Before
listening to Gang of Four's "Armalite Rifle," please
consider the following lyrics from these two songs. The lyrics
of the first, "My Little Armalite," is one of many well-known
Republican (IRA/"Provo") fight songs from The Troubles;
the second set of lyrics comes from the song "Joe McDonnell,"
which is sung in the Republican club in Hidden Agenda,
when Ingrid and Kerrigan go to meet Harris. Since we do not have
an Mp3 available, just know that "My Little Armalite"
is much in the same style as "Joe McDonnell": folk protest.
These songs/lyrics should provide proper context for what Gang
of Four is up to.
1.
"My Little Armalite"
-
Lyrics from Songs of Resistance 1968-1982, Third Enlarged
Edition (1982)
Paperback 88pp Out of Print
(Air:
It's Home, Boys, Home) / (Sound of Armalite firing)
And it's down in the Bogside, that's where I long to be,
Lying in the dark with a Provo company,
A comrade on me left and another on me right
And a clip of ammunition for my little Armalite
I was
stopped by a soldier, said he, 'You are a swine',
He beat me with his baton and he kicked me in the groin,
I bowed and I scraped, sure me manners were polite
But all the time I'm thinking of me little Armalite
And
it's down in Crossmaglen, sure that's where I long to be,
Lying in the dark with a Provo company,
A comrade on me left and another on me right
And a clip of ammunition for my little Armalite
Sure
a brave RUC man came up into our street
Six hundred British soldiers were gathered round his feet
'Come out, ye cowardly Fenians', said he, 'come out and
fight'.
But he cried, 'I'm only joking', when he heard the Armalite
Sure
it's down in Kilwilkie, that's where I long to be,
Lying in the dark with a Provo company,
A comrade on me left and another on me right
And a clip of ammunition for my little Armalite
Sure,
the army came to visit me, 'twas in the early hours,
With Saladins and Saracens and Ferret armoured cars
They thought they had me cornered, but I gave them all a fright
With the armour piercing bullets of my little Armalite
And it's down in the Falls Road, that's
where I long to be,
Lying in the dark with a Provo company,
A comrade on me left and another on me right
And a clip of ammunition for my little Armalite
When Tuzo came to Belfast, he said, 'The
battle's won',
Said General Ford, 'We're winning sir, we have them on the
run'.
But corporals and privates on patrol at night,
Said, 'Send for reinforcements, it's the bloody Armalite'
And it's up in Ballymurphy, that's where
I long to be,
Lying in the dark with a Provo company,
A comrade on me left and another on me right
And a clip of ammunition for my little Armalite
2.
"Joe McDonnell" (abridged version from Hidden Agenda)
O
me name is Joe McDonnell from
Belfast town I came
That city I will
never see again
For in the town of Belfast
I spent many happy days
I love that town in oh so many ways
For it's there I spent my childhood and found for me a wife
I then set out to make for her a life
But all my young ambitions met with bitterness and hate
I soon found myself inside a prison gate
And
you dare to call me a terrorist
while you looked down your gun
When I think of all the deeds that you had done
You had plundered many nations divided many lands
You had terrorised their peoples you ruled with an iron
hand.
And you brought this reign of terror to my land
Through
those many months internment
In
the Maidstone and the Maze
I thought about my land throughout these days
Why my country was divided,
Why I was now in jail
Imprisoned without crime or without trial
And
now I love my country
I am not a bitter man
I've seen cruelty and injustice at first hand
And then one fateful mornin'
I shook bold freedom's hand
For right or wrong, I tried to free my land
And
you dare call me a terrorist
while you look down your gun
When I think of all the deeds that you have done
You
have plundered many nations, divided many lands
You have terrorized their people
You've ruled with an iron hand
And you've brought this reign of terror to my land
And
you dare call me a terrorist
while you look down your gun
When I think of all the deeds that you have done
You
have plundered many nations, divided many lands
You have terrorized their people
You've ruled with an iron hand
And you've brought this reign of terror to my land
Note:
Originally manufactured for the American military,
the Armalite rifle became a popular weapon of choice
in the UK, used by both the Irish Republican Army
(IRA) and the British military throughout the 1970s
and 1980s, the most deadly period of the Irish "Troubles."
One of the favored rifles of the IRA was the AR-18,
known as the "widowmaker." An updated model
was used by the British military in the 1980s, the
SA-80, known as "small arms for the 1980s."
Armalite
rifle
Police and IRA
Armalite rifle
Use it every day
Breaks down easy
Fits into a pram
A child can carry it
Do it no harm
Armalite rifle
And the holy trinity
It's used against you
By Irish jokes on the BBC
Armalite rifle
Police and UDA
Armalite rifle
Use it every day
The
rifle does harm
Shoots for miles
If a bullet gets you in the arm
Destroys your insides
Armalite
rifle
Police and UDA
Armalite rifle
Use it every day
It'll
do you damage
It'll do you harm
Blow your legs off
Blow your guts out
I
disapprove of it
So does Dave
It'll do you damage
Do you damage
"She's ruled by a dictatorship of patient, far-sighted determined men who are rapidly making their country the foremost naval and military power in the world. They are not doing this solely for the sake of self-defence. A huge, largely land-locked country like Russia does not need to build the most powerful navy in the world just to guard its own frontiers. No. The Russians are bent on world dominance, and they are rapidly acquiring the means to become the most powerful imperial nation the world has seen. The men in the Soviet politburo don't have to worry about the ebb and flow of public opinion. They put guns before butter, while we put just about everything before guns. They know that they are a super power in only one sense—the military sense. They are a failure in human and economic terms."
- Margaret Thatcher,
Speech at Kensington Town Hall ("Britain Awake"), 19 January, 1976 (italics added)
All
this talk of blood and iron
Is the cause of all my shaking
All this talk of blood and iron
Is the cause of all my shaking
All
this talk of blood and iron
It's the cause of all my shaking
The fatherland's no place to die for
It makes me want to run out shaking
I hear some talk of guns and butter
That's something we can do without
If men are only blood and iron
O Doktor Doktor, what's in my shirt?
Just
keep quiet, no room for doubt
I'm
hearing talk of joy in labour
I'll tell you this you can leave me out
The motherland's no place to cry for
I want some sand to hide my head in
I'm hearing talk of strength in labour
That's something I can do without
If I'm only blood and iron
O Doktor Doktor, what's in my shirt
Just
keep quiet, no room for doubt
All
this talk of blood and iron
It's the cause of all my shaking
The fatherland's no place to cry for
It makes me want to run out shouting
I hear some talk of guns and butter
That's something I can do without
If men are only blood and iron
O Doktor Doktor, what's in my shirt?
In my arms we shall begin with none of the rocks
Well, there’s no charge
In my arms we shall begin with none of the rocks
Well, there's no charge
(In this land, right now, some are insane, a million charge)
To hell with poverty
we’ll get drunk on cheap wine
To hell with poverty
The check will arrive, it's in the post again
To hell with poverty
The check will arrive, it's in the post again
In my arms we shall begin with none of the rocks
Well, there’s no charge
In my arms we shall begin with none of the rocks
Well, there's no charge
(In this land right now some are insane, a million charge)
To hell with poverty
we’ll get drunk on cheap wine
