10 December, 2008

"If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next" by Manic Street Preachers, Album: This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours (1998)


The future teaches you to be alone
The present to be afraid and cold
So if I can shoot rabbits
Then I can shoot fascists

Bullets for your brain today
But we'll forget it all again
Monuments put from pen to paper
Turns me into a gutless wonder

And if you tolerate this
Then your children will be next
And if you tolerate this
Then your children will be next
Will be next, Will be next,...

Gravity keeps my head down
Or is it maybe shame
At being so young and being so vain

Holes in your head today
But I'm a pacifist
I've walked La Ramblas
But not with real intent

And if you tolerate this
Then your children will be next
And if you tolerate this
Then your children will be next
Will be next, Will be next,...

And on the street tonight an old man plays
With newspaper cuttings of his glory days

And if you tolerate this
Then your children will be next
And if you tolerate this
Then your children will be next
Will be next, Will be next,...


In memory of the two teenagers in Greece, brutaly murdered by the police.
Michalis Kaltezas, fifteen, shot dead on 17/11/1985.

Alexis Gregoropoulos, sixteen, shot dead on 6/12/2008.

The song is refered to Spanish Civil War in 1936 and its title was the logo of a Spanish Republican poster against Franco's atrocities for bombarding cities and killing many children among civilian population (pictured above, read its history here). The military practice of the (Franco's) rebels, the military practice of Greek cops. Parallel practices.

Greek youth got pissed off and showed these days of extensive riots that they don't tolerate anymore such fascistic brutality by police which is responsible for at least 100 civilians' deaths or tortures, either native or immigrants, after Greek Junta fall in 1974 and alleged Democracy had been restored. No more lies on TV, no more hypocrisy and crocodile tears by the responsible governments.

You can hear this song in youtube

5 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I erased it because it was not in English... I said:
    My sweethearts...
    The things that 've going on are so sad
    I can stand it anymore
    How am i supposed to begin my life seeing these?
    How am i supposed to express myself knowinh that I can be the next Alexhs?
    Kow am i supposed to express myself knowing that the answer is a bullet?

    WKAE UP YOU GUYS! WE LIVE UNDER A DICTATIORSHIP AND WE CAN'T SEE IT. OR THEY (AND BY THEY I MENA THE GOVERNMENT) DON'T WANT US TO SEE IT...

    AND IF YOU DON'T LISTEN TO THE GROWN-UPS ,
    LISTEN TO US
    LISTEN TO THE CHILDREN
    THE FUTURE OF THIS COUNTRY
    IF THIS EXISTS
    STOP THIS
    I'M BEGGING YOU

    ReplyDelete
  3. thank you for commenting, its important to spread this message to the democratic world in order to see the nowadays abuse of democracy in her ancient homeland

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  4. The thing that makes me as sad as i can get it's not the murder or the damages

    Its that all these will be history
    All these will be forgotten after a little time
    All these won't be getting money to the channels and will stop to talk about that

    That child has to be a symbol for my generation and the ones following
    That child is now my brother, my friend...
    That child is me
    This child must remain in our hearts and minds
    He represent the stupidity of some people
    He represent the unfair, the dreams we have and the situation existing in our country

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thanks for your post, very useful information.

    ReplyDelete