Does it smell nice? A letter from the king Of scented ink, that kind of thing Mellifluous craft and flowery word Meticulously well-observed
Or does it smell of dusty palaces and old men Tainted by the mouldering stench of then Sparse script spiked with iron gall As if the king should have to write at all
How tightly clenched, the royal jaw How white-knuckled, the royal paw Nib mashed to page, the words appear One so looks forward to your second visit here
Behold, for sure, a regal thing But what’s that smell? A letter from the king
Her whole life, her hopes and fears But the only thing to ever trickle down was her tears A better tomorrow, the promise they made But tomorrows and promises only fade away So when her children had children and nothing had changed She said, it’s time to play a new game
Piñata economics – ‘cause it never trickles down Piñata economics – in a papier maché crown Piñata economics – with a brightly coloured stick Beat it, beat it, beat it, ‘til everyone is rich
The piñata had grown to a terrifying size It stared at the children with malevolent eyes With all the richest treasures within How do we beat it, Mother, and win? With piñata economics – ‘cause it never trickles down Piñata economics – in a papier maché crown Piñata economics – with a brightly coloured stick Beat it, beat it, beat it, ‘til everyone is rich
Beat it by not driving in a Tesla swasticar Beat it by leaving X so unpopular Beat it by not shopping at Amazon at all Beat it with a helping hand for those that stumble And those that fall
Beat it with taxation and electoral defeat Beat it with poetry, beat it in the street Beat it with love for all your fellow men Beat it by being more organised than them With piñata economics – ‘cause it never trickles down Piñata economics – in a papier maché crown Piñata economics – with a brightly coloured stick Beat it, beat it, beat it, ‘til everyone is rich
Her whole life, her hopes and fears But the only thing to ever trickle down was her tears A better tomorrow, the promise they made But tomorrows and promises only fade away And when her fading came quick To my children, she said, I leave a brightly coloured stick [E] To beat it [G#] beat it [A] beat it [B (stop)] ‘til everyone is rich
Piñata economics – ‘cause it never trickles down Piñata economics – in a papier maché crown Piñata economics – with a brightly coloured stick Beat it, beat it, beat it, ‘til everyone is rich
This pub is on a war footing Rachel says We’re gonna have to stand our ground The pub up west has got a new guvnor He’s throwing his weight around
So happy hour is over In the New Austerity Inn If you’ve got less, you’re gonna get less If you’ve got less you’re gonna get less
This pub is on a war footing Rachel says We’re gonna have to stand our ground The pub in the east is expanding Threatening all around
So happy hour is over In the New Austerity Inn If you’ve got less, you’re gonna get less If you’ve got less, you’re gonna get less If you’ve got less, you’re gonna get less
In the New Austerity Inn In the New Austerity Inn In the New Austerity Inn In the New Austerity Inn
This pub is on a war footing Rachel says But we’re still told we need to grow That one on the house that you take for granted Is gonna have to go
So happy hour is over In the New Austerity Inn If you’ve got less, you’re gonna get less If you’ve got less, you’re gonna get less If you’ve got less, you’re gonna get less I’ve you’ve got less, you’re gonna get less
In the New Austerity Inn In the New Austerity Inn In the New Austerity Inn In the New Austerity Inn
So happy hour is over In the New Austerity Inn If you’ve got less, you’re gonna get less If you’ve got less, you’re gonna get less If you’ve got less, you’re gonna get less I’ve you’ve got less, you’re gonna get less
In the New Austerity Inn In the New Austerity Inn In the New Austerity Inn In the New Austerity Inn
What’s a kid to do killing time at home? When there’s khaki and mates for life in the killing zone Adventure high and derring-do What’s a working-class kid to do?
