*Artist"s Corner- English Artist Richard Hamilton's Tribute Painting To Mordechai Vanunu- Blessed Are The Whistleblowers- Let Vanunu Go!

Click on the headline to link to a blog entry that shows a painting of Israeli class-war prisoner and nuclear arms whistleblower, Mordechai Vanunu.

Markin comment:

The headline says it all- Israel let Mordechai Vanunu go!. Oh yes, as for the artist Richard Hamilton, those who honor brother Vanunu are kindred spirits.

**Songs To While Away The Class Struggle By- Country Joe And The Fish-"I-Feel-Like I 'm- Fixin'-To-Die"

Click on the title to link a YouTube film clip of Country Joe and The Fish performing the I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-To-Die Rag.

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.


The Fish Cheer & I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-To-Die Rag

Gimme an F!

F!
Gimme an I!

I!
Gimme an S!

S!
Gimme an H!

H!
What's that spell ?

FISH!
What's that spell ?

FISH!
What's that spell ?

FISH!
Yeah, come on all of you, big strong men,
Uncle Sam needs your help again.
He's got himself in a terrible jam
Way down yonder in Vietnam
So put down your books and pick up a gun,
We're gonna have a whole lotta fun.

And it's one, two, three,
What are we fighting for ?
Don't ask me, I don't give a damn,
Next stop is Vietnam;
And it's five, six, seven,
Open up the pearly gates,
Well there ain't no time to wonder why,
Whoopee! we're all gonna die.

Well, come on generals, let's move fast;
Your big chance has come at last.
Gotta go out and get those reds —
The only good commie is the one who's dead
And you know that peace can only be won
When we've blown 'em all to kingdom come.

And it's one, two, three,
What are we fighting for ?
Don't ask me, I don't give a damn,
Next stop is Vietnam;
And it's five, six, seven,
Open up the pearly gates,
Well there ain't no time to wonder why
Whoopee! we're all gonna die.

Huh!

Well, come on Wall Street, don't move slow,
Why man, this is war au-go-go.
There's plenty good money to be made
By supplying the Army with the tools of the trade,
Just hope and pray that if they drop the bomb,
They drop it on the Viet Cong.

And it's one, two, three,
What are we fighting for ?
Don't ask me, I don't give a damn,
Next stop is Vietnam.
And it's five, six, seven,
Open up the pearly gates,
Well there ain't no time to wonder why
Whoopee! we're all gonna die.

Well, come on mothers throughout the land,
Pack your boys off to Vietnam.
Come on fathers, don't hesitate,
Send 'em off before it's too late.
Be the first one on your block
To have your boy come home in a box.

And it's one, two, three
What are we fighting for ?
Don't ask me, I don't give a damn,
Next stop is Vietnam.
And it's five, six, seven,
Open up the pearly gates,
Well there ain't no time to wonder why,
Whoopee! we're all gonna die.

*Songs To While Away The Class Struggle By-Malvina Reynolds' "Bury Me In My Overalls"

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.

********

Malvina Reynolds: Song Lyrics and Poems



Bury Me in My Overalls

Notes: words and music by Malvina Reynolds; copyright 1956 Northern Music Corporation, renewed 1984. Written during a time when Malvina's husband Bud was quite sick.


Bury me in my overalls,
Don't use my gabardines,
Bury me in my overalls
Or in my beat-up jeans.
Give my suit to Uncle Jake,
He can wear it at my wake,
And bury me in my overalls.

The undertaker will get my dough,
The grave will get my bones,
And what is left will have to go
For one of those granite stones,
But this suit cost me two weeks pay
So let it live another day,
And bury me in my overalls.

The grave it is a quiet place,
There is no labor there,
And I will rest more easy
In the clothes I always wear.
This suit was made for warmer climes,
Holidays and happy times,
So bury me in my overalls.

I gave a hand to clear the land
And make the cities rise,
I helped to bring the harvest in
And lay the railroad ties.
I boomed about from east to west,
It's time I had a little rest,
So bury me in my overalls.

And when I get to heaven
Where they tally work and sin,
They'll open up those pearly gates
And holler, "Come on in!
A workin stiff like you, we know,
Has had his share of Hell below,
So come to glory in your overalls!"


Malvina Reynolds songbook(s) in which the music to this song appears:
---- Song in My Pocket: Songs
---- Little Boxes and Other Handmade Songs
---- The Malvina Reynolds Songbook

Other place(s) where the music to this song appears:
---- Sing Out!, Volume 4(7) (1954), p. 31
---- Sing Out!, Volume 21(5) (1972), p. 15

Malvina Reynolds recording(s) on which this song is performed:
---- Mama Lion
---- At Work; The Music of California Labor (San Francisco State University, 2004)
---- Ear to the Ground

Recordings by other artists on which this song is performed:
---- Barbara Dane and Lightnin' Hopkins: Sometimes I Believe She Loves Me (Arhoolie CD-451, 1996)
---- Gateway Singers: Puttin' on the Style (Decca DL 8413, 1957)
---- Gateway Singers: "Monaco/Bury Me in My Overalls" (45 r.p.m. single, Decca 30088)
---- Faith Petric: When Did We Have Sauerkraut? (Center Records CR105, n.d.)
---- Rosalie Sorrels and Utah Phillips: Worker's Doxology (Cold-drill, 1992) [same material as next entry]
---- Rosalie Sorrels and Utah Phillips: The Long Memory (Red House Records RHR CD 83, 1996)

* * * * *

http://www.wku.edu/~smithch/MALVINA/mr022.htm
This page copyright 2006 by Charles H. Smith and Nancy Schimmel. All rights reserved.

