Little Brown Brothers, please throw down your arms,
Little Brown Brothers, please throw down your ams,
We don't wish to harm you,
Just merely disarm you,
Little Brown Brothers, please throw down your arms.
Little Brown Brothers, you've been Oh, so bad,
Naughty, so naughty, so naughty and bad,
You're just like our children,
So be good, sweet children,
Little Brown Brothers, please stop being bad.
And don't pay attention to what you might see,
I mean all those bodies that hang from the trees,
They were bad brown boys,
But you are good brown boys,
Oh children, dear children, ignore what you see.
Llttle Brown Brothers, why do you act so?
These temper tantrums do hurt us, you know.
There's love in our heart,
Yet you keep us apart,
Little Brown Brothers, why do you act so?
Oh Little Brown Children, we came to your aid,
And from the cruel Spaniard, you know you've been saved.
We opened our heart,
And you tore it apart,
Don't force us to force you to make you be saved.
And don't pay attention to what you might see,
I mean all those bodies that hang from the trees,
They were bad brown boys,
But you are good brown boys,
Oh children, dear children, ignore what you see.
Little Brown Brother, you know you are wrong,
Little Brown Brother, admit that you‘re wrong.
Although you want freedom,
You don't deserve freedom,
For freedom belongs to the white and the strong.
So children - reform, before it's too late,
You might cause us to act in a manner we hate,
We don‘t wish to hurt you,
We came here to nurse you,
Children - reform, before it's too late.
And don't pay attention to what you might see,
I mean all those bodies that hang from the trees,
They were bad brown boys,
But you are good brown boys,
Oh children, dear children, ignore what you see.
Little Brown Brothers, please throw down your ams,
We don't wish to harm you,
Just merely disarm you,
Little Brown Brothers, please throw down your arms.
Little Brown Brothers, you've been Oh, so bad,
Naughty, so naughty, so naughty and bad,
You're just like our children,
So be good, sweet children,
Little Brown Brothers, please stop being bad.
And don't pay attention to what you might see,
I mean all those bodies that hang from the trees,
They were bad brown boys,
But you are good brown boys,
Oh children, dear children, ignore what you see.
Llttle Brown Brothers, why do you act so?
These temper tantrums do hurt us, you know.
There's love in our heart,
Yet you keep us apart,
Little Brown Brothers, why do you act so?
Oh Little Brown Children, we came to your aid,
And from the cruel Spaniard, you know you've been saved.
We opened our heart,
And you tore it apart,
Don't force us to force you to make you be saved.
And don't pay attention to what you might see,
I mean all those bodies that hang from the trees,
They were bad brown boys,
But you are good brown boys,
Oh children, dear children, ignore what you see.
Little Brown Brother, you know you are wrong,
Little Brown Brother, admit that you‘re wrong.
Although you want freedom,
You don't deserve freedom,
For freedom belongs to the white and the strong.
So children - reform, before it's too late,
You might cause us to act in a manner we hate,
We don‘t wish to hurt you,
We came here to nurse you,
Children - reform, before it's too late.
And don't pay attention to what you might see,
I mean all those bodies that hang from the trees,
They were bad brown boys,
But you are good brown boys,
Oh children, dear children, ignore what you see.
Contributed by Alessandro - 2010/4/1 - 12:28
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Note for non-Italian users: Sorry, though the interface of this website is translated into English, most commentaries and biographies are in Italian and/or in other languages like French, German, Spanish, Russian etc.
Album “Yankee Go Home: Songs of Protest Against American Imperialism”, Folkways Records.
Una canzone sulla guerra filippino-americana del 1899-1902 (ma trascinatasi per oltre dieci anni, fino al 1913), che fa il paio con Ewell T. Otis.
“The United States did not stumble into the Philippine insurrection of 1899-l902. Before annexation took place there was a long debate within the United States on whether or not it should happen. Those opposed to annexation formed what became known as the "Anti-Imperialist League" which included such men as Grover Cleveland, Samuel Gompers, Andrew Carnegie, William Dean Howells and Mark Twain. They argued that annexation was a violation of the Declaration of Independence; that there should be no goverment without the consent of the governed. They further argued that Asiatic people could not be assimilated into American culture and tradition, that imperialism abroad would lead to "racism at none". They also charged that annexation was unconstitutional and a violation of the Monroe Doctrine. Some even feared that if the United States became a Pacific power, it would inevitably lead to a war with Japan.
The defenders of the annexation policy countered with various arguments of their own. The Philippine Islands, they said, were necessary for naval and commercial reasons; that American interests in the Pacific had to be protected and the Philippines were the ideal staging area from which to offer protection. Others argued on "humanistic" and "moralistic" lines - that God had made known to the American people their unique mission in life; that it was their burden to Christianize the non-Christian world and prepare it for redemption; that the non-white and non-Christian people in the world could only benefit from contact with American culture.
The defenders of the annexation policy won the argument, and the military aggressiveness and cultural racism inherent in imperialism became a cornerstone of American foreign policy.”
(nota introduttiva al brano dal libretto che accompagna l’album)