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.