We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

When the Students Took the Embassy

from Killing the Messenger by David Rovics

/

about

A little history for those who don't remember the CIA-supported torture state that was overthrown during the course of the Iranian Revolution, and the students who exposed its inner workings.

lyrics

Missile strikes in Baghdad, skies full of fighter jets
The tension in the air, as thick as it gets
Their talking points are loaded, at each press conference
With what passes for an effort at historical reference
They talk of things that happened over forty years before
That they say now bring us to the edge of world war
They talk about the hostages, so let us now rewind
When the students took the embassy, just what did they find?

When the students took the embassy, I was just a kid
But I remember well, the first things they did
Let all the women go, while collecting all the trash
All the shredded documents that weren’t yet turned to ash
All the shredded documents that clearly showed
The torture and corruption, how the power flowed
The concept of a captured state was one the Shah defined
When the students took the embassy, just what did they find?

When the students took the embassy, they found the crimes of Savak
Had the CIA hiding under every rock
And that’s where they had been, where the agents were based
They had a staff of thousands there, from there they laid to waste
The dreams held by so many for a free society
Like the one they overthrew, back in 1953
Historic crimes exposed, in the shredder once consigned
When the students took the embassy, just what did they find?

credits

from Killing the Messenger, released March 19, 2023

license

tags

about

David Rovics image

David Rovics Portland, Oregon

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

shows

contact / help

Contact David Rovics

Streaming and
Download help

Report this track or account

David Rovics recommends:

If you like David Rovics, you may also like:

Bandcamp Daily  your guide to the world of Bandcamp

On Bandcamp Radio

Featured guests are the golden-voiced Baby Rose and psyche soulsters Brainstory.
listen now