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No one can dub you with dignity. That's yours to claim.

quote by Odetta
Added by Lucian Velea
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Mind Train

Dub-dub, dub-dub,
Dub-dub, dub-dub,
Oh, ooh, oh, oh,
Dub-dub train,
Dub-dub train, dub train, dub train, dub.
Dub-dub, dub-dub,
Dub train, dub, dub-dub train passed through my mind,
Dub, dub-dub train passed through my mind,
Oh, oh, ah, ah.
I thought of killing that man,
Oh, oh, dub-dub train passed through my mind.
Oh, oh.
33 windows shining,
33 windows shining like, shining like, shining like a...
Dub-dub, dub-dub, oh, oh, oh,
Dub-dub, dub-dub, oh, oh, oh,...
Shining the clouds, shining the trees,
Shining empty buildings, shining empty buildings, shining my mind.
Dub-dub, dub-dub, passed many signs, passed many towns,
Ooh, ooh, ooh...
Dub-dub, dub-dub, dub train, oh, train, dub, oh, oh,...
Dub-dub, dub-dub, ooh, train, ooh, pain, train, oh.
I thought of killing that man,
I thought of killing that man.
Dub-dub, dub-dub,
Dub train passed through my mind,
Train passed through my mind, oh, ooh...
Dub-dub, dub-dub, oh train, oh, train.
33 windows shining through my mind,
Shining through my...ooh
Dub-dub, dub-dub, oh, dub-dub,
Ooh, ooh,
Dub-dub train passed through my mind,
Oh, the dub-dub train passed through my mind,
Passed through my mind, ooh, ooh....
Oh, train, dub train,
Dub-dub, oh, dub-dub, oh.
Oh, oh,...
I thought of killing, i thought of killing that man.
A-dub-dub train, oh, oh, train, train, train, train,
Oh, oh, oh...
Train, train, dub-dub-dub-dub train, dub-dub.
Shining the clouds, shining the trees,
Shining empty buildings, shine, shine, shine, shine, shine -
33 windows, 33 windows shining like a...
Shine, shine, shine.
Dub-dub, dub-dub, ooh, oh...
Passed many signs, passed many signs,
Oh, yes, yes, dub-dub, oh, yes,
Dub-dub, dub-dub, oh, oh,...

[...] Read more

song performed by Yoko Ono
Added by Lucian Velea
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Mind Train

Dub-dub, dub-dub,
Dub-dub, dub-dub,
Oh, ooh, oh, oh,
Dub-dub train,
Dub-dub train, dub train, dub train, dub.
Dub-dub, dub-dub,
Dub train, dub, dub-dub train passed through my mind,
Dub, dub-dub train passed through my mind,
Oh, oh, ah, ah.
I thought of killing that man,
Oh, oh, dub-dub train passed through my mind.
Oh, oh.
33 windows shining,
33 windows shining like, shining like, shining like a...
Dub-dub, dub-dub, oh, oh, oh,
Dub-dub, dub-dub, oh, oh, oh,...
Shining the clouds, shining the trees,
Shining empty buildings, shining empty buildings, shining my mind.
Dub-dub, dub-dub, passed many signs, passed many towns,
Ooh, ooh, ooh...
Dub-dub, dub-dub, dub train, oh, train, dub, oh, oh,...
Dub-dub, dub-dub, ooh, train, ooh, pain, train, oh.
I thought of killing that man,
I thought of killing that man.
Dub-dub, dub-dub,
Dub train passed through my mind,
Train passed through my mind, oh, ooh...
Dub-dub, dub-dub, oh train, oh, train.
33 windows shining through my mind,
Shining through my...ooh
Dub-dub, dub-dub, oh, dub-dub,
Ooh, ooh,
Dub-dub train passed through my mind,
Oh, the dub-dub train passed through my mind,
Passed through my mind, ooh, ooh....
Oh, train, dub train,
Dub-dub, oh, dub-dub, oh.
Oh, oh,...
I thought of killing, i thought of killing that man.
A-dub-dub train, oh, oh, train, train, train, train,
Oh, oh, oh...
Train, train, dub-dub-dub-dub train, dub-dub.
Shining the clouds, shining the trees,
Shining empty buildings, shine, shine, shine, shine, shine -
33 windows, 33 windows shining like a...
Shine, shine, shine.
Dub-dub, dub-dub, ooh, oh...
Passed many signs, passed many signs,
Oh, yes, yes, dub-dub, oh, yes,
Dub-dub, dub-dub, oh, oh,...

