh!
What
is your one-oh?
One
is workers’ unity
And
evermore shall be so.
I’ll
sing you two-oh,
Red
fly the banners-oh!
What
are your two-oh?
Two,
two the worker’s hands
Working
for a living-oh,
One
is workers’ unity
And
evermore shall be so.
I’ll
sing your three-oh,
Red
fly the banners-oh!
What
are your three-oh?
Three,
three the Rights of Man,
Two,
two the worker’s hands
Working
for their living-oh,
One
is workers’ unity
And
evermore shall be so. [and so on till ten]
I’ll
sing you ten-oh,
Red fly
the banners-oh!
What
are your ten-oh?
Ten
for the days that shook the world,
Nine
for the days of the General Strike,
Eight
for the Eighth Red Army,
Seven
for the hours of the working day,
Six
for the Tolpuddle Martyrs,
Five
for the years of the Five Year Plan,
Four
for the four years taken,
[Four
for the four great thinkers]
Three,
three the Rights of Man,
Two,
two the worker’s hands
Working
for a living-oh,
One
is workers’ unity
And
evermore shall be so.
_______________________
Sebben che siamo donne paura non abbiamo
per amor dei nostri figli, per amor dei nostri figli
sebben che siamo donne paura non abbiamo
per amor dei nostri figli, in lega ci mettiamo
A oilì oilì oilà e la lega crescerà
e noialtri lavoratori, e noialtri lavoratori
a oilì oilì oilà e la lega crescerà
e noialtri lavoratori vogliam la libertà
E la libertà non viene perché non c′è
l’unione
crumiri col padrone, crumiri col padrone
e la libertà non viene perché non c’è l’unione
crumiri col padrone, son tutti da ammazzar
Sebben che siamo donne, paura non abbiamo
abbiam delle belle buone lingue, abbiam delle belle buone lingue
sebben che siamo donne paura non abbiamo
abbiam delle belle buone lingue, e ben ci difendiamo
E voialtri signoroni che ci avete tanto orgoglio
abbassate la superbia, abbassate la superbia
e voialtri signoroni che ci avete tanto orgoglio
abbassate la superbia, e aprite il portafoglio
_______________________
From the sands
of the Sahara to the shores of Singapore,
To jungles of the Congo, to the jungles of
Angkor,
To fat holes in the ceilings and those fag
stains on the floor
Yes we’re SOAS, SOAS till we die.
Oh, we’re not City, we’re not Met, and
we’re not UCL,
Oh, we’re not Mary’s, we’re not Vets and
we’re not KCL,
We study all the empire but we’re not Imperial,
Yes we’re SOAS, SOAS till we die.
From Regent’s Park to King’s Cross,
Edgware Road both up and down,
From Bakerloo to Piccadilly, Circle round
and round,
(We’re bloody good to know when you’ve
passed out in Chinatown)
‘Cos we’re SOAS, SOAS till we die.
We don’t have any money and Dinwiddy is a
dive
But we’ve got Hare Krishna so we’ll know
that we’ll survive
(And if it’s getting desperate we’ll just
work for MI5)
‘Cos we’re SOAS, SOAS till we die.
We learn about economies but most of us are
broke,
Our student loan’s gone missing ‘cos the
company’s a joke
But we’ll save up all the pennies just to
buy another toke…
‘Cos we’re SOAS, SOAS till we die.
We know about our history and
International Laws,
We’ll demonstrate and remonstrate and leaflet
for the cause,
We’ll even raise our voices (if our iPods
are on pause)
‘Cos we’re SOAS, SOAS till we die.
We’re experts on Swahili, Arabic and
Mandarin,
We know a bit about our beer, our vodka
and our gin,
(And if you’re just a fresher keep your ‘meat
samosa’ in)
‘Cos we’re SOAS, SOAS till we die.
Our knowledge is our power but it’s very
clear to see
That everything’s about the cash and
nothing comes for free
Still our elephants and camels march
together tree to tree
‘Cos we’re SOAS, SOAS till we die.
So here’s to Russell, here’s to Vernon,
raise your glasses high!
A toast to good old Faber and respect to
old Brunei!
We’ll sleep on the white steps when we’re
impoverished alumni…
‘Cos we’re SOAS, SOAS till we die.
Sound file:
https://soundcloud.com/soasradio/soas-anthem
Voted by UGM as
the official anthem on 17th January 2012 in the JCR.
When the union's inspiration through the
workers' blood shall run,
There can be no power greater anywhere beneath the sun;
Yet what force on earth is weaker than the feeble strength of one,
But the union makes us strong.
CHORUS:
Solidarity forever,
Solidarity forever,
Solidarity forever,
For the union makes us strong.
Is there aught we hold in common with the greedy parasite,
Who would lash us into serfdom and would crush us with his might?
