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Falklands Song

  • Trad / Mabsant

    It was one fine May morning as Wescott Street I crossed
    I hadn't thought of signing up but my giro-cheque was lost
    As I passed the Army office a poster caught my eye
    So I signed up
    So I signed up
    So I signed up as a professional not thinking I might die

    They sent me to my regiment to train me for the fray
    My family's hearts were broken, at home they had to stay
    My wife and kids were crying, it isn't just a fey
    They would rather
    They would rather
    They would rather have me safe at home and with them every day

    Then off to the South Atlantic there to try my skill
    The weapons that we'd practised with we fired and aimed to kill
    And the weapons we were using were used on either side
    And Argentinian
    Argentinian
    Argentinian ammunition from Britain was supplied

    Oh may they never prosper and may they never thrive
    Those men who make their fortunes from armament supplies
    And Thatcher and Galtieri who sent those boys away
    Just remember
    Just remember
    Just remember the blood that's on your hands just can't be washed away

    And now the fighting's over it's time to count the cost
    Never mind which side we were on two thousand lives were lost
    And the sacrifice of young men's lives no logic can explain
    For those bleak islands
    Those bleak islands where I died
    When election day is over they'll negotiate again

    (as sung by Mabsant)

Susannes Folksong-Notizen

  • [1998:] The Benefit 'giro' - symbol of the 'dependency culture' detested by Thatcherites - is to be scrapped in a bid to root out fraud and cut costs, following fresh evidence of abuse of the system. [...] The Department also hopes for significant cost savings by encouraging claimants to opt for direct payment into their bank accounts. These cost a few pence per transfer, compared to more than £1 for drawing up and sending a giro. It is expected that giros will have been entirely phased out, at least for new claimants, by 2002. Giro abuse costs £102 million each year, said the spokesman. Some 418,000 giros were reported missing each year, of which 227,000 were replaced. In just under a half of these cases, the original 'lost' giro was also later cashed. [...] Abolition of the giro cheque will remove a touchstone of the benefit culture and a seam of British life frequently mined by comedians. In Sue Townsend's book 'The Queen and I', Her Majesty is forced to queue with her giro after the revolution. [...] Adrian Mole wrote a poem called 'Waiting for the Giro'. [...] The giro cheque originated in Austria in 1883 and was first introduced in the UK in 1968. (Richard Thomas, Observer, 22 Nov)

Quelle: England

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Henry
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02.11.1999, aktualisiert am 14.10.2003