[...] Read more

song performed by Yoko Ono
Added by Lucian Velea
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Love Calling

Sun goes down I rise
Red hair flames so bright
Iced gin breaks the night
Steal into her mind
Walk without a sound
Fire in the mountains now
If you wanna rub-a-dub, rub-a-dub
If you wanna rub-a-dub, dub love
Love calling, love calling
If you wanna rub-a-dub, rub-a-dub
If you wanna rub-a-dub, dub love
Love calling
So baby rock on
Clap hands, clap hands
For the song man
Rock on, rock on
Ooo baby rock on,
Clap hands, clap hands
For the song man
Rock on, rock on
Song man dreams for you
Moves his clapping space
Turns us into snakes
Hot hits
And the blue moon move, move, move
Move until we die
Move until she cries
If you wanna rub-a-dub, rub-a-dub
If you wanna rub-a-dub, dub love
Love calling, love calling
If you wanna rub-a-dub, rub-a-dub
If you wanna rub-a-dub, dub love
Love calling
Oo baby rock on
If you wanna rub-a-dub, rub-a-dub
If you wanna rub-a-dub, dub love
Love calling, love calling
If you wanna rub-a-dub, rub-a-dub
If you wanna rub-a-dub, dub love
Love calling
So[ooo? ] baby rock on
Clap hands, clap hands
For the song man
Rock on, rock on
Ooo baby rock on,
Clap hands, clap hands
For the song man
Rock on, rock on

song performed by Billy Idol
Added by Lucian Velea
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No Love

da-de-ya-dup-dub-dub-dub-dee
da-de-ya-dup-dub-dub-dub-dee
da-de-ya-dup-dub-dub-dub-dee
do-wee-do-wee-yoo
da-de-ya-dup-dub-dub-dub-dee
da-de-ya-dup-dub-dub-dub-dee
da-de-ya-dup-dub-dub-dub-dee
do-wee-do-wee-yoo

You can see straight through me
Never thought you'd do me
The way you do
How can anyone be so cruel
When you know I love you

song performed by Erykah Badu from Baduizm
Added by Lucian Velea
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Folitician

(chorus)
Hey folitician, me seh hey folitician
Me seh hey folitician
Mek you go long so.
Hey folitician, me seh hey folitician
Me seh hey folitician
Mek you go long so.
You come chatty chatty chatty run up you' mouth; (repeat)
One man, one vote you hear from the shout. (repeat)
You full of pure promise but you tell damn' lies; (repeat)
You make a mistake and then somebody dies. (repeat)
Hey folitician, me seh hey folitician
Me seh hey folitician
What you doin 'bout the slums?
You sit around all day, jus' a twiddle your thumbs;
You have a strange expression
Mek you look like you' dumb. (repeat)
You worry everybody 'til you put them in a box. (repeat)
Dub freak gone
Gone go check him record shop,
Gone go check him record stock.
Him climb upon the box
Him said him got to reach the top;
Him climb upon the shelf
Him seh you take care yourself.
Him dance upon the floor
Him said a music galore. (repeat)
Dub freak, dub freak
Deh 'pon the go;
Say you never know
Because i told you so.
Sippa, sippa, sippa, sippa, lightning crash; (repeat)
Drummer 'pon him drum, him jus' a play mish-mash. (repeat)
Keyboards in the middle jus'a jump and twiddle. (repeat)
Rhythm over here an' me seh rhythm over there;
Don't stop and stare because the rhythm gone clear.
Dub freak, dub freak, in a dub freak style
Dub freak, dub freak, still a running wild.
Him start from the bottom 'til him reach up the top
Him keep on rocking and him never stop.
Wow and flutter, music jus'
A run like butter. (repeat)
Dub a slip an' slide
Dub a slip an' slide
Dub a slip an' slide,
He can't find nowhere to hide.