*Songs To While Away The Class Struggle By-Phil Och's "I Ain't Marching Anymore"

Click on the title to link a "YouTube" film clip of Phil Ochs performing "I Ain't Marching Anymore".

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 comment:

This is my first entry for folksinger/songwriter Phil Och's who back in the early 1960s stood right up there with Bob Dylan in the protest songwriting category. However, early on I sensed something special about Dylan and never really warmed up to Ochs. His singing style did not "move" me and that counted for a lot in those days. The rest just turned on preference.


“I Ain't Marching Anymore”-Phil Ochs

Oh I marched to the battle of New Orleans
At the end of the early British war
The young land started growing
The young blood started flowing
But I ain't marchin' anymore

For I've killed my share of Indians
In a thousand different fights
I was there at the Little Big Horn
I heard many men lying I saw many more dying
But I ain't marchin' anymore

chorus)
It's always the old to lead us to the war
It's always the young to fall
Now look at all we've won with the saber and the gun
Tell me is it worth it all

For I stole California from the Mexican land
Fought in the bloody Civil War
Yes I even killed my brothers
And so many others But I ain't marchin' anymore

For I marched to the battles of the German trench
In a war that was bound to end all wars
Oh I must have killed a million men
And now they want me back again
But I ain't marchin' anymore

(chorus)

For I flew the final mission in the Japanese sky
Set off the mighty mushroom roar
When I saw the cities burning I knew that I was learning
That I ain't marchin' anymore

Now the labor leader's screamin'
when they close the missile plants,
United Fruit screams at the Cuban shore,
Call it "Peace" or call it "Treason,"
Call it "Love" or call it "Reason,"
But I ain't marchin' any more,
No I ain't marchin' any more

VOTE AGAINST THE IRAQ WAR IN MASSACHUSETTS ON NOVEMEBER 7TH

COMMENTARY

RESOLUTIONS AND GOOD INTENTIONS ARE NOT ENOUGH- USE THE VOTE TO SUPPORT ANTI-WAR FRATERNATIZATION WITH THE TROOPS IN IRAQ

Forget elephants, donkeys and greens-BUILD A WORKERS PARTY!

1. NOTE: THE COMMENTARY BELOW WAS ORIGINALLY POSTED ON OCTOBER 12, 2006. THIS IS IN THE NATURE OF A REMINDER ON THIS ISSUE. GIVEN THE STATE OF CURRENT POLITICS THIS IS THE ONLY WAY THAT THOSE WHO ARE OPPOSED TO THE IRAQ WAR CAN MAKE THEIR VOICES HEARD. IF YOU DO NOT BELIEVE ME JUST ASK EVERY CANDIDATE- WILL YOU VOTE AGAINST THE WAR BUDGET?- YES OR NO. THE ANSWERS WILL NOT BE PRETTY



According to the Boston Globe of October 11, 2006 the voters of a number of Massachusetts communities will be able to vote on November 7th on a non-binding referendum calling for the immediate withdrawal of troops from Iraq. The measure sponsored by the American Friends Service Committee (Quakers) and other anti-war organizations will be on the ballot in various communities depending on the Massachusetts House of Representatives district. The gist of the resolution is a call on your local state representative to support a resolution to call on the Congress and the President to immediately withdraw troops from Iraq. Given that all hell is breaking out in Iraq at some level this should be regarded as sub-parliamentary cretinism. I personally think that it would be easier to turn swords in plowshares than to get any effective action out of this cumbersome parliamentary maneuver. Nevertheless it is minimally supportable by militant leftists as an expression of opposition to the Iraq war. But, hear me out further.

Petitions, people’s peace treaties and referenda against war pushed by the more pacific, reformist-minded elements of anti- war movements throughout its history have been a dime a dozen every time a serious military conflict arises. Those forces that place primacy on such methods of redress fundamentally believe that those who have the power to take a nation to war are at heart “reasonable” and subject to parliamentary pressure from the masses. At last count their efforts have had zero effect on the continuation or cessation of any war, particularly the current one. Nevertheless, as a political proposition such acts do no harm and can give a minimal voice to anti-war opposition. That it is hardly enough goes without saying. Let me, however, propose another way to look at such a vote.

