Wij gaan de wereld veranderen

1970 was voor mij een omwoelend jaar, bepaald door de bezetting van het Instituut voor de Wetenschap van de Politiek. Een gelegenheid om kennis te maken met allerlei ideeën / boeken en later in het jaar te moeten concluderen dat de studentenbeweging in grote mate was overgenomen door de Communistische Partij Nederland (of was het andersom? in ieder geval was het mij te rechts. Wie dit in tegenspraak acht met wat ik vandaag eerder heb geschreven heeft dat stuk in ieder geval niet begrepen).
Weemoed. Zing het, Matt…

Shirley Wood gulped down her breakfast
Shut the fridge and joined the throng
Margaret Beatty snatched the milk in
Scanned the news and went along
Annie Harris drew the curtains
Screwed her eyes up, had a peek

Saw the marchers, heard their voices
Making early morning noises
Stumbled back to bed and tried to sleep

Come with us, run with us
We’re gonna change the world
You’ll be amazed, so full of praise
When we’ve rearranged your world
We’re gonna change your world

Shuffling through the cold black morning
Went the marchers, spirits low
Grunting greetings, grimly pressing
Onto where they had to go
When the sun came up, they brightened
Stopped to have their Thermos brew
Annie Harris got up gladly
Pondered for a little, sadly
Then got on with what she had to do

So, come with us, run with us
We’re gonna change the world
You’ll be amazed, so full of praise
When we’ve rearranged your world
We’re gonna change your world

At their target, numbers swollen
‘Up the marches’, banners go
Chanting, shouting out with leaflets
Protest for everyone to know
Sit in front of all the traffic
Harried, busy shopping wives
Try to stir their ostritch notions
Whip them up to wild emotions
Put some fire into their wretched lives

So, come with us, run with us
We’re gonna change your world
You’ll be amazed, so full of praise
When we’ve rearranged your world
We’re gonna change your world

Shirley Wood was dragged still sitting
By a policeman from the road
Margaret Beatty had her face slapped
By a man she tried to goad
Annie Harris in the office
Paused in typing, thought of Don
Glanced again at his last letter
Died for others to live better
Brushed away a tear and carried on

Come with us, run with us
We’re gonna change the world
You’ll be amazed, so full of praise
When we’ve rearranged your world
We’re gonna change..
Come with us, run with us
We’re gonna change your world
You’ll be amazed, so full of praise
When we’ve rearranged your world
We’re gonna change..
So, come with us, run with us
We’re gonna change your world
You’ll be amazed, so full of praise
When we’ve rearranged your world
We’re gonna change…


We’re gonna change the world, Matt Monro, 1970

– Uitgelichte afbeelding: By Capitol Records – Billboard, page 35, 20 August 1966, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=26927856