"Palace of Gold" was #LeonRosselson's response to the #Aberfan disaster. 59 years ago today, 116 children and 28 adults were killed a spoil heap collapsed at 9.15am, engulfing Pantglas Junior School and a row of houses.
The #AberfanDisaster happened because #NationalCoalBoard safety guidelines had been ignored and warnings dismissed. Rosselson's finest song lays bare the #classPolitics of disdain for the safety of #workingClass children.
"I saw children still being slaughtered
The monster must have its fill
While the people with #power sat on their hands
And supplied the #weapons that kill.
I weep for the people of Gaza
And they are weeping still
And I curse the ones who did nothing
And enable the monster to kill."
"A #Song for #Gaza: The #Ballad of Rivka and Mohammed", #LeonRosselson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9wJBmsR5mw&t=2s
'Robespierre is wagging his finger
Karl Marx is scratching his head
They ought to be shooting the bankers
But they're giving them money instead
The plebs should be storming the ramparts
And whetting the guillotine's blades
Singing "Capitalism's in crisis"
So where are the barricades?'
Where Are The Barricades – Leon Rosselson
#UKPol #UKPolitics #WhereAreTheBarricades #LeonRosselson #Capitalisn #Bankers
The Ghost of Georges Brassens
Leon Rosselson has been at the forefront of songwriting in Britain for fifty years. His songs range from the lyrical to the satirical, from the personal to the political, from the humorous to the poignant. His early songs were topical-satirical (some of them were featured in the TV satire show That Was the Week that […]
What connects an MI5 scandal, a Thatcher govt attempt at censorship, and a single by Leon Rosselson and Billy Bragg? Find the strange tale (plus our usual update on our work) in our Dec/Jan blog
#Thatcher #censorship #FreePress #CPBF #BillyBragg #LeonRosselson
https://bettermedia.uk/2024/01/25/december-2023-january-2024-update/
The Ballad of Rivka and Mohammed
I was watching the news from Gaza
And I fell asleep on my chair
And when I awoke from my slumber
A young girl was standing there.
She said, My name is Rivka
They killed me because I’m a Jew
I died in the ghetto of Vilna
In nineteen forty two.
The ghetto was like a prison
They wouldn’t allow us to leave
Some said they were going to kill us all
We didn’t know what to believe.
...
And then out of the darkness
A young boy’s gaze met mine
He said, My name is Mohammed
My country is Palestine.
I’ve lived all my life in Gaza
And the only time I feel free
Is when I go down to the harbour
And feel the wind from the sea.
That day I went with my cousins
We ran down to the beach to play
Then the soldier fired a shell at me
And blew my life away.
Bringing the News From Nowhere
He turned from his class
and he made the lonely journey
through the river of fire
and when he reached the other side
he joined the ones who had nothing
the poor and the hungry
and their cause was his
til the day that he died
for he saw that
in them
a spark lay hidden
and he saw that
in them
a hope still burned
for the great change coming
when the shoddy rule of mammon
would be shattered like a hulk
that the storm has overturned
Claire McNab
Cristina Del Biaggio
Christopher Miller
Polyrical - music and politics
Peter Riley
Better Media