Skip to content or view mobile version

Home | Mobile | Editorial | Mission | Privacy | About | Contact | Help | Security | Support

A network of individuals, independent and alternative media activists and organisations, offering grassroots, non-corporate, non-commercial coverage of important social and political issues.

Alternative Christmas Carols

Lily | 18.12.2003 12:29 | Culture | Repression | London

Christmas Carols with a difference...

0NINE ALTERNATIVE CHRISTMAS CAROLS FOR 2003.

by Just Peace UK.


O COME ALL YE FAITHFUL

O come all ye faithful,
All who care for justice,
O look ye, O look ye at Bethlehem;
Come and behold it
Under occupation.
O come, let's not ignore it,
O come, let's not ignore it,
O come, let's not ignore it,
Tell the world.

Sing, all ye people,
Sing in indignation,
Be with the citizens of Bethlehem;
Sing out for justice,
Freedom from oppression.
O come, let's not ignore it,
O come, let's not ignore it,
O come, let's not ignore it,
Tell the world.



O LITTLE TOWN OF BETHLEHEM

O little town of Bethlehem,
How still we see thee lie!
A wall is laid where tourists stayed,
And tanks go rolling by.
And in thy dark streets shineth
No cheerful Christmas light;
The grief and fears of three sad years
Are met in thee tonight.

How silently, how silently
The world regards it all,
As now thy heart is torn apart
By Israel's ghetto wall.
They terrorize a people -
A war crime and a sin;
Their winding "fence" can make no sense;
Revenge can still get in.

O promised child of Bethlehem,
Cast down the iron cage,
The walls of hate that separate
And harden and enrage;
Bring justice and make equal;
Come down from far above;
And come to birth upon this earth,
As hope and peace and love.



ONCE IN ROYAL DAVID'S CITY

Once in royal David's city
Stood some big Israeli tanks;
Mothers giving birth to babies
Met with checkpoints and roadbanks.
Holy land was all defiled
As a bullet killed a child.

Round the ancient tomb of Rachel
They have built a ghetto wall;
Rachel's weeping for her children,
And "her children" means us all.
But this city's strangulated,
Rachel's children segregated.

David's people once instructed
All the world in righteousness;
Once they spoke of truth and justice,
Now they ravage and oppress.
Nations, look at Bethlehem,
And speak out the truth to them.


IN THE BLEAK MIDWINTER

In the bleak midwinter,
Refugees made moan;
Sharon stood like iron,
Bush was like a stone.
Tanks were rolling, tank on tank,
Tank on tank,
Through the camps of Gaza
And the West Bank.

How can we stop him,
Ariel Sharon?
Silence of the nations
Lets him carry on.
Where is there a wise man
Who could do his part?
Tell the world to stop him
With its heart.


THE TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS

On the first day of Christmas, Arik Sharon sent me
An uprooted olive tree.

On the second day of Christmas, Arik Sharon sent me
Two trampled doves
And an uprooted olive tree.

On the third day of Christmas, Arik Sharon sent me
Three trench guns,
Two trampled doves,
And an uprooted olive tree.

On the fourth day of Christmas, Arik Sharon sent me
Four falling bombs,
Three trench guns,
Two trampled doves,
And an uprooted olive tree.

On the fifth day of Christmas, Arik Sharon sent me
Five settlement rings.
Four falling bombs,
Three trench guns,
Two trampled doves,
And an uprooted olive tree.

On the sixth day of Christmas, Arik Sharon sent me
Six tanks a-rolling,
Five settlement rings.
Four falling bombs,
Three trench guns,
Two trampled doves,
And an uprooted olive tree.

On the seventh day of Christmas, Arik Sharon sent me
Seven checkpoints blocking,
Six tanks a-rolling,
Five settlement rings.
Four falling bombs,
Three trench guns,
Two trampled doves,
And an uprooted olive tree.

On the eighth day of Christmas, Arik Sharon sent me
Eight gunships firing,
Seven checkpoints blocking,
Six tanks a-rolling,
Five settlement rings.
Four falling bombs,
Three trench guns,
Two trampled doves,
And an uprooted olive tree.

On the ninth day of Christmas, Arik Sharon sent me
Nine smashed computers,
Eight gunships firing,
Seven checkpoints blocking,
Six tanks a-rolling,
Five settlement rings.
Four falling bombs,
Three trench guns,
Two trampled doves,
And an uprooted olive tree.

On the tenth day of Christmas, Arik Sharon sent me
Ten wells obstructed,
Nine smashed computers,
Eight gunships firing,
Seven checkpoints blocking,
Six tanks a-rolling,
Five settlement rings.
Four falling bombs,
Three trench guns,
Two trampled doves,
And an uprooted olive tree.

