The Teargas Anthem a song written by Desert Rat I've seen the lands beyond these borders Where the corporations rule And they spin their lies and they globalize and the working man's their tool. And the streams are so polluted that their banks are bleak and bare and the babies all are born deformed and the smog is everywhere and the workers wages drop 30% in just one year now the greedy bastards want to bring that situation here and you called upon me brother and you asked what I could do and I told the truth dear brother when I spoke these words to you I will stand beside your shoulder when the teargas fills the sky and if a national guardsman shoots me down I'll be lookin him in the eye and I will wash their pepper from your face and go with you to jail and if you don't make it through this fight I swear I'll tell your tale And I will stay with you in the prison cell In solidarity and I will not leave that cursed room til you walk out with me For we the people fight for freedom While the cops just fight for pay and as long as truth is in our hearts we're sure to win some day I will not falter when that iron fist comes out of the velvet glove I will stand beside you brother and defend this land I love I've heard the tales from conquered islands where the sweatshop barons rule recruiting girls from the Asian slums to be the rich mans' tool and they are promised lies of luxury in the golden usa and then they're stranded on these islands with their passports stripped away And their aging fingers toil and bleed year after grueling year now the greedy bastards want to bring those same conditions here. and you called upon me sister and you asked what I could do and I told the truth dear sister when I spoke these words to you I will stand beside your shoulder when the teargas fills the sky and if a national guardsman shoots me down I'll be lookin him in the eye and I will wash their pepper from your face and go with you to jail and if you don't make it through this fight I swear I'll tell your tale And I will stay with you in the prison cell In solidarity and I will not leave that cursed room til you walk out with me For we the people fight for freedom While the cops just fight for pay and as long as truth is in our hearts we're sure to win some day I will not falter when that iron fist comes out of the velvet glove I will stand beside you sister and defend this land I love yes, I will stand beside you sister and defend this land I love =============== Desert Rat sings this with a drumbeat and an awesome Irish brogue. I do it a capella and kind of scream it, kind of chant it, kind of sing it. I think both work well, but I do wish I could do it his way. :) This is one of those songs that you finish and people come up to you afterwards asking for a copy of the lyrics. This has happened to me half a dozen times just in the past week. And it happened today at a rally where I just belted it out as people were milling around when the program itself was finished. --marco. milwaukee, 6oct02