song performed by Ub40
Added by Lucian Velea
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D. U. B

When me reach me yard
Me got one thing on me mind,
To hold me little woman
And fe make her feel iree.
Be play album, dub plate, and forty-five
For dats the kind of riddim that keeps me alive.
Me turn on fe me radio
Some a chat bout dat
But I know more than d.j.
So I nah play you dat.
(chorus)
Me tek a d and a u
An a b - not e
That thing there
Is special to me.
Me listen in the morning
Also in the night
For dat form of music
Is outasight.
The newest form of music
Is easy to see
It start with a d
And end with a b
Dub in a de morning
And dub in a de night
Mek the whole neighbourhood
Feel alright, feel alright
When me reach me yard
Me got one thing on me mind,
To hold me little woman
And fe mek her fell iree.
When me reach me yard
Me got one thing on me mind,
To hold me little woman
And fe mek her fell iree.
Me tek a d and a u
An a b - not e
That thing there
Is special to me.
Me listen in the morning
Also in the night
For dat form of music
Is outasight.
The newest form of music
Is easy to see
It start with a d
And end with a b
Dub in a de morning
And dub in a de night
Mek the whole neighbourhood

[...] Read more

song performed by Ub40
Added by Lucian Velea
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Tribute To Oku Onuora

The poet's pen, like a sword,
cuts through unconsciousness.
Each word, each line in sync
cutting and burning in a pot of dub,
dubbed wise the poetry of justice.
Dubbing in freedom,
dubbing out lies and oppression.
Dub, dub, dubwise!

Metaphysical ink cannot be contained:
It is life, giving hope to the captives
and the socially wounded.
It needs no affirmation
or confirmation.
It just drips dub, dub, dubwise!

Heed the poet's calling:
He cannot lie,
he cannot die,
he exorcises
systematic racism,
anemic capitalism and fascism
with dub, dub, dubwise!

poem by Buxton Shippy
Added by Poetry Lover
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Scrub, Scrub, Rub-a dub dub

Scrub, scrub, rub-a-dub, dub
cleaning is such a chore.
Scrub, scrub, rub-a-dub, dub
cleaning's such a bore.

Washing, dusting every day,
seems there is no end.
I know that when I'm finished
it will start all over again.

Windows, floors and kitchen sinks
just can't seem to stay clean.
The kids go out. The kids come in
and there's the same old scene.

Wash the clothes. Let them dry.
Put them on to wear.
Before the day is over
there's a spot that wasn't there.

Scrub, scrub, rub-a-dub dub
when will it ever stop?
If I could find those rub-a dub men
I'd gladly give them my mop.

poem by Edwina Reizer
Added by Poetry Lover
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Dignity

Fat man lookin in a blade of steel
Thin man lookin at his last meal
Hollow man lookin in a cottonfield
For dignity
Wise man lookin in a blade of grass
Young man lookin in the shadows that pass
Poor man lookin through painted glass
For dignity
Somebody got murdered on new years eve
Somebody said dignity was the first to leave
I went into the city, went into the town
Went into the land of the midnight sun
Searchin high, searchin low
Searchin everywhere I know
Askin the cops wherever I go
Have you seen dignity?
Blind man breakin out of a trance
Puts both his hands in the pockets of chance
Hopin to find one circumstance
Of dignity
I went to the wedding of mary-lou
She said i dont want nobody see me talkin to you? br> said she could get killed if she told me what she knew
About dignity
I went down where the vultures feed
I wouldve got deeper, but there wasnt any need
Heard the tongues of angels and the tongues of men
Wasnt any difference to me
Chilly wind sharp as a razor blade
House on fire, debts unpaid
Gonna stand at the window, gonna ask the maid
Have you seen dignity?
Drinkin man listens to the voice he hears
In a crowded room full of covered up mirrors
Lookin into the lost forgotten years
For dignity
Met prince phillip at the home of the blues
Said hed give me information if his name wasnt used
He wanted money up front, said he was abused
By dignity
Footprints runnin cross the sliver sand
Steps goin down into tattoo land
I met the sons of darkness and the sons of light
In the bordertowns of despair
Got no place to fade, got no coat
Im on the rollin river in a jerkin boat
Tryin to read a note somebody wrote
About dignity
Sick man lookin for the doctors cure
Lookin at his hands for the lines that were
And into every masterpiece of literature

