Barbara Dane is op de een of andere manier niet bekend geworden aan de andere kant van de oceaan, zoals andere strijdbare folkzangeressen m/v. Dit lied uit 1970 verwijst wel al naar de moordpartij op de campus van Kent State waarover president Nixon zei dat het onrust was, opgestookt door some college bums. Nu ik het woord terughoor herinner ik mij dat ik in het bezette Instituut voor de Wetenschap van de Politiek een turflijst had voor neergeschoten studententuig en voor zwarten, en er viel dagelijks wel wat te turven. Ach, zoveel is er niet veranderd. Hallelujah, I’m a bum is een al ouder lied, Dane past het aan aan de VS van 1970, oorlogvoerend in Indo-China.
Oh bums of the earth,
You got nothin’ to lose…
But your chains and their tear-gas,
And the Dick Nixon Blues.
Helleluiah, I’m a bum,
Hallelujah, who are you?
Hallelujah, keep on breathin’,
You can be a bum too!
When he first called us bums,
Didn’t know what he meant,
But the Guard has defined it
On the campus at Kent.
Helleluiah, I’m a bum,
Hallelujah, who are you?
Hallelujah, keep on breathin’,
You can be a bum too!
But Dick loves his soldiers,
And he always will,
And that’s why he’s sending you
Off to be killed!
Helleluiah, I’m a bum,
Hallelujah, who are you?
Hallelujah, keep on breathin’,
You can be a bum too!
“Why they’re all our kids,
And they stand straight and tall…”
Yeah, but one of these days,
There’ll be no more at all!
Helleluiah, I’m a bum,
Hallelujah, who are you?
Hallelujah, keep on breathin’,
You can be a bum too!
Well Cordier and Brewster,
You can say what you like,
But just tell Mr. Nixon
Us bums are on strike.
Helleluiah, I’m a bum,
Hallelujah, who are you?
Hallelujah, keep on breathin’,
You can be a bum too!
From Austin to Boston,
And Haverford, too,
From Berkeley to Brooklyn
And Kalamazoo.
Helleluiah, I’m a bum,
Hallelujah, who are you?
Hallelujah, keep on breathin’,
You can be a bum too!
Why, Spiro’s no bum,
You’ll agree that is true,
But he sits up nights wonderin’
What Kim’s gonna do!
Helleluiah, I’m a bum,
Hallelujah, who are you?
Hallelujah, keep on breathin’,
You can be a bum too!
Well I hate the system,
And the system hates me,
And that’s why I’m fighting
For my liberty!
Helleluiah, I’m a bum,
Hallelujah, who are you?
Hallelujah, keep on breathin’,
You can be a bum too!
Well Mexico is hot,
And (they say) Canada’s cold,
So I’ll stay here and fight,
If I never get old!
Helleluiah, I’m a bum,
Hallelujah, who are you?
Hallelujah, keep on breathin’,
You can be a bum too!
Well, power corrupts,
We all know that by heart,
But you got to admit
Nixon had a head-start!
Helleluiah, I’m a bum,
Hallelujah, who are you?
Hallelujah, keep on breathin’,
You can be a bum too!
Well some say his name
Is Slippery Dick:
Well I guess he’s no bum.
But he sure is some President!
Helleluiah, I’m a bum,
Hallelujah, who are you?
Hallelujah, keep on breathin’,
You can be a bum too!
(found on a bathroom wall:)
Well we could spring Huey
And Bobby from jail,
With Julie and Tricia
For ransom and bail!
- Uitgelichte afbeelding: By BLDP – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=61189893
