It’s the longest running joke in history
To kill the working classes in the name of liberty
The lies of Hillsborough
The blood of Orgreave
All the evasion at the BBC
30 years of war to darken all our class
Black propaganda lies and mistrust
See it in our eyes the fire dimming away
The old boy network won the war again
The old boy network won the war again
The old boy network won the war again
So you hide all Lowry’s paintings
For 30 years or more
Cos he turned down a knighthood
And you must now settle the score
And the endless parade of old Etonian scum
Line the front benches “so what is to be done”
All part of the same establishment
I ask you again “what is to be done”
I ask you again “what is to be done”
I ask you again “what is to be done”
These verses at attention stand
Ready for the immortal command
The armies of my pages
May never fight again
Happy for the order to meet eternal fame
Blame the poor – praise the rich
Make the connections – put them in print
Keep ’em boxed in keep ’em kettled in
Create a mistruth – so bewildering
So you hide all Lowry’s paintings
For 30 years or more
Cos he turned down a knighthood
And you must now settle the score
And the endless parade of old Etonian scum
Line the front benches “so what is to be done”
All part of the same establishment
I ask you again “what is to be done”
I ask you again “what is to be done”
I ask you again “what is to be done”
To kill the working classes in the name of liberty
The lies of Hillsborough
The blood of Orgreave
All the evasion at the BBC
30 years of war to darken all our class
Black propaganda lies and mistrust
See it in our eyes the fire dimming away
The old boy network won the war again
The old boy network won the war again
The old boy network won the war again
So you hide all Lowry’s paintings
For 30 years or more
Cos he turned down a knighthood
And you must now settle the score
And the endless parade of old Etonian scum
Line the front benches “so what is to be done”
All part of the same establishment
I ask you again “what is to be done”
I ask you again “what is to be done”
I ask you again “what is to be done”
These verses at attention stand
Ready for the immortal command
The armies of my pages
May never fight again
Happy for the order to meet eternal fame
Blame the poor – praise the rich
Make the connections – put them in print
Keep ’em boxed in keep ’em kettled in
Create a mistruth – so bewildering
So you hide all Lowry’s paintings
For 30 years or more
Cos he turned down a knighthood
And you must now settle the score
And the endless parade of old Etonian scum
Line the front benches “so what is to be done”
All part of the same establishment
I ask you again “what is to be done”
I ask you again “what is to be done”
I ask you again “what is to be done”
Contributed by Bernart Bartleby - 2014/4/11 - 09:37
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Scritta da James Dean Bradfield, Nick Jones e Sean Moore.
Nell’album intitolato “Rewind the Film”
“E’ la più duratura e ricorrente barzelletta della Storia, quella che le classi lavoratrici vengono massacrate in nome della Libertà…”
La Guerra dei Trent’anni cui alludono qui i “folli predicatori di strada” gallesi non è quella che squassò l’Europa tra il 1618 ed il 1648 (da cui, fra l’altro, la Gran Bretagna fu risparmiata) ma quella condotta nella “perfida Albione” (ma anche ovunque) dalle classi dominanti contro quelle dei lavoratori a partire dal 1979, ossia dall’ingresso sulla scena politica di Margaret Thatcher: “30-Year War starts with the miners' strike and moves through Hillsborough, and it's a critique of the attack on the working classes over the last 30 years. It's the most spiteful, angry track on the album” (Nick Wire dei MSP)
“The lies of Hillsborough” si riferisce alla tragedia accaduta 15 aprile del 1989 a Sheffield, durante un incontro di calcio tra Liverpool e Nottingham Forest: la condotta irresponsabile di organizzatori e polizia causò la morte di 96 spettatori, schiacciati nella calca.
“The blood of Orgreave” si riferisce invece ad uno degli episodi legati alla durissima repressione del grande sciopero dei minatori inglesi del 1984-85.
Nella canzone c’è anche un richiamo ai dipinti di Laurence Stephen Lowry (1887-1976), un importante artista che ritrasse molto la realtà dei distretti industriali del nord ovest inglese.