[...] Read more

song performed by Bob Dylan
Added by Lucian Velea
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We & Dem

We no know how we and dem a-go work this out, oy!
We no know how we and dem a-go work it out.
But someone will ave to pay
For the innocent blood
That they shed every day,
Oh, children, mark my word;
Its what the Bible say, yeah! yeah!
Oh, we no know how we and dem a-go work this out;
We no know how we and dem a-go work it out.
But in the beginning jah created everythin (oo-oo-oo-oo-ooh),
Givin man dominion over all things.
But now its too late,
You see, men has lost their faith (oo-oo-oo-oo-ooh), hey-ey-hey!
Eating up all the flesh from off the earth, eh!
We no know how we and dem a-go work this out (we no know);
We no know how we and dem a-go work this out (no, we dont know);
Dub-da-dub-da-dub!
Dub-a-dippidi-doop-de-doo!
Nim-a-nummany num-na-noo!
Num-a-nummana-num-da-nay!
Dippy-dippy-dippy: dip-de-dub-de-day!
Dip-a-dubbada-dub-da-day!
But I say: we no know how we and dem a-go work it out:
Them a flesh and bone!
We no know how we and dem a-go work it out.
But we now have no friends
In-a high society, yea-a-eah!
We no have no friends;
Oh, mark my identity;
We no have no friends. oh-oh! yeah!
We no know how we and dem a-go work this out (no, we no know);
We no know how we and dem a-go work this out (we no know);
We no know how we and dem a-go work it out (no, we dont know);
(we no know how we and dem a-go work this out.) rasta!
(we no know how we and dem a-go work this out.) ilyabom! /fadeout/

song performed by Bob Marley
Added by Lucian Velea
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Rubberband Girl

See those trees
Bend in the wind
I feel theyve got a lot more sense than me
You see I try to resist
A rubberband bouncing back to life
A rubberband bend the beat
If I could learn to give like a rubberband
Id be back on my feet
A rubberband hold me trousers up
A rubberband ponytails
If I could learn to twang like a rubberband
Id be a rubberband girl
A rubberband girl me
A rubberband girl me
Oh I wanna be a rubberband girl
When I slip out
Of my catapult
I gotta land with my feet firm on the ground
And let my body catch up
A rubberband bouncing back to life
A rubberband bend the heat
If I could learn to give like a rubberband
Id be back on my feet
A rubberband hold me trousers up
A rubberband ponytails
If I could learn to twang like a rubberband
Id be a rubberband girl
A rubberband girl me
A rubberband girl me
Oh I wanna be a rubberband girl
Give like a rubberband
Twang like a rubberband
Snap like a rubberband
Rub-a-dub-a-dub-a-dub
Rub-a-dub-a-dub
Rub-a-dub
One rubberband wont keep you up
Two rubberbands wont keep you up
Three rubberbands wont keep you up
Here I go......(adlib)
.... yeah!
One rubberband wont keep you up
Two rubberbands wont keep you up
Three rubberbands wont keep you up

song performed by Kate Bush
Added by Lucian Velea
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Claim To Fame

