They all wear their poppies with pride

Paul Cudenec | 08.11.2009 09:21 | Anti-militarism | Terror War | South Coast

A remembrance day poem/song wot I wrote the other day

They All Wear Their Poppies With Pride

There's rats in the trenches
A thousand foul stenches
Of piss, pus and puke, blood and death
Jim's screaming his head off
'Cause Frank hasn't got one
And Joey's just drawn his last breath
While back home in Surrey
They try not to worry
And keep all their doubts locked inside
For in a few years
There'll be no more tears
And they'll all wear their poppies with pride...

She can't understand
As she holds the girl's hand
That her daughter's no longer attached
They were all blown to hell
As a terrorist cell
Though a wedding was all that they'd hatched
And back in the West
They're so sure they know best
Though they've tortured and murdered and lied
And they don't want to know
What the body counts show
As they all wear their poppies with pride...
Oh, they all wear their poppies with pride...

At the annual board meeting
Arms dealers are greeting
Reports of their profits with glee
They'll always be willing
To make a quick killing
From slaughter and mass misery
And when it's all over
They'll head off to stuff
The big bellies their suits cannot hide
And they won't spare a thought
For the carnage they've brought
But they'll all wear their poppies with pride...
Yes they'll all wear their poppies with pride...

Whoever you mix with
There's bound to be someone
Whose mind is still caught in the mesh
Those soldiers aren't heroes
They're nothing but fodder
For the thing that grows fat on our flesh
And you show no respect
For the ones left behind
Or the miserable sods who have died
If you can't face the truth about why they were killed
And you still wear your poppies with pride...
If you still wear your poppies with pride....
Do you still wear your poppies with pride?

Paul Cudenec
November 2009

Paul Cudenec

Comments

Hide the following 15 comments

excellent song

08.11.2009 09:45

The first decent activist song I've read before I've heard, sorry but most poetry sucks and that applies to activist poetry. You could sing that to the tune of one of my favourite songs 'No Mans Land' / 'Green Fields of France'. I'd suggest you think about adding an extra word in this line:
"At the boad meeting "
Maybe 'annual' or 'arms' or 'bloody' or whatever. If you an extra word there then in future activists can sing the song but change that word to the name of the company they are protesting against, ie "At the Qinetiq board meeting"

Danny

Well done for writing it but...

08.11.2009 09:46

I for one will honour the working class because of who they are. Ta.

Barry

Thanks

08.11.2009 11:10

Cheers Danny. You're dead right about the extra word. Maybe someone could insert "annual" before "board meeting" for me....
I have got a tune, in fact, but dunno how to communicate it via the newswire!
Don't really get Barry's comment - poppy day isn't in honour of the working class but just promotes militarist values, which have been always been pursued for the profit of the ruling class at the expense of the working class...

Paul Cudenec

MP3 ?

08.11.2009 14:04

Whatever your tune is I'm sure you could just upload it here as an MP3. Just hum it if you can't sing it. I assume the IMCistas will be happy with hosting an original topical protest song - to the best of my knowledge the first original & decent song first published here.

I look forward to your tune, and I look forward to hearing people sing your words in their own style too. Update them yourself when you choose a suitable word. If you've got any more song lyrics then I hope you at least copy them here because I really enjoyed that one. You should publicise it or copyleft it or something else to popularise it. You could be a craggily old man or a pretty young boy but I'd pay some of the last of my cash to hear you sing that.

Bravo, encore, gie's another.

Danny

Wear your white poppies with pride!

08.11.2009 16:54

Everyone who wants peace should wear white poppies on Rememberence Day. There should be a sea of people near the Cenotaph all wear white poppies every Rememberence Day!

Wear a white poppy for peace

white poppy

08.11.2009 20:13

I wore a white poppy (tipex job on a red one !), whilst handing out fliers yesterday in the centre of our northern town.
I got a mixed reaction - but just about everyone was positive when I explained the thinking behind it - and a lot of people asked where they could buy one.

matt

i wore a green one

08.11.2009 20:38

because climate change is the biggest challenge we face

Black/red poppies

09.11.2009 03:48

I wear a red and black poppy. Just colour half of one with a marker pen.

Nice poem, but don't listen to Danny

09.11.2009 04:53

Be rest assured Paul, Danny [personal details removed] is sending your name along to Scotland Yard so be wary of giving him any information about yourself. He's already got a few good activists working in climate change and AR who post here in trouble with the coppers.

So don't feed the trolls. Don't feed Danny!

anon anarchist

IT snob -- what does that mean?

09.11.2009 13:09

Good poem Paul. Reminded me of the 'hanging on the old barbed wire' one.
Danny, hope you're not thinking of stopping posting. You're posts are often well good and get the brain ticking. I thought it was nice how you encouraged Paul, something we don't see enough of within the movement. To the trolls having a pop -- where's your poem?

jez

Excellent

09.11.2009 19:34

I think that poem is tremendous. I wonder if the author would give me permission to repost it on my blog?

freeluncher
Homepage: http://talkingliberties.wordpress.com/

Against Pacifism

09.11.2009 22:24

I've never been happy with British Legion poppies or with the white variety.
White poppies are clear about their political message; pacifism. I'm not a pacifist.

nonviolence and its violent consequences:

http://www.sinkers.org/nonviolence/

how nonviolence protects the state:

http://www.akpress.org/2005/items/hownonviolenceprotectsthestate

The British Legion poppies are less clear cut. Do they represent solidarity with the working class people who died fighting fascism in the Spanish Civil War & WWII? Do they represent support for war & imperialism? I felt this was an activist song and that an activist movement is not what we need. We need a proletarian movement to overthrow capitalism.

Class Antagonism

poppy's

10.11.2009 03:06

well the only poppy's i really like are those growing wild in fields.
the poem / song is pretty good -
harry patch the WW1 (deceased) bloke that died of late thought that remembrance day merely glorified crappy war; he'd been sent to fight and came back disgusted - not alot of people know that.
Its sad that people are so obedient to go die for their country - obedience is the problem.
class is not everything and im afraid that analysis of situations that harp on about class all the time are sadly wanting.
well done poet

lhm

Feel free

10.11.2009 06:50

Freeluncher - I'd be delighted for you to repost the poem on your blog. Same applies to anyone else - though it would be cool if you could leave my name on the end. Cheers.

Paul Cudenec

Thanks Paul

10.11.2009 12:38

Thanks Paul. I have posted it onto my blog.

Peace out.

freeluncher
Homepage: http://talkingliberties.wordpress.com/