On the waterfront they're gathered for the feast
To pay homage to the priestess of the waves
Wider and wider the voices ring out loud
In the celebrating crowd of Albion's braves
But someone told me something that I just don't want to hear
Ancestral words that fooled us for the past six hundred years
But they don't ring true any more
Sawdust and empire - the nectar of the few
So give the devil his due and break away
Sawdust and empire with a hint of royal blue
But I won't drink with you on empire day
Dreams of old India, the Bible and the Host
To calm the ghost that won't be laid to rest
A distant island becomes the Holy Grail
In the spirit that revived King Arthur's quest
And you may wear her heraldry in tattoos on your arms
But it takes more than bravado now to soothe old England's qualms
'Cos it don't ring true any more
Sawdust and empire - the nectar of the few
So give the devil his due and break away
Sawdust and empire in the pub and in the pew
But I won't drink with you on empire day
The territories and governors have all gone now
But the bloodlust and the cliches linger on
But the bloodlust and the cliches linger on
And in the theatre the faded actor stands
Our destiny a nipple in his hand
And in the Stock Exchange they fly the Union Flag
Though faceless bankers know no motherland
And as I love my country, the harbours and the sea
I will not serve the warmongers who seek my loyalty
'Cos it don't ring true any more
Sawdust and empire - the nectar of the few
So give the devil his due and break away
Sawdust and empire with a hint of royal blue
But I won't drink with you on empire day
To pay homage to the priestess of the waves
Wider and wider the voices ring out loud
In the celebrating crowd of Albion's braves
But someone told me something that I just don't want to hear
Ancestral words that fooled us for the past six hundred years
But they don't ring true any more
Sawdust and empire - the nectar of the few
So give the devil his due and break away
Sawdust and empire with a hint of royal blue
But I won't drink with you on empire day
Dreams of old India, the Bible and the Host
To calm the ghost that won't be laid to rest
A distant island becomes the Holy Grail
In the spirit that revived King Arthur's quest
And you may wear her heraldry in tattoos on your arms
But it takes more than bravado now to soothe old England's qualms
'Cos it don't ring true any more
Sawdust and empire - the nectar of the few
So give the devil his due and break away
Sawdust and empire in the pub and in the pew
But I won't drink with you on empire day
The territories and governors have all gone now
But the bloodlust and the cliches linger on
But the bloodlust and the cliches linger on
And in the theatre the faded actor stands
Our destiny a nipple in his hand
And in the Stock Exchange they fly the Union Flag
Though faceless bankers know no motherland
And as I love my country, the harbours and the sea
I will not serve the warmongers who seek my loyalty
'Cos it don't ring true any more
Sawdust and empire - the nectar of the few
So give the devil his due and break away
Sawdust and empire with a hint of royal blue
But I won't drink with you on empire day
Contributed by Bernart Bartleby - 2013/12/13 - 11:41
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Parole e musica di John Baine, in arte Attila the Stockbroker
Title track dell’album del 1984
“This was the title track of my second album and was written during the Falklands War in 1982. I was sicked by the jingoism which Thatcher had deliberately stirred up in order to get herself re-elected, and even more sickened when the Argentine cruiser General Belgrano was sunk while sailing away from the British exclusion zone, during peace negotiations: proving that Thatcher was determined to continue war at all costs - for her own personal political ends.”
“Così s’intitolava il mio secondo album e la canzone la scrissi durante la guerra delle Falklands/Malvinas nel 1982. Ero disgustato dallo sciovinismo che la Thatcher sbandierava per garantirsi la rielezione, ed ancora più disgustato quando l’incrociatore argentino General Belgrano fu affondato mentre lasciava l’area controllata dagli inglesi, proprio mentre erano in corso i negoziati di pace: questo provò che la Thatcher era determinata a continuare la guerra ad ogni costo, e soltanto per il proprio tornaconto politico.” (Attila the Stockbroker)