Talk-talk, yak-yak
Watch you pull that old one track
Get it up and get it back
Making it upon your back
No space, no rent
The moneys gone, its all been spent now
Tell me bout your claim to fame
Now aint that some claim to fame
Extra, extra, read all about it now
Extra, extra, something bout a claim to fame
Ooohhh sweet mama, ooohhh sweet mama
Something bout your claim to fame
Wet lips, dry now
Ready for that old hand out, now
Aint that some claim to fame
Spaced out, spaced in
The heads round, the squares flat
Aint that some claim to fame
Now tell me aint that some claim to fame
Extra, extra, read all about it now
Extra, extra, something, something bout some claim to fame
Ooohhh-wheee sweet mama, extra, extra, something
Something bout your claim to fame
Yeah now
I said now, extra, extra
Something bout your claim to fame
I said now, extra, extra
Something bout your claim to fame
Ooohhh mama, said now, extra, extra
Something bout your claim to fame
Extra, extra, something bout a
About a, about a, something bout your claim to fame
Extra, extra, something bout a
bout a, bout a, something bout your claim to fame
Ooohhh, ooohhh sweet mama
Something bout your claim to fame
Oh, ooohhh sweet mama
Something bout your claim to fame

song performed by Lou Reed
Added by Lucian Velea
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Dignity

Dignity is what we want,
As human beings on this earth;
Dignity is what we can’t,
Give up anyway since birth.

Dignity is innate right,
God has bestowed man, He made;
Dignity is cause to fight
When employees get under-paid.

Dignity, all need always
At home, at school and one’s work-place;
Dignity for human race,
Men must guarantee all days.

Dignity in livelihood,
Receive should all citizens;
Dignity in dying too,
World must assure everyone.

Dignity is what we need
In life on earth and when we die;
Dignity is good indeed
For creatures born under the sky.

Dignity for man and beast
Is a must for all, west / east;
Dignity for anyone
Shouldn’t be denied, any time!
Copyright by Dr John Celes 12-26-2006

poem by John Celes
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Don't Let It Pass You By

There's no-one coming with that freedom train.
There's nowhere you can go where you feel no pain.
Take the blinkers off you eye's,
The power is in your hand.
Stop waiting for your ticket to the promised land.
There ain't no heaven and there ain't no hell.
Except the one we're in, and you know to well
There's no-one waiting on,
Waiting on a higher high.
Don't let the only world you're ever gonna live in pass you by.
Burn two spliff play ital riddem
Rub two dub burn ital collie
Because the rhythm a the marshall
And the rhythm a no partial go deh
Seh the rhythm a the marshall
And the rhythm a no partial
Rub two dub burn ital collie
Burn two spliff play ital riddem
Because you jamming with you brethren
Jam it 'till a morning
Forget about the warning
Have to jam it 'till a mornin'
Burn two spliff play ital riddem
Burn two spliff play ital riddem
Seh you playing in a concrete style
You playing in a resident style
And then you jam it all the while
Don't let it pass you by,
You gonna wake up and wonder why
Gone in the blues
Go check on the news
Go listen to political views
Rub two dub burn ital collie
Rub two dub burn ital collie
New Cross was no gate-crash bomb...
Rightful justice must be done!
Burn two spliff and rock to the riddem
Burn two spliff and rock to the riddem
We don't deal with Isim Scisim
We don't deal with Isim Scisim
Deal with folly-dolly
We don't deal with folly-dolly
Burn two spliff play ital riddem
Rub two dub burn ital collie
'cause you jammin' with your brethren
Jam it 'till the morning
Playin' in a conrete style
Jam it all the while
Don't let it pass you by,
You gonna wake up and wonder why

[...] Read more

song performed by Ub40
Added by Lucian Velea
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English Bards and Scotch Reviewers: A Satire

'I had rather be a kitten, and cry mew!
Than one of these same metre ballad-mongers'~Shakespeare

'Such shameless bards we have; and yet 'tis true,
There are as mad, abandon'd critics too,'~Pope.

Still must I hear? -- shall hoarse Fitzgerald bawl
His creaking couplets in a tavern hall,
And I not sing, lest, haply, Scotch reviews
Should dub me scribbler, and denounce my muse?
Prepare for rhyme -- I'll publish, right or wrong:
Fools are my theme, let satire be my song.

