As debate grows on Border issues, PINK FLOYD, The WALL lyrics seem timless

[Jeffersons Ghost]

Well before Pink Floyd, protest music boasts a rich tradition and extensive history. Whenever oppression rears its ugly head in the past, protest songs soon follow. One of the oldest anti-war songs on record is The Cutty Wren from the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381 CE, against feudal oppression by an uncaring cash-hungry aristocracy. War protest music continued to evolve in a variety of cultures until it reached a high point, during Vietnam War with artists like Bob Dylan, John Lennon and Pink Floyd.

The Cutty Wren
"Where are we going?" says Milder to Melder.
"Where are we going?" says the younger to the elder.
"We may not tell you," says vassal to foe.
"Away to the green wood!" says John the Red Nose.

2. "What shall we do there?" says Milder to Melder.
"What shall we do there?" says the younger to the elder.
"We may not tell you," says vassal to foe.
"Hunt for the Cutty Wren!" says John the Red Nose.

3. "How shall we shoot her?" says Milder to Melder.
"With bows and with arrows," says the younger to the elder.
"That will not do, then," says vassal to foe.
"With big guns and with cannon!" says John the Red Nose.

4. "How shall we fetch her home?" says Milder to Melder.
"On four strong men's shoulders," says the younger to the elder.
"That will not do, then," says vassal to foe.
"In oxcarts and in wagons!" says John the Red Nose.

5. "How shall we cut her up?" says Milder to Melder.
"With forks and with knives," says the younger to the elder.
"That will not do, then," says vassal to foe.
"With hatchets and with cleavers!" says John the Red Nose.

6. "How shall we cook her?" says Milder to Melder.
"In pots and in kettles," says the younger to the elder.
"That will not do, then," says vassal to foe.
"In a bloody great brass cauldron!" says John the Red Nose.

7. "Who'll get the spare ribs?" says Milder to Melder.
"Who'll get the spare ribs?" says the younger to the elder.
"We may not tell you," says vassal to foe.
"We'll give 'em all to the poor!" says John the Red Nose.

Regular readers of this series on Pink Floyd are already aware of my earlier graphic threads that focus on ending the illegal occupation of Iraq, which is based on greed and lies. What appears to be a highly successful dictatorship in the U.S. has all but silenced protest music, with only a few exceptions, making earlier artists the main examples of anti-war music offered in modern media. During my long term quest to study and post online protest graphics, I see strong anti-war imagery disappear from the web in less than a day, as patriotic pictures jump in to more permanently replace stronger imagery. I guess that proves Homeland Security, while not useful at all in bringing actual terrorists to justice, is at least doing something in their "war of ideas," besides cashing hugh pay-checks drawn from your tax dollars.

While much of The Wall rails against war, certain songs focus on broader themes like the title cuts ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL, parts one and two. As media continues to focus on a gigantic Mexican border fence, perhaps it is time to dig into the deeper meanings of these songs.

First Song: In the Flesh? (Waters) 3:17
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x1280786

Second Song: The Thin Ice (Waters) 2:28
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x1281226

Third Song: Another Brick in the Wall, Part 1 (Waters) 3:41
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x1291537

Fourth Song: The Happiest Days of our Lives (Waters) 1:20
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x1292654

Another Brick in the Wall Part 2

(Waters) 3:56

We don't need no education


We dont need no thought control


No dark sarcasm in the classroom


Teachers leave them kids alone


Hey! Teachers! Leave them kids alone!


All in all it's just another brick in the wall.


All in all you're just another brick in the wall.


We don't need no education


We dont need no thought control


No dark sarcasm in the classroom


Teachers leave them kids alone


Hey! Teachers! Leave them kids alone!


All in all it's just another brick in the wall.


All in all you're just another brick in the wall.


"Wrong, Do it again!"


"If you don't eat yer meat, you can't have any pudding. How can you


have any pudding if you don't eat yer meat?"


"You! Yes, you behind the bikesheds, stand still laddy!"

[Ghost Dog]

1. Watch out for the laddie at the bottom line.

...Good job there: a brick (hopefully) taken out of the wall...

[Jeffersons Ghost]

2. the next song in the series has lots of potential

Mother (Waters) 5:32

Mother do you think they'll drop the bomb?
Mother do you think they'll like this song?
Mother do you think they'll try to break my balls?
Mother should I build the wall?
Mother should I run for president?
Mother should I trust the government?
Mother will they put me in the firing line?
Mother am I really dying?

Hush now baby, baby, dont you cry.
Mother's gonna make all your nightmares come true.
Mother's gonna put all her fears into you.
Mother's gonna keep you right here under her wing.
She wont let you fly, but she might let you sing.
Mama will keep baby cozy and warm.
Ooooh baby ooooh baby oooooh baby,
Of course mama'll help to build the wall.

Mother do you think she's good enough -- to me?
Mother do you think she's dangerous -- to me?
Mother will she tear your little boy apart?
Mother will she break my heart?

Hush now baby, baby dont you cry.
Mama's gonna check out all your girlfriends for you.
Mama wont let anyone dirty get through.
Mama's gonna wait up until you get in.
Mama will always find out where you've been.
Mama's gonna keep baby healthy and clean.
Ooooh baby oooh baby oooh baby,
You'll always be baby to me.

Mother, did it need to be so high?

[Ghost Dog]

3. Gotcha.

(I published the exact same text here just the other day).

[Jeffersons Ghost]

4. you mean that you copied and pasted Pink Floyd lyrics the other day?

[Ghost Dog]

5. Nope. I typed the lyrics out off the inner sleeve

of these (two) pieces of vinyl I play here in this Cental Barcelona house sometimes, loud, if I can get away with it, when my woman's not too angry...

Plenty more where they came from. Indeed.

:smoke:

(It was in the Stock Market Watch thread... early last week sometime, I think).

(Long memory here...) :hi:

[Jeffersons Ghost]

6. why not copy and paste lyrics? it's easier.

[Ghost Dog]

7. Yes, so I see: (almost) everything's in the Internet already...

BTW, I hit them with this, the other day (off, but not only, the net at: http://eliotswasteland.tripod.com/ ) - I hope you like:


April is the cruelest month, breeding
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
Memory and desire, stirring
Dull roots with spring rain.
Winter kept us warm, covering
Earth in forgetful snow, feeding
A little life with dried tubers.
Summer surprised us, coming over the Starnbergersee
With a shower of rain; we stopped in the colonnade,
And went on in sunlight, into the Hofgarten,
And drank coffee, and talked for an hour.
Bin gar keine Russin, stamm' aus Litauen, echt deutsch.
And when we were children, staying at the arch-duke's,
My cousin's, he took me out on a sled,
And I was frightened. He said, Marie,
Marie, hold on tight. And down we went.
In the mountains, there you feel free.
I read, much of the night, and go south in the winter.
What are the roots that clutch, what branches grow
Out of this stony rubbish? Son of man,
You cannot say, or guess, for you know only
A heap of broken images, where the sun beats,
And the dead tree gives no shelter, the cricket no relief,
And the dry stone no sound of water. Only
There is shadow under this red rock,
(Come in under the shadow of this red rock),
And I will show you something different from either
Your shadow at morning striding behind you
Or your shadow at evening rising to meet you;
I will show you fear in a handful of dust.


(from T.S. Eliot: From the Wasteland)