Bread and Circuses

from Nobody's Song by David A. Harley

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about

A song written in the 1980s (the lyrics, anyway) about the conflict Jorge Luis Borges described as “a fight between two bald men over a comb.” As you might have gathered, I don’t do *“my country right or wrong.” These verses were originally interleaved with verses telling a story about the breakdown of a marriage. When I revisited the song recently, that didn't seem such a good idea, but the other verses may well appear as a separate song, provisionally called 'Rifts'. t the conflict Jorge Luis Borges described as “a fight between two bald men over a comb.” These verses were originally interleaved with verses telling a story about the breakdown of a marriage. When I revisited the song recently, that didn't seem such a good idea, but the other verses may well appear as a separate song, provisionally called 'Rifts'. .

** en.wiktionary.org/wiki/my_country,_right_or_wrong

lyrics

The lads are on the march again: adrenaline is surging
Through the arteries of power
The gutter press is snarling, waving flags and beating chests,
From the safety of its concrete Dockland towers
The price of bread is escalating and the jobs are getting scarce,
But the circuses get bigger every year
We might lose the World Cup, but God will give us back the Falklands
Before the latest Royal new-born appears

In the Corridors of Power, the game is Battleships:
Sink a few and lose a few – that's Diplomacy
The body count gets higher, the planes and ships get fewer
The bereaved on both sides might agree
That the game's not worth the candle standing by a single coffin
But there's so much more at stake than death or life
There's property and money and oil and mineral rights
And loss of face, and patriotic pride.

The bombs and missiles blossom, and the gunfire pounds and pounds
The ears of friend and foe
The Belgrano and the Santa Fe, the Sheffield and Sir Tristram
Death by death the roll of honour grows
Till the fighting fizzles out in bitter winter gales
Far too late for so many mothers' sons
The guns have fallen silent, but the words are bayonet-sharp
And the propaganda war goes on

The hawks are praising God across the tombstones of the dead
A service is attended by the Queen
The Prime Minister spits blood because a timid man of God
Recalls the dead on both sides in 'victory'
Peace in the South Atlantic; a bombing in Hyde Park
Bloody warfare in the Lebanon
We press on to self-destruction: even as this one war ends
The killing still goes on and on and on

credits

from Nobody's Song, released June 16, 2022
Words and music, guitar and vocal by David A. Harley

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about

David A. Harley England, UK

David Harley is a former professional musician, administrator, IT security editor, author and researcher, and former much else that is even less impressive. He now lives in Cornwall. More info at whealalice.com