O nature's noblest gift -- my grey goose-quill!
Slave of my thoughts, obedient to my will,
Torn from thy parent bird to form a pen,
That mighty instrument of little men!
The pen! foredoom'd to aid the mental throes
Of brains that labour, big with verse or prose,
Though nymphs forsake, and critics may deride,
The lover's solace, and the author's pride.
What wits, what poets dost thou daily raise!
How frequent is thy use, how small thy praise!
Condemn'd at length to be forgotten quite,
With all the pages which 'twas thine to write.
But thou, at least, mine own especial pen!
Once laid aside, but now assumed again,
Our task complete, like Hamet's shall be free;
Though spurn'd by others, yet beloved by me:
Then let us soar today, no common theme,
No eastern vision, no distemper'd dream
Inspires -- our path, though full of thorns, is plain;
Smooth be the verse, and easy be the strain.

When Vice triumphant holds her sov'reign sway,
Obey'd by all who nought beside obey;
When Folly, frequent harbinger of crime,
Bedecks her cap with bells of every clime;
When knaves and fools combined o'er all prevail,
And weigh their justice in a golden scale;
E'en then the boldest start from public sneers,
Afraid of shame, unknown to other fears,
More darkly sin, by satire kept in awe,
And shrink from ridicule, though not from law.

Such is the force of wit! but not belong
To me the arrows of satiric song;
The royal vices of our age demand
A keener weapon, and a mightier hand.

[...] Read more

poem by Byron
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Mrs O’Hara’s Bathtub (Fun Poem 39)

Rub-a-dub-dub,
Mrs O’Hara’s bathtub,
a towel gone for a drink,
fell into the tub.
What is the poor lady to dry herself with now?
Oh, dear what can she do,
the robe she thought,
give it a tug,
but it fell into the tub.
Now what was she going to do?
Call for her husband.
A yell, a scream is heard,
as he rushes in like a buffalo herd.
“What is the matter, dear? ” he says,
and then slips up on a bar of soap.
Rub-a -dub-dub,
Mrs O’Hara, towel, robe, and hubby all in the tub.

19 April 1979

poem by David Harris
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Moment

Express trains are respectful brothers
For they have an ihtuitional heart each
Delayed one train means much the next bothers
And it's our train next delayed long we waited such

Evening platform limned dim and dull
Weakened infrastructure waiting for a seat
Sparse benches filled with baggages full
Buzzing mosquitoes spraying around to bite

Uneasy to feel lost in a railed hell
Chairs, benches inadequate even to rest
Impatient me escorting things all
Evening walk escaped hubby alone me left

Who and who not the cheaters
All immoral thieves..watchful to watch
Dub, dub, dub, dub pattered my heart fears
'Where's hubby' panicked the train in a touching reach

poem by Indira Renganathan
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Craqueodoom

The Crankadox leaned o'er the edge of the moon
And wistfully gazed on the sea
Where the Gryxabodill madly whistled a tune
To the air of 'Ti-fol-de-ding-dee.'
The quavering shriek of the Fly-up-the-creek
Was fitfully wafted afar
To the Queen of the Wunks as she powdered her cheek
With the pulverized rays of a star.

The Gool closed his ear on the voice of the Grig,
And his heart it grew heavy as lead
As he marked the Baldekin adjusting his wing
On the opposite side of his head,
And the air it grew chill as the Gryxabodill
Raised his dank, dripping fins to the skies,
And plead with the Plunk for the use of her bill
To pick the tears out of his eyes.

The ghost of the Zhack flitted by in a trance,
And the Squidjum hid under a tub
As he heard the loud hooves of the Hooken advance
With a rub-a-dub--dub-a-dub--dub!
And the Crankadox cried, as he lay down and died,
'My fate there is none to bewail,'
While the Queen of the Wunks drifted over the tide
With a long piece of crape to her tail.

poem by James Whitcomb Riley
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Psychological Warfare

This above all remember: they will be very brave men,
And you will be facing them. You must not despise them.