On the eleventh day of Christmas, Arik Sharon sent me
Eleven homes demolished,
Ten wells obstructed,
Nine smashed computers,
Eight gunships firing,
Seven checkpoints blocking,
Six tanks a-rolling,
Five settlement rings,
Four falling bombs,
Three trench guns,
Two trampled doves,
And an uprooted olive tree.

On the twelfth day of Christmas, Arik Sharon sent me
Twelve assassinations,
Eleven homes demolished,
Ten wells obstructed,
Nine smashed computers,
Eight gunships firing,
Seven checkpoints blocking,
Six tanks a-rolling,
Five settlement rings.
Four falling bombs,
Three trench guns,
Two trampled doves,

And an uprooted olive tree.


ARIEL SHARON WALKED OUT
(TO BE SUNG TO THE TUNE OF "GOOD KING WENCESLAS")

Ariel Sharon walked out
On the Temple mountain;
Riots broke out round about -
Blood flowed like a fountain.
Seven were shot dead that day,
And the troops hit harder,
Escalating an affray
Into intifada.

"Hither voters, vote for me,
In the next election;
I will bring security,
Strength and self-protection".
So they voted in Sharon
As their lord and master,
And they let him carry on,
Though he brought disaster.

"Bring me flesh and bring me blood,
Bring me target killing!
Crush those Arabs into mud,
Make the message chilling.
Bomb the people from the sky,
Fighting terrorism;
If the world complains, we'll cry
'Antisemitism!'"

In their master's steps they trod,
The Israeli forces;
They profaned the name of God,
Choosing evil courses.
Therefore, IDF, be sure,
Tanks and planes deploying,
Ye who will oppress the poor,
Shall be self-destroying.


WHILE SHEPHERDS WATCHED

While shepherds watched their flocks by night,
All seated on the ground,
Some occupying soldiers came
And bulldozed all around.

"Fear not", said one, for mighty dread
Had seized their troubled mind;
"We will not cause you any harm,
For we are good and kind.

We're forced to confiscate your land
To build ourselves a fence
To keep our people safe from all
Your people's violence.

Some fields will stay, cut off from you,
But access won't be banned;
Yes, permits we will give to you
To visit your own land.

However, to your flocks of sheep
This access is denied;
For permits aren't made out to sheep,
So they must stay inside.

You say that sheep need pastureland
To feed or they will die;
I'm just obeying orders here;
Not mine to reason why."


THE OLIVE AND THE IDF

The olive and the IDF
When they are both full-grown,
Every olive tree on the West Bank
The IDF cuts down.

O the rampaging of settlers
And the rolling of the tanks;
The grinding of the bulldozers
As the olives fall in ranks.

The olive bears a berry
As green as any grass;
When the owners go to pick the fruit
They're not allowed to pass.

O the rampaging of settlers
And the rolling of the tanks;
The grinding of the bulldozers
As the olives fall in ranks.

This oppression bears a berry
As red as any blood,
As the owners see their livelihoods
All trampled into mud.

O the rampaging of settlers,
And the rolling of the tanks;
The grinding of the bulldozers
As the olives fall in ranks.

If you want to buy the olives,
You'll find it very hard;
To those that make it to checkpoints
The way outside is barred.

O the rampaging of settlers,
And the rolling of the tanks;
The grinding of the bulldozers
As the olives fall in ranks.

The olive and the IDF,
When they are both full-grown,
Every olive tree on the West Bank
The IDF cuts down.



WE FOUR KINGS

FOUR KINGS TOGETHER

We four kings, we're called the Quartet;
With a roadmap off we all set,
No-one knowing where we're going,
Or how far we can get.

CHORUS

O, map of wonder, map of light,
Map of promises so bright,
In three phases, through the mazes
Guide us with no end in sight.

1ST KING

I'm King George, the USA man;
And it goes according to plan;
Fighting terror, righting error;
After Iraq, Iran.

CHORUS

O, map of wonder, etc.

2ND KING

I this year am King of EU;
My name's known to more than a few -
Berlusconi; I and Tony
Take from King George our cue.

CHORUS

O map of wonder, etc.

3RD KING

I'm King Putin, Muscovite Tzar,
With this map I travel afar;
I'm partaking in peace-making,
Just like in Chechnya.

CHORUS

O map of wonder, etc.

4TH KING


I'm King Kofi, head of UN;
It makes laws again and again,
But ignored is, for the sword is
Mightier than the pen.

CHORUS

O map of wonder, etc..

FOUR KINGS TOGETHER

We four kings, we're all in a flap,
For we've got ourselves in a trap -
Stopped by trenches, walls and fences,
Not marked upon the map.

CHORUS

O map of wonder, etc.

FOUR KINGS TOGETHER

We four kings, bewildered we are,
For this map's not getting us far,
Nowhere leading - for we're needing
Not a map but a star.

CHORUS

O star of freedom, star of light,
Star of peace with justice bright,
Shining ever, they can never
Target-bomb thy perfect light.

