Songs To While Away The Class Struggle By-Malvina Reynolds' "The Little Generals"

Songs To While Away The Class Struggle By-Malvina Reynolds' "The Little Generals"


In this series, presented under the headline “Songs To While Away The Class Struggle By”, I will post some songs that I think will help us get through the “dog days” of the struggle for our communist future. I do not vouch for the political thrust of the songs; for the most part they are done by pacifists, social democrats, hell, even just plain old ordinary democrats. And, occasionally, a communist, although hard communist musicians have historically been scarce on the ground. Thus, here we have a regular "popular front" on the music scene. While this would not be acceptable for our political prospects, it will suffice for our purposes here. Markin.

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The Little Generals

Notes: words and music by Malvina Reynolds; copyright 1962 by author. a.k.a. "It's Hard to Get a War These Days."


All the little generals are running out of war,
Oh, my, It's enough to make you cry;
They've all these little khaki colored guns and tanks,
And all the money waiting in the U.S. banks,
But when they start an action, people say "No thanks",
And it's hard to get a war these days.

All the little generals are running out of war,
Oh, my, It's enough to make you cry;
They're sitting on their build-up till they get a pain,
They march the soldiers up the hill and down the hill again,
But logistics they get rusty when they're standing in the rain,
And it's hard to get a war these days.

All the little generals are running out of war,
Oh, my, It's enough to make you cry;
They paddle out to Cuba and get drowned in the bay,1
They start a thing in Laos, but the folks don't want to play,
And even up in Holy Loch, the kids cry, "Go away!"
And it's hard to get a war these days.

All the little generals are running out of war,
Oh, my, It's enough to make you cry;
They take the mighty atom bombs and tie them up with bows,
And Teller puts on perfume so they smell just like a rose,
But they smell like Hiroshima when the fall-out blows,
And it's hard to get a war these days.

Thank Heaven--It's hard to get a war these days.


Malvina Reynolds songbook(s) in which the music to this song appears:
---- [none]

Other place(s) where the music to this song appears:
---- Broadside No. 13 (September 1962)

Malvina Reynolds recording(s) on which this song is performed:
---- [none]

Additional Note:
1. On the lead sheet, this line is "It looked like fun in Cuba but the missiles went away,".


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