Thursday, November 29, 2007

song by Bruce Cockburn

Call it Democracy
by Bruce Cockburn, written Nov. 1985
Padded with power here they come
international loan sharks backed by the guns
of market hungry military profiteers
whose word is a swamp and whose brow is smeared
with the blood of the poor

Who rob life of its quality
who render rage a necessity
by turning countries into labour camps
modern slavers in drag as champions of freedom

Sinister cynical instrument
who makes the gun into a sacrament --
the only response to the deification
of tyranny by so-called "developed" nations'
idolatry of ideology
takes away everything it can get
always making certain that there's one thing left
keep them on the hook with insupportable debt

See the paid-off local bottom feeders
passing themselves off as leaders
kiss the ladies shake hands with the fellows
open for business like a cheap bordello

And they call it democracy
and they call it democracy
and they call it democracy
and they call it democracy
I heard this song on Democracy now and thought Whoa what a song about our election and current affairs .
and then I saw he wrote this in 1985. What a prophet!

2 comments:

Annie said...

Patsy, if you were going to start all over again I would send you money to go into Politics. Your voice is needed in our country (as is Bruce Cockburn's).

Annie said...

Hi Patsy, you asked about the masseueses coming to the capitol. It was Massage Therapists Month, I think, and so the governor's office called the state organization and asked if they wanted to come do this at the capitol one afternoon. And they did. I actually got in line and got a massage while I was there too. I've seen other events at the capitol, like a gingerbread house decorating contest so I suppose anyone can arrange to have an activity at the capitol. It is the people's house, after all.