Lily

Comments

Upcoming Coverage
View and post events
Upcoming Events UK
24th October, London: 2015 London Anarchist Bookfair
2nd - 8th November: Wrexham, Wales, UK & Everywhere: Week of Action Against the North Wales Prison & the Prison Industrial Complex. Cymraeg: Wythnos o Weithredu yn Erbyn Carchar Gogledd Cymru

Ongoing UK
Every Tuesday 6pm-8pm, Yorkshire: Demo/vigil at NSA/NRO Menwith Hill US Spy Base More info: CAAB.

Every Tuesday, UK & worldwide: Counter Terror Tuesdays. Call the US Embassy nearest to you to protest Obama's Terror Tuesdays. More info here

Every day, London: Vigil for Julian Assange outside Ecuadorian Embassy

Parliament Sq Protest: see topic page
Ongoing Global
Rossport, Ireland: see topic page
Israel-Palestine: Israel Indymedia | Palestine Indymedia
Oaxaca: Chiapas Indymedia
Regions
All Regions
Birmingham
Cambridge
Liverpool
London
Oxford
Sheffield
South Coast
Wales
World
Other Local IMCs
Bristol/South West
Nottingham
Scotland
Social Media
You can follow @ukindymedia on indy.im and Twitter. We are working on a Twitter policy. We do not use Facebook, and advise you not to either.
Support Us
We need help paying the bills for hosting this site, please consider supporting us financially.
Other Media Projects
Schnews
Dissident Island Radio
Corporate Watch
Media Lens
VisionOnTV
Earth First! Action Update
Earth First! Action Reports
Topics
All Topics
Afghanistan
Analysis
Animal Liberation
Anti-Nuclear
Anti-militarism
Anti-racism
Bio-technology
Climate Chaos
Culture
Ecology
Education
Energy Crisis
Fracking
Free Spaces
Gender
Globalisation
Health
History
Indymedia
Iraq
Migration
Ocean Defence
Other Press
Palestine
Policing
Public sector cuts
Repression
Social Struggles
Technology
Terror War
Workers' Movements
Zapatista
Major Reports
NATO 2014
G8 2013
Workfare
2011 Census Resistance
Occupy Everywhere
August Riots
Dale Farm
J30 Strike
Flotilla to Gaza
Mayday 2010
Tar Sands
G20 London Summit
University Occupations for Gaza
Guantanamo
Indymedia Server Seizure
COP15 Climate Summit 2009
Carmel Agrexco
G8 Japan 2008
SHAC
Stop Sequani
Stop RWB
Climate Camp 2008
Oaxaca Uprising
Rossport Solidarity
Smash EDO
SOCPA
Past Major Reports
Encrypted Page
You are viewing this page using an encrypted connection. If you bookmark this page or send its address in an email you might want to use the un-encrypted address of this page.
If you recieved a warning about an untrusted root certificate please install the CAcert root certificate, for more information see the security page.

Global IMC Network


www.indymedia.org

Projects
print
radio
satellite tv
video

Africa

Europe
antwerpen
armenia
athens
austria
barcelona
belarus
belgium
belgrade
brussels
bulgaria
calabria
croatia
cyprus
emilia-romagna
estrecho / madiaq
galiza
germany
grenoble
hungary
ireland
istanbul
italy
la plana
liege
liguria
lille
linksunten
lombardia
madrid
malta
marseille
nantes
napoli
netherlands
northern england
nottingham imc
paris/île-de-france
patras
piemonte
poland
portugal
roma
romania
russia
sardegna
scotland
sverige
switzerland
torun
toscana
ukraine
united kingdom
valencia

Latin America
argentina
bolivia
chiapas
chile
chile sur
cmi brasil
cmi sucre
colombia
ecuador
mexico
peru
puerto rico
qollasuyu
rosario
santiago
tijuana
uruguay
valparaiso
venezuela

Oceania
aotearoa
brisbane
burma
darwin
jakarta
manila
melbourne
perth
qc
sydney

South Asia
india


United States
arizona
arkansas
asheville
atlanta
Austin
binghamton
boston
buffalo
chicago
cleveland
colorado
columbus
dc
hawaii
houston
hudson mohawk
kansas city
la
madison
maine
miami
michigan
milwaukee
minneapolis/st. paul
new hampshire
new jersey
new mexico
new orleans
north carolina
north texas
nyc
oklahoma
philadelphia
pittsburgh
portland
richmond
rochester
rogue valley
saint louis
san diego
san francisco
san francisco bay area
santa barbara
santa cruz, ca
sarasota
seattle
tampa bay
united states
urbana-champaign
vermont
western mass
worcester

West Asia
Armenia
Beirut
Israel
Palestine

Topics
biotech

Process
fbi/legal updates
mailing lists
process & imc docs
tech