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The War is Over

from Live in Houston by David Rovics

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I conclude the concert with songs I co-wrote with two different US presidents. This one was written just after George W Bush gave his "mission accomplished" speech on the aircraft carrier off the coast of San Diego in 2003, just before the insurgency in Iraq really kicked off. The song originally appeared on my 2004 solo acoustic album, Songs for Mahmud.

lyrics

The President stood in front of the jet planes
The rubble’s all settled and democracy reigns
We’ve defeated their army and taken control
We dropped thousands of bombs, now they’ve taken their toll
The oil’s on fire, just like the blood
Of a billion Muslims dragged through the mud
And the world is safer with the dictator gone
And their lot will improve with our corporate pawn

The war is over, that’s what he said
Go back to your business, we’ve buried the dead
And the war is over

Fatherless children have taken the street
All that remains is the sting of defeat
Homes are in ruins, cancer is rife
For soldiers and newborns, the end of a life
Kids grown up with just hunger and fear
But lo, behold, the Yankees are here
And now all you people are gonna be free
‘Cause this land was made for Chevron and me

The war is over, that’s what he said
Just turn on your TV, we’ve buried the dead
And the war is over

The government files are all up in flames
His victims of terror, who remembers their names
The past doesn’t matter but the future is bright
As the Exxon refinery lights up the night
History’s looted like the library’s shelves
But we’ll fill them with Bibles and be proud of ourselves
We’ll turn your schools into compounds and make room for us all
If you’re missing your legs you can learn how to crawl

The war is over, that’s what he said
Forget it all happened, we’ve buried the dead
And the war is over

And the price was worth it, yes we’d do it again
With bombs or with sanctions — kids, women and men
‘Cause we have national interests and they must be met
We will enforce them by treaty or jet
And when time has passed and you’ve had time to rest
We’ll find a new villain ’cause that’s what we do best
Maybe a sultan or a grandson of Mao
But don’t trouble your conscience because as of now

The war is over, that’s what he said
Just put it behind you, we’ve buried the dead
And the war is over

credits

from Live in Houston, released April 13, 2018

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David Rovics Portland, Oregon

Singer/songwriter, writer, podcaster (on Spotify, Substack & Patreon), anarchist, dad, lover of life.

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