Not for me
One two three four
Not for me not anymore
Me name is Vic Williams, I was a soldier to the Queen
I joined up to defend me country in me teens
Not to do whatever they tell you, wherever they draw the line
For the ruling class in Ulster or the capital on the Rhine
They tell you it's a good career, they tell you it's a laugh
They tell you that a pint of beer is cheaper here by half
But not so cheap as soldiers' lives - you find that out too late
When it's off you go for Texaco - gung-ho in Kuwait
They wound us up with racism to get us in the mood
For a spot of collateral damage over the price of a barrel of crude
They talk about legality but they never told me me rights
I couldn't stick their hypocrisy so I swore I wouldn't fight
They sent us down the PX to get some desert kit
For ours was in the desert with Iraquis wearing it
You couldn't hear 'Give Peace a Chance' for Bishops giving thanks
And most of the Brits that never came back got blown to bits by Yanks
They charged me with desertion but I never ran away
The officers gave me orders that me conscience couldn't obey
So I stood up, I spoke out and when the war was done
I went back to Woolwich Barracks 'cos' I wouldn't live on the run
Me name is Vic Williams, I was a soldier to the Queen
But I didn't know the half of it when I was in my teens
The enemy ain't the other side wherever they draw the line
The enemy is the ruling class who draw the bloody line
One two three four
Not for me not anymore
Me name is Vic Williams, I was a soldier to the Queen
I joined up to defend me country in me teens
Not to do whatever they tell you, wherever they draw the line
For the ruling class in Ulster or the capital on the Rhine
They tell you it's a good career, they tell you it's a laugh
They tell you that a pint of beer is cheaper here by half
But not so cheap as soldiers' lives - you find that out too late
When it's off you go for Texaco - gung-ho in Kuwait
They wound us up with racism to get us in the mood
For a spot of collateral damage over the price of a barrel of crude
They talk about legality but they never told me me rights
I couldn't stick their hypocrisy so I swore I wouldn't fight
They sent us down the PX to get some desert kit
For ours was in the desert with Iraquis wearing it
You couldn't hear 'Give Peace a Chance' for Bishops giving thanks
And most of the Brits that never came back got blown to bits by Yanks
They charged me with desertion but I never ran away
The officers gave me orders that me conscience couldn't obey
So I stood up, I spoke out and when the war was done
I went back to Woolwich Barracks 'cos' I wouldn't live on the run
Me name is Vic Williams, I was a soldier to the Queen
But I didn't know the half of it when I was in my teens
The enemy ain't the other side wherever they draw the line
The enemy is the ruling class who draw the bloody line
Contributed by Bartleby - 2012/1/17 - 13:41
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Dall’EP “Living In The Rubbish”
Prima guerra del Golfo. Il soldato britannico Vic Williams, 28 anni, sparì dalla base di Dortmund in Germania il giorno prima della partenza del suo contingente per il Golfo Persico. Lasciò scritto che disertava perché non vedeva la ragione di andare a combattere e a rischiare la pelle per difendere gli interessi di sceicchi e petrolieri. Per due mesi e mezzo riuscì a sfuggire alla cattura della polizia militare che gli dava la caccia, e intanto fece diverse apparizioni e rilasciò diverse dichiarazioni in alcuni meeting contro la guerra. Poi si costituì in una base dell’esercito di sua maestà. Le autorità sostengono che all’epoca Vic Williams fu l’unico soldato in servizio effettivo a disertare ma in realtà i soldati britannici che si rifiutarono di andare in quella guerra furono alcune decine, solo che se ne restarono nascosti in Gran Bretagna o in Germania senza fare tutto il casino che combinò il buon vecchio Vic… Chissà cosa farà ora, 20 anni dopo?
[1991] A British soldier who went absent without leave because he did not believe in allied war aims in the Gulf gave himself up to military authorities in London yesterday, writes John McGhie. After 72 days on the run, dodging military police to give impromptu speeches at anti-war meetings, Lance Corporal Vic Williams handed himself in at the Royal Military Police HQ at Rochester Row.
L/Cpl Williams, a single man aged 28, went absent from his base in Dortmund, Germany, on 28 December, the day his unit from the 27th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery, was due to fly to Saudi Arabia. His explanation for going Awol - legally different from deserting, which carries a higher penalty in the army - was a growing disenchantment with the reasons for going to the Gulf.
'It seemed to me that the US and Britain were using their soldiers as mercenaries to support a family dynasty in the Middle East. I had no qualms about dying for my country if it was under direct threat, but flying 2,000 miles across the Mediterranean to fight for a foreign business concern did not seem to come under that category,' he said before giving himself up. L/Cpl Williams, who has been in the army for five years, thinks the military may make an example of him and punish him severely.
Although the Ministry of Defence has said L/Cpl Williams is the only regular serviceman to have gone Awol during the Gulf conflict for political reasons, he says there are 'dozens' more hiding in Britain and Germany. (Observer, 10 Mar) (fonte: MySongBook)