I am, as you know, like all true professional soldiers,
A profoundly religious man: the true soldier has to be.
And I therefore believe the war will be over by Easter Monday.
But I must in fairness state that a number of my brother-officers,
No less religious than I, believe it will hold out till Whitsun.
Others, more on the agnostic side (and I do not contemn them)
Fancy the thing will drag on till August Bank Holiday.

Be that as it may, some time in the very near future,
We are to expect Invasion ... and invasion not from the sea.
Vast numbers of troops will be dropped, probably from above,
Superbly equipped, determined and capable; and this above all,
Remember: they will be very brave men, and chosen as such.

You must not, of course, think I am praising them.
But what I have said is basically fundamental
To all I am about to reveal: the more so, since
Those of you that have not seen service overseas—
Which is the case with all of you, as it happens—this is the first time
You will have confronted them. My remarks are aimed
At preparing you for that.

Everyone, by the way, may smoke,
And be as relaxed as you can, like myself.
I shall wander among you as I talk and note your reactions.
Do not be nervous at this: this is a thing, after all,
We are all in together.

I want you to note in your notebooks, under ten separate headings,
The ten points I have to make, remembering always
That any single one of them may save your life. Is everyone ready?
Very well then.

The term, Psychological Warfare
Comes from the ancient Greek: psycho means character
And logical, of course, you all know. We did not have it
In the last conflict, the fourteen-eighteen affair,
Though I myself was through it from start to finish. (That is point one.)
I was, in fact, captured—or rather, I was taken prisoner—
In the Passchendaele show (a name you will all have heard of)
And in our captivity we had a close opportunity
(We were all pretty decently treated. I myself
Was a brigadier at the time: that is point two)
An opportunity I fancy I was the only one to appreciate
Of observing the psychiatry of our enemy
(The word in those days was always psychology,
A less exact description now largely abandoned). And though the subject

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poem by Henry Reed
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The Dream

'TWAS summer eve; the changeful beams still play'd
On the fir-bark and through the beechen shade;
Still with soft crimson glow'd each floating cloud;
Still the stream glitter'd where the willow bow'd;
Still the pale moon sate silent and alone,
Nor yet the stars had rallied round her throne;
Those diamond courtiers, who, while yet the West
Wears the red shield above his dying breast,
Dare not assume the loss they all desire,
Nor pay their homage to the fainter fire,
But wait in trembling till the Sun's fair light
Fading, shall leave them free to welcome Night!

So when some Chief, whose name through realms afar
Was still the watchword of succesful war,
Met by the fatal hour which waits for all,
Is, on the field he rallied, forced to fall,
The conquerors pause to watch his parting breath,
Awed by the terrors of that mighty death;
Nor dare the meed of victory to claim,
Nor lift the standard to a meaner name,
Till every spark of soul hath ebb'd away,
And leaves what was a hero, common clay.

Oh! Twilight! Spirit that dost render birth
To dim enchantments; melting Heaven with Earth,
Leaving on craggy hills and rumning streams
A softness like the atmosphere of dreams;
Thy hour to all is welcome! Faint and sweet
Thy light falls round the peasant's homeward feet,
Who, slow returning from his task of toil,
Sees the low sunset gild the cultured soil,
And, tho' such radliance round him brightly glows,
Marks the small spark his cottage window throws.
Still as his heart forestals his weary pace,
Fondly he dreams of each familiar face,
Recalls the treasures of his narrow life,
His rosy children, and his sunburnt wife,

To whom his coming is the chief event
Of simple days in cheerful labour spent.
The rich man's chariot hath gone whirling past,
And those poor cottagers have only cast
One careless glance on all that show of pride,
Then to their tasks turn'd quietly aside;
But him they wait for, him they welcome home,
Fond sentinels look forth to see him come;
The fagot sent for when the fire grew dim,
The frugal meal prepared, are all for him;
For him the watching of that sturdy boy,

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poem by Caroline Elizabeth Sarah Norton
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