Any even moderately political person who has paid attention to the situation in Iraq over the last period knows that it is desperately necessary to cut and run with “all deliberate speed”out of that quagmire. That part is a no-brainer. Nevertheless, the President, the Congress, the military chieftains and, yes, the anti-war movement have failed the troops in Iraq. The shortest and only way home now for the troops is to organize AMONG THEMSELVES TO COME HOME. Our role on this side of the ocean is to act in solidarity with such efforts and form civilian solidarity committees to aid these efforts. Thus, on November 7th voters in the effected Massachusetts districts can use their vote not only for calling for immediate withdrawal from Iraq but to support the troops' efforts to get out. Until then it is still necessary to say and organize around- GET THE HELL OUT OF IRAQ NOW!!

ADDED NOTE: For the past several months I have been proposing the above course of action regarding troop solidarity committees. During that time I have also been adamant that there will be no troops drawdown soon. Today’s Boston Globe (October 12, 2006) brings the grim confirmation of that projection. No drawdown until 2010, according to the Army chieftains. During this same several month period I have been arguing that the only meaningful measure on a parliamentary level is a vote against the war budget. That is the litmus test for any labor party or socialist candidate (forget the Democrats and Republicans, they like to vote for these budgets). Moreover, on the state level I have proposed this parliamentary question in another form. In the heat of the current Governor’s race I have posed the question to ask Deval Patrick (Republican Kerry Healey is beyond the pale), the darling of the parliamentary anti-war left, whether as Commander-in Chief of the Massachusetts National Guard he would refuse to send troops to Iraq. No liberal really want to know the answer to that one. Nevertheless, these are the real parliamentary tactics needed for the times.

VOTE FOR THE IMMEDIATE WITHDRAWAL FROM IRAQ REFERENDUM IN MASSACHUSETTS ON NOVEMBER 7TH

COMMENTARY

RESOLUTIONS AND GOOD INTENTIONS ARE NOT ENOUGH- USE THE VOTE TO SUPPORT ANTI-WAR FRATERNATIZATION WITH THE TROOPS IN IRAQ

FORGET ELEPHANTS, DONKEYS AND GREENS- BUILD A WORKERS PARTY!!

According to the Boston Globe of October 11, 2006 the voters of a number of Massachusetts communities will be able to vote on November 7th on a non-binding referendum calling for the immediate withdrawal of troops from Iraq. The measure sponsored by the American Friends Service Committee (Quakers) and other anti-war organizations will be on the ballot in various communities depending on the Massachusetts House of Representatives district. The gist of the resolution is a call on your local state representative to support a resolution to call on the Congress and the President to immediately withdraw troops from Iraq. Given that all hell is breaking out in Iraq at some level this should be regarded as sub-parliamentary cretinism. I personally think that it would be much easier to turn swords into plowshares than get any effective action out of this cumbersome parliamentary maneuver. Nevertheless it is minimally supportable by militant leftists as an expression of opposition to the Iraq war. But, hear me out further.

Petitions, people’s peace treaties and referenda against war pushed by the more pacific, reformist-minded elements of anti- war movements throughout history have been a dime a dozen every time a serious military conflict arises. Those forces that place primary emphasis on such methods of redress fundamentally believe that those who have the power to take a nation to war are at heart “reasonable” and subject to parliamentary pressure from the masses. At last count their efforts have had zero effect on the continuation or cessation of any war, particularly the current one. Nevertheless, as a political proposition such acts do no harm and can give a minimal voice to anti-war opposition. That it is hardly enough goes without saying. Let me, however, propose another way to look at such a vote.

Any even moderately political person who has paid attention to the situation in Iraq over the last period knows that it is desperately necessary to cut and run with “all deliberate speed out” of that quagmire. That part is a no-brainer. Nevertheless, the President, the Congress, the military chieftains and, yes, the anti-war movement have failed the troops in Iraq. The shortest and only way home now for the troops is to organize AMONG THEMSELVES TO COME HOME. Our role on this side of the ocean is to act in solidarity with such efforts and form civilian solidarity committees to aid these efforts. Thus, on November 7th voters in the effected Massachusetts districts can use their vote not only for calling for immediate withdrawal from Iraq but to support the troops efforts' to get out. Until then it is still necessary to say and organize around- GET THE HELL OUT OF IRAQ NOW!!

ADDED NOTE: For the past several months I have been proposing the above course of action regarding troop solidarity committees. During that time I have also been adamant that there will be no troop drawdown soon. Today’s Boston Globe (October 12, 2006) brings the grim confirmation of that projection. No drawdown until 2010, according to the Army chieftains. During this same several month period I have been arguing that the only meaningful measure on a parliamentary level is a vote against the war budget. That is the litmus test for any labor party or socialist candidate (forget the Democrats and Republicans, they like to vote for these budgets). Moreover, on the state level I have proposed this parliamentary question in another form. In the heat of the current Governor’s race I have posed the question to ask Deval Patrick (Republican Kerry Healey is beyond the pale), the darling of the parliamentary anti-war left here, whether as Commander-in Chief of the Massachusetts National Guard he would refuse to send troops to Iraq. No liberal really want to know the answer to that one. Nevertheless, these are the real parliamentary tactics needed for the times.