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We Dinna Want Polaris

Glasgow Song Guild
Languages: Scots, English


Glasgow Song Guild

List of versions


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[1962]
Album “Ding Dong Dollar: Anti-Polaris and Scottish Republican Songs”, Folkways Records.
Scritta da Jim McLean sulla melodia della filastrocca infantile “Three Craws”.

FW05444

“In protest to an American nuclear submarine that sailed into the Holy Loch in the early 1960s, the Anti-Polaris Singers started a movement with music at its core. Drawing from the rich Celtic bard traditions and combining folk and popular melodies with biting lyrics, the Anti-Polaris Singers were not only informative but played an important role in sustaining the demonstrators’ morale.” (Folkways Records)
The USA are gie’n subs away,
Gie’n subs away, gie’n subs away,
The USA are gie’n subs away,
But we dinna want Polaris!

Tell the Yanks tae drap them doon the stanks,
Drap them doon the stanks, drap them doon the stanks,
Tell the Yanks tae drap them doon the stanks,
'Cos we dinna want Polaris!

The Cooncil o Dunoon they want their half-a-croon,
Want their half-a-croon, want their half-a-croon,
The Cooncil o Dunoon they want their half-a-croon,
But we dinna want Polaris!

The hairies o the toon are sailin tae Dunoon
Sailin tae Dunoon, sailin tae Dunoon,
The hairies o the toon are sailin tae Dunoon
For they dinna want Polaris.

It's suicide tae hae them on the Clyde,
Hae them on the Clyde, hae them on the Clyde,
It's suicide tae hae them on the Clyde,
And we dinna want Polaris!

Tak the haill dam show up the River Alamo,
River Alamo, River Alamo,
Tak the haill dam show up the River Alamo,
'Cos we dinna want Polaris!

Anchors aweigh for poppa Kennedy,
Poppa Kennedy, poppa Kennedy,
Anchors aweigh for poppa Kennedy,
An ta-ta tae Polaris!

Contributed by Alessandro - 2010/4/22 - 10:47



Languages: Scots, English

Ho trascritto il testo di questa canzone così come compare nel libretto che accompagna l’album originale. Su Mudcat Café è riportata una trascrizione diversa, con strofe aggiuntive non presenti nel testo originario.
WE DINNAE WANT POLARIS (AKA MONSTER IN THE LOCH)

Och, och! There's a monster in the loch,
A monster in the loch, a monster in the loch,
Och, och! There's a monster in the loch,
And we dinnae want Polaris!

The USA are giving subs away,
Giving subs away, giving subs away,
The USA are giving subs away,
But we dinnae want Polaris!

The mayor o' Dunoon has sold the toon for half-a-croon,
The toon for half-a-croon, the toon for half-a-croon,
The mayor o' Dunoon has sold the toon for half-a-croon,
But we dinnae want Polaris!

Tell the Yanks tae drap 'em doon the stanks,
Drap 'em doon the stanks, drap 'em doon the stanks,
Tell the Yanks tae drap 'em doon the stanks,
'Cos we dinnae want Polaris!

Anchors away for poppa Kenned-ay,
Poppa Kenned-ay, poppa Kenned-ay,
Anchors away for poppa Kenned-ay,
For we dinnae want Polaris!

Put the whole damn show in the River Alamo,
River Alamo, River Alamo,
Put the whole damn show in the River Alamo,
'Cos we dinnae want Polaris!

It's suicide to hae them on the Clyde,
Hae them on the Clyde, hae them on the Clyde,
Sheer suicide to hae them on the Clyde
And we dinnae want Polaris!

Off, off, get off the Holy Loch,
Off the Holy Loch, off the Holy Loch,
Off, off, get off the Holy Loch,
For we dinnae want Polaris!

The hairies o' the toon are sailing tae Dunoon
sailing tae Dunoon, sailing tae Dunoon,
The hairies o' the toon are sailing tae Dunoon
For they dinnae want Polaris.

The Clyde says 'No, you'll hae tae shoot the crow(?),
hae tae shoot the crow, hae tae shoot the crow,
The Clyde says 'No, you'll hae tae shoot the crow
For we dinnae want Polaris.

Contributed by Alessandro - 2010/4/22 - 10:48


dal sito
http://www.english-for-students.com/To...


To Shoot The Crow : Phrases

Meaning: I am going to leave.

Example: They're looking for us - looks like it's time to shoot the crow.

Origin:

In Tobias Dantzig's Number and the Language of Science, Dantzig tells the story of a crow who had built its nest in the watch-tower on a squire's estate. The squire was determined to shoot the crow, but the crow was too canny - whenever the squire or his men would enter the tower, the crow would fly away until the coast was clear. The squire tried sending two men went into the barn. One stayed hidden in the tower and one came out again. However, the crow was too smart and wouldn't return until the second man also came out. The experiment was tried on successive days - unsuccessfully - until finally five men went in and only four came out. The crow seemed to think that all the men had come out, and returned to the watch-tower. The squire was finally rid of the crow. The story seems to demonstrate that crows (or at least the crow in the story) have a sense of one, two, three and many. When five men went in and four came out, the crows saw many go in and many go out and thought they were safe. Early twentieth century anthropologists found that the numeric systems of some African, South American, Oceanic and Australian cultures were also limited like the crows. In the case of the Australian Aborigines, they had numbers for one through six and many.

Tim - 2012/11/25 - 14:09


Aggiungo che questa canzone "We dinna want Polaris" fu cantata migliaia di volte nelle marce della CND a Londra nella Pasqua del 1961, 62, 63. E probabilmente altre, ma io non c'ero.
La conoscevamo a memoria, finchè alcuni versi diventarono "Ohrwurm". Viaggiando in Lambretta dall'Inghilterra in Sicilia in 1965, non riuscivo a togliere dalla testa i versi "The mayor of Dunoon..." e "Anchors aweigh for poppa Kenneday".
Credo che la versione che cantavamo era piú vicina alla seconda piuttosto che la prima. Era inclusa in un foglio di canzoni per la pace che si distribuiva, con "We shall not be moved", etc etc.
Grazie comunque per il lavoro di ricerca che avete fatto.

Tim Oxton
Colchester, Regno Unito

Tim Oxton - 2012/11/25 - 14:23




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