Champagne

Should have internet in a few days. But I thought I would post this thing I wrote in the heat of the 2004 campaign.

Champagne
Marcus Daniel Byrne
October 2004


Sippin’ champagne on the campaign
You sure as hell can’t complain
As you put on a pin stripe suit
Me and a Mother’s son lace up combat boots.
Where were you in ’72?
Was it Harvard Business School?
How long do I have to be here for?
To fight your war
Because I’m poor and couldn’t afford school anymore.
Sent overseas to stop WMDs and set people free
That want to kill me.
Wait there’s a shot...
Pop, pop, pop.
Make your daughters enlist
And put up with this shit.
Oh, aint that a bitch
They’re rich.
Look at the opportunity they’re going to miss.
That’s what the poor are for.
To fight in a war
That closes the door even more
Keepin’ me and my family poor
Old men with grey hair keep makin’ decisions
That decide whether or not I keep living.
Of course, how would they know what it’s like?
When their country called they were AWOL
All the things they keep on preachin’ and teachin’
Love your country because of all it gives to you
It only gives if you are among the connected few
Enron…Halliburton those CEOs aren’t hurtin’
A million jobs and pensions robbed
Take from us to give to you and your band of merry few.
Heart of a lion
Boys around me dyin’
You’re still lyin’
About why I’m here
Mothers cryin’
Still lyin’
How much does your vote matter?
When there’s terrorist chatter and Dirty bombs
And soccer moms with American Flags
On their 4 mile per gallon SUV
Can’t you see the irony as you increase
Our dependency…
oh wait that’s OK…
As long as I wave a flag and say
“Support our troops”
Send them boots, bullets, and magazines maybe someday
My gas will be free
My only hope is that the people listening love the idea of their country as much as me
And aren’t willing
To send it spilling
Over the edge
For a simple pledge
Gas will never be free but the people of this country should be
Around the world our armies roam
While here at home
We live in fear but don’t you dare question
Our method
Oh, and don’t you mind the corporate goons
Lined up like dragoons to cash in
Are we safer than we were four years ago?
Why don’t you ask the soldier in Baghdad on patrol?
How much safer do you feel?
Aim…shoot…kill.
18 years old, full combat gear
A kid can’t even buy a beer
Has to make decisions everyday that decide everyday whether that kid in his sights will keep living
Friend or Foe
He doesn’t know.
Sigh of relief as he runs away
To live another day
How proud the families are that they’ve freed the people in Kandahar
And that women can drive a car.
But here they can’t decide whether or not they should reproduce.
Because of old men with grey hair and pin stripe suits.