“Space Hero” by Leslie Fish, a cheerfully grim look at military recruitment in outer space. Sung here by Vic Tyler & Mike Pondsmith with Leslie Fish on guitar. Lyrics available here.
This is a straight-up protest song, spurred by the Trump Administration’s decree that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are not allowed to use certain words in any documents pertaining to the agency’s budget ( goo.gl/35oBLX ).
lyrics
The ones in charge are livin large,
You might say they have a dream:
They rule the world, but still want all the money,
And no tactic’s too extreme.
They don’t care for our people or laws,
New outrages every day,
And just so you know, there’s a brand new low –
They’re taking our words away.
They make a big point of sayin’ this is just for
Discussion of the budget for the fiscal year.
But if they take one word, four words, seven words,
What makes you think that they’re gonna stop here?
Only allowed and approved information,
Even if it happens to be false and wrong
You think that chemistry, physics, biology,
You think the whole world is gonna go along?
The science doesn’t care,
The universe doesn’t care,
The government doesn’t care,
Where do we go from there?
Transgender fetus entitlement diversity vulnerable evidence- and science-based.
Not letting us discuss reality, keeping us ignorant, in our place.
Stay far away from the real agenda, cutting off our noses to spite their face.
Transgender fetus entitlement diversity vulnerable evidence- and science-based.
Takin’ our words away,
Takin’ our words away,
How long till there’s nothing left to say,
Takin’ our words away.
Denying science, ignoring evidence
Won’t make an oil pipeline un-spill.
Calling a fetus a baby doesn’t give it
Any health care when the mom falls ill.
Diversity just means people are different,
The great American melting pot,
Being transgender just means feeling in your
Heart that you’re something they say you’re not.
People moralize,
See through fanatic’s eyes,
Use God to bolster lies,
Why are you so surprised?
(transgender fetus entitlement diversity vulnerable evidence- and science-based)
Takin’ our words away,
Takin’ our words away,
How long till there’s nothing left to say,
Takin’ our words away.
Takin’ our words away,
Takin’ our words away,
How long till there’s nothing left to say,
Takin’ our words away.
All of the masters have brought disaster,
Listenin to the ravings of a crazy clown.
They’re already rich, so they think they
Deserve all the money that’s layin’ around.
Entitlement sounds like somethin’ for nothin’,
But all you’re entitled to is tricklin’ down.
They want to take We The People to the bathtub
And hold us under until we drown.
They tell you what to hate,
They tell you who to fear,
But I swear it’s not too late
To sing out loud and clear.
Transgender fetus entitlement diversity vulnerable evidence- and science-based,
Not letting us discuss reality, don’t let the opposition make their case.
Misogyny, bigotry, money, supremacy, all it’s gonna cost is the human race.
Transgender fetus entitlement diversity vulnerable evidence- and science-based.
Takin’ our words away,
Takin’ our words away,
How long till there’s nothing left to say,
Takin’ our words away.
Takin’ our words away,
Takin’ our words away,
Nothing left to say….
Teacher, dear teacher
We live in trying times
These days it seems that nowhere’s safe
No refuge can we find
The terror’s tainted Freedom’s shores
Stained it with crimson hues
And that’s the reason why my paper’s
Two weeks overdue
Relatable, politically relevant content from Terence Chua
So @omniship-armada wanted to hear the story of how this song scared my uncle.
For those of you who’ve never heard this song, it’s a song about how sooner or later the downtrodden always get pissed off and overthrow the bourgeoisie, and push gotta come to shove, the lawyer and the lawbook only go so far so go out there and kill rich people, fuck the church, and make sure to stand in solidarity with the other downtrodden. It actually specifically mentions antisemitism. Which is cool.
Pretty rivetting stuff.
Now, if you’ve never heard anything by Leslie Fish, here’s what you should know: She’s most known for fantasy and really, really hating the police. See above. Only, she’s a filk artist. She’s one of the more folky filk artists, actually. So her music, while saying things like “fuck the police” and “unions are great” does so through the lens of “after the apocalypse the SCA became a band of heroes and killed police, it was awesome” and “man starfleet ensigns are treated like crap, they need a union”. With matching folky or silly tunes.
This one is actually one of her less folky ones, but it’s followed by two more in the same album that are much more folky sounding, “Weapon Shops of Isher” and “Old Issue”. As you may have guessed, this album has a theme. That theme is guns.
So I’m sitting down, listening to my music which is keeping me grounded. Specifically, I am listening to this song, No High Ground. Which, again, is about inciting revolution.
My uncle asks me what I’m listening to.
Now, I have a split second decision to make before he asks me again, thinking I didn’t hear him: I can take out my earphones and go through the lengthy explanation of what filk is, or I can give him a one sentence answer. Naturally, I decide on the one sentence answer. I’m sitting there. I’ve got black clothes and a black denim jacket on. I don’t move an inch. I give my answer.
“songs about guns.”
Naturally, he asks me why. Again, not wanting to explain, not thinking, I answer.
“They relax me.”
Preeeetty sure my uncle is terrified of me and/or thinks I’m Ron Swanson.
So sounds like I have a new artist to listen to…
Leslie Fish has some very fun stuff. A lot of it is on youtube
I know not everyone can afford to buy CDs, and not everyone wants to mess with physical discs any more, but for those who are interested, Leslie Fish has an official website where people can buy her albums.
A parody of “Look at Me, I’m Sandra Dee” from Grease, inspired by a protest sign. (Some of the lyrics may still see some tweaking, but it gets the idea across.)
Shoutout to Merav, who helped unstick me with an awesome lyric suggestion. ❤️
METRO into Washington
Gonna rock the national phallus down
Drumming at the White House in the rain
And we won’t let up until they let us in
Me and the mandolin holy man
“Mandolin Holy Man,” a protest song by S.J. Tucker. Not about the most recent march, but in the same vein.
Lyrics and chords available here
Though you’ve made our lives much harder, we’ll remember why and how
For the earth and for each other, we must stand together now;
There are more of us than there are of you and you may have won today
But we’re still here– and we will not go away!