Is there anything left to us but to organize and fight?
For the union makes us strong.
It is we who plowed the prairies; built the cities where they trade;
Dug the mines and built the workshops, endless miles of railroad laid;
Now we stand outcast and starving midst the wonders we have made;
But the union makes us strong.
All the world that's owned by idle drones is ours and ours alone.
We have laid the wide foundations; built it skyward stone by stone.
It is ours, not to slave in, but to master and to own.
While the union makes us strong.
They have taken untold millions that they never toiled to earn,
But without our brain and muscle not a single wheel can turn.
We can break their haughty power, gain our freedom when we learn
That the union makes us strong.
In our hands is placed a power greater than their hoarded gold,
Greater than the might of armies, multiplied a thousand-fold.
We can bring to birth a new world from the ashes of the old
For the union makes us strong.
YouTube clip:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCnEAH5wCzo
Sovay,
Sovay all on a day,
She dressed herself in man's array
With a sword and a pistol all
by her side
To meet her true love, to meet her true love, away did ride.
As
she was riding over the plain
She met her true love and bid him stand:
“Your gold and silver, kind Sir,” she said,
“Or else this moment, or else this moment, your life I'll have.”
And
when she'd robbed him of his store
She said, “Kind Sir, there is one thing more:
A golden ring which I know you have,
Deliver it, deliver it, your sweet life to save.”
“Oh
that golden ring a token is;
My life I'll lose, the ring I'll save.”
Being tender-hearted just like a dove,
She rode away, she rode away, from her true love.
Now
next morning in the garden green
Just like true lovers they were seen;
He spied his watch hanging by her clothes
Which made him blush, made him blush, like any rose.
“Oh
what makes you blush at so silly a thing,
I thought to have had your golden ring;
'Twas I that robbed you all on the plain,
So here's your watch, here's your watch and your gold again.”
“Oh
I did intend and it was to know
If that you were me true love or no.
For if you’d given that ring, she
said,
I’d have pulled the trigger, I’d have pulled the
trigger and shot you dead.”
YouTube
clip:
Tracy Chapman
Don't you know you're
talking about a revolution
Don't you know they're talking about a revolution
While they're standing in the welfare lines
Crying at the doorsteps of those armies of salvation
Wasting time in unemployment lines
Sitting around waiting for a promotion
Don't you know you're talking about a revolution
Poor people are gonna rise up
And get their share
Poor people are gonna rise up
And take what's theirs
Don't you know you better run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run,
run, run, run
Oh I said you better run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run,
run, run
’Cause finally the tables are starting to turn
Talking about a revolution
Yes, finally the tables are starting to turn
Talking about a revolution oh no
Talking about a revolution oh no
While they're standing in the welfare lines
Crying at the doorsteps of those armies of salvation
Wasting time in unemployment lines
Sitting around waiting for a promotion
Don't you know you're talking about a revolution
And finally the tables are starting to turn
Talking about a revolution
Yes, finally the tables are starting to turn
Talking about a revolution oh no
Talking about a revolution oh no
Talking about a revolution oh no
YouTube clip:
1. Lift up your hearts, Emmanuel's friends
And taste ¦ the pleasure Jesus sends
Let nothing cause you to delay
But hasten ¦ in the good old way
CHORUS:
For I have a sweet hope of glory in my soul
(For I have a sweet hope of
glory)
I have a sweet hope of glory in my
soul
(I have a sweet hope of glory)
For I know I have, and I feel I
have
A sweet hope of glory in my soul
2. Our conflicts here, though great they be
Shall not ¦ prevent our victory
If we but strive and watch and pray
Like soldiers ¦ in the good old way
3. Though Satan may his powers employ
Our happiness ¦ for to destroy
Yet never fear, we'll gain the day
By marching ¦ in the good old way
4. Ye valiant souls, for heaven contend
Remember ¦ glory is at the end
Our God will wipe our tears away
When we ¦ have run the good old way
YouTube clip: The Watersons
Hackney and Islington Music Workshop
CHORUS:
(So) Hand me my torch and my crowbar;
Pass me my map of the town;
Why should we be homeless when there's
Plenty to go round;
Plenty of houses are empty;
Why should we sleep on the street?
I'm one of the homeless of London tonight,
But I'll have a new home in the morning.
We've been waiting for twenty-odd years
To get to the top of the list;
Even went down to the council
'Cos I thought we must've been missed;
They told us to just keep on waiting;
They were doing their best, they said;
So I asked for a transfer to the cemetery
list
'Cos before we come up we'll be dead.
My old man used to knock us about;
He beat up the kids and the cat;
I know we're supposed to be married,
But I'm not putting up with that;
Made up my mind I was leaving,
But we had nowhere to go;
Can't get a place from the council,
So a-squatting we will go.