They’ll ship you out and then they’ll ship you home They’ll ship you ‘til you can’t be left alone And there’s nothing like a night out with the lads Even the ones getting shipped home in body bags
‘Cos we’ve got tanks and guns and cans of beer Tanks and guns and good cheer Tanks and guns and nobody wants us here We’ve got tanks and guns and cans of beer Tanks and guns and good cheer Tanks and guns, and we’ve got fear
They’ll tell you kid, don’t take it home Leave it overseas where soldiers roam Your disposable girlfriend and your mates from school They’re gonna train you to hate ‘em all
‘Cos we’ve got tanks and guns and cans of beer Tanks and guns and good cheer Tanks and guns and nobody wants us here We’ve got tanks and guns and cans of beer Tanks and guns and good cheer Tanks and guns, and we’ve got fear
See ‘em lined up with their poppies at the Cenotaph Never shot a gun in anger, what a laugh With limbs and brains perfectly intact While some of yours were never coming back
We’ve got tanks and guns and cans of beer Tanks and guns and good cheer Tanks and guns and nobody wants us here We’ve got tanks and guns and cans of beer Tanks and guns and good cheer Tanks and guns, and we’ve got fear We’ve got tanks and guns and cans of beer Tanks and guns and good cheer Tanks and guns and nobody wants us here We’ve got tanks and guns and cans of beer Tanks and guns and good cheer Tanks and guns, and we’ve got fear
Imagine getting richer while the poor are still poor Imagine having everything and still wanting more Imagine all the hurt and still nobody cares That’s why it’s you and me against the billionaires
Imagine all the emeralds, your own spaceship Shooting off to Mars on a space day trip Imagine if they stayed, what difference would it make When we do all the give, and they do all the take
The art of the deal says that beggars can’t be choosers The art of the deal says that winners need their losers The way we play is that everybody shares That’s why it’s you and me against the billionaires
You and me, against the billionaires You and me, against the billionaires You and me, against the billionaires You and me, against the billionaires
Imagine using wars to just make more money Imagine no just cause, just bread and honey Imagine how little the big boy cares That’s why it’s you and me against the billionaires
The art of the deal says that beggars can’t be choosers The art of the deal says that winners need their losers The way we play is that everybody shares That’s why it’s you and me against the billionaires
You and me, against the billionaires You and me, against the billionaires You and me, against the billionaires You and me, against the billionaires
Mind the gap, the cats getting fatter Mind the cap, the one that says MAGA Mind the trap that says all lives matter It’s you and me against the billionaires
You and me, against the billionaires You and me, against the billionaires You and me, against the billionaires You and me, against the billionaires You and me, against the billionaires You and me, against the billionaires You and me, against the billionaires You and me, against the billionaires
I always tell people that you are extraordinary I bask in the glow of your golden age Your upbeat populism, it’s gonna be beautiful I’m the wind beneath the wings of your global stage
Oh, Donald Oh, Donny I love you though you can be cruel and unkind Oh, Donald Oh, Donny Please don’t leave me behind
Remember how we felt in 2016 The laughs that we had outside the golden door Fooling the world that we were anti-establishment Planning all the riches that the power could score
Oh, Donald Oh, Donny I love you though you can be cruel and unkind Oh, Donald Oh, Donny Please don’t leave me behind
I always tell people to take you seriously Even if literally can be a bit much I’m sorry we disagree about Zelensky Oh Donny, Tommy doesn’t have your golden touch
Oh, Donald Oh, Donny I love you though you can be cruel and unkind Oh, Donald Oh, Donny Please don’t leave me behind
I know he has a chainsaw and his own space rocket I know he bought Twitter and rid it of blue But his kid picked his nose in The Oval Office And he could never love you the way that I do
Oh, Donald Oh, Donny I love you though you can be cruel and unkind Oh, Donald Oh, Donny Please don’t leave me behind
He looks out of the window, says it’s still grim It ain’t stopped raining since they got in No sign of a break in the weather Feels like it could rain forever
And all that’s forecast is more of the same All that’s forecast is more rain More rain
He was listening to the guy with the Richmond song Heard Jordan Peterson had him along To a populist rally at the Excel You kinda knew it as well
And all that’s forecast is more of the same All that’s forecast is more rain More rain
Meanwhile in Maryland, another Nazi No putting this one down to chance, he Said, fight, fight, fight And signalled to the far right
Silence where you need condemnation But he buys into the state of the nation Looking out of the window, he says it’s still grim Has been since they got in
And all that’s forecast is more of the same All that’s forecast is more rain More rain More rain
My name is Tam The Bin Man, and I’ll take them out on strike He wore a tartan bonnet, and in his hand a mic He knew a life of struggle, and solidarity He knew the fight for justice, and equality
On the bins you see the folk who find the street their home Tommy vowed that they should never struggle on their own He looked after the homeless, the needy, and the poor He looked after the union, from the shop floor
Tommy looked after the homeless, and anyone he could Tommy looked after the homeless, like a good union man should
Proud Scotsman, he moved to town when he was just eighteen Homeless then, he knew the lives of others he had seen He looked after the homeless, because Tommy understood A union man should help in any way he could
Tommy looked after the homeless, and anyone he could Tommy looked after the homeless, like a good union man should
My name is Tam The Bin Man, and I took them out on strike I looked after the homeless and the union alike I looked after the homeless and anyone I could I looked after the homeless, like a good union man should
Tommy looked after the homeless, and anyone he could Tommy looked after the homeless, like a good union man should
He exercised free speech To say he’d been denied free speech There are things, he said, I’m not allowed to say
And then he said them anyway
We told him, you can say anything you want to say There’s just one thing you really ought to know If you set out to harm somebody else with your words Then we reserve the right to tell you so
He said, oh
But there are crime crimes Things that I know to be a crime Then there are hate crimes That I’m not sure are actually a crime
We took our time
If your crime’s linked to the colour of your poor victim’s skin Or motivated by the relationship they’re in Then what you did is a crime just the same It’s just your hate has given it a name
But then, he said, there’s non-crime hate We just said, mate It’s your hate that you should be working on
He balled his fists, he stamped his feet He said, you see, there’s no free speech And with the rattle of a red pill He was gone
Steve White & The Protest Family 