From the July ’23 concert at Café Paloma, Seattle, this one a reworking of my old anti-imperialist chestnut to include more imperialisms.
Nor the Mullahs who took to the throne
Now the women step out of the shadows
Just look how their courage has grown
Revolutions triumphant in China,
Nicaragua, Zimbabwe, Iran
But they quickly succumb to suppression
Freedom, democracy, gone
And I don’t fight for usurpers
Who replace all hope with fear
Who wipe away all opposition
With artful deception and smear
And I don’t keep my silence
When power corrupts, as it will
Cause I don’t bow down to despoilers
I stand up, the dream to fulfill
And I don’t fight for aggressors
Even when they’re not USA
They try to tell me they’re being surrounded
Tell that to their neighbors I say
We fight for freedoms at home
Why not the same in every land
Cause I don’t defend dictators
Freedom’s a global demand
My allegiance belongs to the people
I am faithful but not to the crown
When Presidents turn to tyranny
It’s time for them to be brought down