Earth Opera: The Great American Eagle TragedyThe Friday Protest Song for July 20, 2007http://www.lynnertic.com/category/friday-protest-songs/We end the week on the verge of a new government. The Unitary Executive has gone Rogue.
- The President signed an executive order authorizing the CIA to torture in its secret overseas prisons again, but this time, minus the sexual humiliation.
- The President also signed an executive order authorizing the seizure of assets of anyone interfering with US policy in Iraq.
- The Washington Post today published an announcement that the White House would not allow the Dept. of Justice to prosecute any Contempt of Congress charges arising from its assertion of Executive Privilege.
It’s a Constitutional Crisis. Will there be a President Pelosi in 2007? Will it be shown instead that the American Public has become so corrupted as to need despotic Government, being incapable of any other? I think it could go either way.
I’m reminded of Peter Rowan’s cries of anguish and frustration at the end of this recording ofThe Great American Eagle Tragedy by Earth Opera, a psychedelic rock band that emerged as part of the “Boston Sound” movement from 1967 - 1969.
They frequently opened for the Doors. Earth Opera sang against the Vietnam War, but as a few others have noted, one only needs to replace ‘jungle’ with ‘desert’ to find a striking resonance with our problems today.
Audio, and background on Earth Opera at http://www.lynnertic.com/friday-protest-songs/earth-opera-the-great-american-eagle-tragedy/Lyrics:
Earth Opera: The Great American Eagle Tragedy
And call out the border guard,
The kingdom is crumbling!
The king is in the counting house,
Laughing and stumbling.
His armies are extended
Way beyond the shore.
As he sends our lovely boys to die
In a foreign jungle war.
Huh, huh, huh, huh…
The queen is in the garden,
Moaning and weeping.
She spied the executioner’s face
While he lay sleeping.
The king’s own judge and jester
leaped together from the tower.
Lie still as fallen statues
In the cultivated bower, bower.
And call out the border guard,
The kingdom is crumbling!
The king is in the counting house,
Laughing and stumbling.
His armies are extended,
Way beyond the shore.
As he sends our lovely boys to die
In a foreign jungle war.
Huh, huh, huh, huh…
The orchestra assembles,
And tries in vain to tune.
While outside in the stableyard,
The hounds are howling at the moon.
A blind man in the far off jungle,
His bramble hut in flames,
Sits and whispers to his flute
All the unremembered names.
And call out the border guard.
The kingdom is crumbling.
The king is in the counting house,
Laughing and stumbling.
His armies are extended,
Way beyond the shore.
As he sends our lovely boys to die
In a foreign jungle war.
Huh, huh, huh, huh… My god!
The scarlet cloaked and white horsed huntsman
Rides upon the meadow green.
His silver arrow scars the sky,
and I can hear the eagle scream.
The peasants watch in dumb-struck wonder!
The gay procession passed them by.
The victory silence is consuming me!
And we’ve killed at last the eagle’s cry!
And call out the border guard.
The kingdom is crumbling.
The king is in the pouting house,
Laughing and stumbling.
His armies are extended,
Way beyond the shore.
As he sends our lovely boys to die,
As we send our lovely boys to die,
As you send our lovely boys to die
In a foreign jungle war.
Ah, huh, huh, huh…
Why people, I can’t stand it any more!
I, I, I can’t stand it any more!
I god!
Oh God! Oh God! Oh God! Oh God!
Where is that place!
Bye, bye, bye, bye!
Die, die, die, die!
Bye, bye, bye, bye!
Die, die, die, die!
Oh no! oh no! OH NO!
STOP THE WAR! STOP THE WAR!
Oh PLEASE!
The lyrics were first transcribed some time ago by DUer
calipendencehttp://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=364&topic_id=551638but I've corrected a couple of lines.
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