We used to live in a furnished flat,
With a landlord snooping about;
One day he wrote us a letter
And he said that we'd have to move out;
He said he was doing improvements,
Thousands of pounds would be spent,
But after he'd done the improvements
We couldn't afford the rent.
Some people live in a castle;
Some people live in a tent;
Some people live by the rules of the game
But the referee is bent;
How come that thousands are homeless
While builders are on the dole?
Someone is making a fortune
Because profits are in control.
So here's to the property dealers;
Here's to Max Rayne and Charles Clore;
If ever they're stuck for a place to live,
There's plenty of room on our floor;
Here's to the bold Harry Hyams,
Good old Joe Levy as well,
And all of the rich speculators,
I hope that they're homeless in hell.
Bob Dylan
Come gather 'round people wherever you
roam
And admit that the waters around you have grown
And accept it that soon you'll be drenched to the bone
If your time to you is worth savin'
Then you better start swimmin' or you'll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin'.
Come writers and critics who prophesize with your pen
And keep your eyes wide, the chance won't come again
And don't speak too soon, for the wheel's still in spin
And there's no tellin' who that it's namin'
For the loser now will be later to win
For the times they are a-changin'.
Come senators, congressmen, please heed the call
Don't stand in the doorway, don't block up the hall
For he that gets hurt will be he who has stalled
There's a battle outside and it’s ragin'
It'll soon shake your windows and rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin'.
Come mothers and fathers throughout the land
And don't criticize what you can't understand
Your sons and your daughters are beyond your command
Your old road is rapidly agein'
Please get out of the new one if you can't lend a hand
For the times they are a-changin'.
The line it is drawn, the curse it is cast
The slow one now will later be fast
As the present now will later be past
The order is rapidly fadin'
And the first one now will later be last
For the times they are a-changin'.
YouTube clip:
https://youtu.be/e7qQ6_RV4VQ ____________________________
Florence Reece
Come all of you good workers
Good news to you I'll tell
Of how the good ol' union
Has come in here to dwell
Chorus:
Which side are you on?
Which side are you on? [x2]
My daddy was a miner
And I'm a miner's son
And I'll stick with the union
'Til every battle's won
They say in Harlan County
There are no neutrals there
You'll either be a union man
Or a thug for J. H. Blair
Oh workers can you stand it?
Oh tell me how you can
Will you be a lousy scab
Or will you be a man?
Don't scab for the bosses
Don't listen to their lies
Us poor folks haven't got a chance
Unless we organize
Which side are you on?
Which side are you on?
Which side are you on?
Which side are you on?
YouTube clip:
____________________________________________
Leon Rosselson
In 1649, to St George's Hill
A ragged band they called the Diggers
Came to show the people's will
They defied the landlords
They defied the laws
They were the dispossessed
Reclaiming what was theirs
We come in peace, they said
To dig and sow
We come to work the land in common
And to make the waste land grow
This earth divided
We will make whole
So it can be
A common treasury for all.
The sin of property we do disdain
No one has any right to buy and sell
The earth for private gain
By theft and murder
They took the land
Now everywhere the walls
Rise up at their command.
They make the laws to chain us well
The clergy dazzle us with heaven
Or they damn us into hell
We will not worship
The God they serve
The God of greed who feeds the rich
While poor men starve
We work, we eat together, we need no
swords
We will not bow to masters
Or pay rent to the lords
We are free men
Though we are poor
You Diggers all stand up for glory
Stand up now
From the men of property the orders came
They sent the hired men and troopers
To wipe out the Diggers' claim
Tear down their cottages
Destroy their corn
They were dispersed -
Only the vision lingers on
You poor take courage, you rich take care
The earth was made a common treasury
For everyone to share
All things in common
All people one
We come in peace
The order came to cut them down.
You diggers all, stand up for glory
Stand up now!
YouTube clip:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0tPr_GIMd4
____________________________
CHORUS:
yamma, mweyl el-hawa,
yamma, mweyl-eya
darb el-khanajer, wala hokm el-nadhel fiyya
1. w-msheet,
taht e-shita, w-shita rawwani
w-saif lamma ata, walla‘ min neerani
bidal ‘omri enfada, nidr lil hurreyya
2. ya
leil, sah el nada, yesh-had ‘ala jrahi
w-insal, jaish el-‘aida, min
kul il-nawahi
wel leil, shaf el rada,
‘am yat‘allem biyya
3. baroodeh
fil jabal, a‘la min el ‘ali
meftah darb il amal, wel amal bi
rjali
yasha‘bina ya batal, afdik b‘eenaya
YouTube clip:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVwvnb1o7bU [May Nasr]
____________________________________
SOAS
Guerrilla Choir – Wild about song! – Join the choir!
Contact us at: [email protected]
Updated:
17.xii.2018