Oh bums of the earth,
You got nothin' to lose…
But your chains and their tear-gas,
And the Dick Nixon Blues.
Helleluiah, I'm a bum,
Hallelujah, who are you?
Hallelujah, keep on breathin',
You can be a bum too!
When he first called us bums,
Didn't know what he meant,
But the Guard has defined it
On the campus at Kent. (1)
Helleluiah, I'm a bum,
Hallelujah, who are you?
Hallelujah, keep on breathin',
You can be a bum too!
But Dick loves his soldiers,
And he always will,
And that’s why he's sending you
Off to be killed!
Helleluiah, I'm a bum,
Hallelujah, who are you?
Hallelujah, keep on breathin',
You can be a bum too!
"Why they're all our kids,
And they stand straight and tall..."
Yeah, but one of these days,
There'll be no more at all!
Helleluiah, I'm a bum,
Hallelujah, who are you?
Hallelujah, keep on breathin',
You can be a bum too!
Well Cordier and Brewster, (2)
You can say what you like,
But just tell Mr. Nixon
Us bums are on strike.
Helleluiah, I'm a bum,
Hallelujah, who are you?
Hallelujah, keep on breathin',
You can be a bum too!
From Austin to Boston,
And Haverford, too,
From Berkeley to Brooklyn
And Kalamazoo.
Helleluiah, I'm a bum,
Hallelujah, who are you?
Hallelujah, keep on breathin',
You can be a bum too!
Why, Spiro’s no bum, (3)
You'll agree that is true,
But he sits up nights wonderin'
What Kim’s gonna do!
Helleluiah, I'm a bum,
Hallelujah, who are you?
Hallelujah, keep on breathin',
You can be a bum too!
Well I hate the system,
And the system hates me,
And that's why I'm fighting
For my liberty!
Helleluiah, I'm a bum,
Hallelujah, who are you?
Hallelujah, keep on breathin',
You can be a bum too!
Well Mexico is hot,
And (they say) Canada's cold, (4)
So I’ll stay here and fight,
If I never get old!
Helleluiah, I'm a bum,
Hallelujah, who are you?
Hallelujah, keep on breathin',
You can be a bum too!
Well, power corrupts,
We all know that by heart,
But you got to admit
Nixon had a head-start!
Helleluiah, I'm a bum,
Hallelujah, who are you?
Hallelujah, keep on breathin',
You can be a bum too!
Well some say his name
Is Slippery Dick: (5)
Well I guess he's no bum.
But he sure is some President!
Helleluiah, I'm a bum,
Hallelujah, who are you?
Hallelujah, keep on breathin',
You can be a bum too!
(found on a bathroom wall:)
Well we could spring Huey
And Bobby from jail,
With Julie and Tricia (6)
For ransom and bail!
You got nothin' to lose…
But your chains and their tear-gas,
And the Dick Nixon Blues.
Helleluiah, I'm a bum,
Hallelujah, who are you?
Hallelujah, keep on breathin',
You can be a bum too!
When he first called us bums,
Didn't know what he meant,
But the Guard has defined it
On the campus at Kent. (1)
Helleluiah, I'm a bum,
Hallelujah, who are you?
Hallelujah, keep on breathin',
You can be a bum too!
But Dick loves his soldiers,
And he always will,
And that’s why he's sending you
Off to be killed!
Helleluiah, I'm a bum,
Hallelujah, who are you?
Hallelujah, keep on breathin',
You can be a bum too!
"Why they're all our kids,
And they stand straight and tall..."
Yeah, but one of these days,
There'll be no more at all!
Helleluiah, I'm a bum,
Hallelujah, who are you?
Hallelujah, keep on breathin',
You can be a bum too!
Well Cordier and Brewster, (2)
You can say what you like,
But just tell Mr. Nixon
Us bums are on strike.
Helleluiah, I'm a bum,
Hallelujah, who are you?
Hallelujah, keep on breathin',
You can be a bum too!
From Austin to Boston,
And Haverford, too,
From Berkeley to Brooklyn
And Kalamazoo.
Helleluiah, I'm a bum,
Hallelujah, who are you?
Hallelujah, keep on breathin',
You can be a bum too!
Why, Spiro’s no bum, (3)
You'll agree that is true,
But he sits up nights wonderin'
What Kim’s gonna do!
Helleluiah, I'm a bum,
Hallelujah, who are you?
Hallelujah, keep on breathin',
You can be a bum too!
Well I hate the system,
And the system hates me,
And that's why I'm fighting
For my liberty!
Helleluiah, I'm a bum,
Hallelujah, who are you?
Hallelujah, keep on breathin',
You can be a bum too!
Well Mexico is hot,
And (they say) Canada's cold, (4)
So I’ll stay here and fight,
If I never get old!
Helleluiah, I'm a bum,
Hallelujah, who are you?
Hallelujah, keep on breathin',
You can be a bum too!
Well, power corrupts,
We all know that by heart,
But you got to admit
Nixon had a head-start!
Helleluiah, I'm a bum,
Hallelujah, who are you?
Hallelujah, keep on breathin',
You can be a bum too!
Well some say his name
Is Slippery Dick: (5)
Well I guess he's no bum.
But he sure is some President!
Helleluiah, I'm a bum,
Hallelujah, who are you?
Hallelujah, keep on breathin',
You can be a bum too!
(found on a bathroom wall:)
Well we could spring Huey
And Bobby from jail,
With Julie and Tricia (6)
For ransom and bail!
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(1) Il riferimento è al massacro alla Kent University, Ohio, quando il 4 maggio 1970 la guardia nazionale mandata da Nixon sparò sugli studenti che manifestavano contro la guerra in Vietnam, uccidendone quattro. Si vedano anche Ohio, Jackson-Kent Blues e The Fourth Day Of May.
(2) “Cordier and Brewster”: immagino che siano i cognomi di personaggi dell’establishment americano ai tempi di Nixon, ma non ne sono sicuro.
(3) Spiro Agnew, vice-presidente durante il primo mandato di Nixon. Il secondo mandato fu quello interrotto nel 1974 a causa dello scandalo Watergate.
(4) Messico e Canada erano i rifugi più consueti per i renitenti alla leva.
(5) “Slippery Dick”, specie di pesce combattente, o “Tricky Dick”, nel senso di chi fa il gioco sporco, erano soprannomi appioppati al presidente Richard Nixon
(6) Huey P. Newton e Bobby Seale, dirigenti delle Black Panthers… Julie e Tricia, le due figlie di Richard Nixon e Pat Ryan.