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Dutiful Servants and Political MastersChumbawamba

One, two, one, two, three, four

Things were rather different in great grandfather's day
He just put a chain around their ankles and made them work for no pay
He took everything they owned and yet still demanded more
He did a bloody good job in taming the poor

Now I'm rather more subtle, I say, I'll tell you what I will do
I'll do everything I can to try and help you
And you'll be helping me, I say, and I'll see that you're alright
You can have a place of your own, you can even pretend to be white

And you won't have to worry, I'll have a quiet word with your mates
Oh they'll be alright, they'll have enough on their plate
I'll put a bit in their mouths, you just pull hard on the reins
They'll do anything for you and they won't complain

You'll be so much better off, I say, you can share my paradise
Just sign my piece of paper and I'll organize your life
And it never fails, it does the trick, it works every time
So me and my dear wife and the family's doing fine

Great granddad got his dukedom when slavery was abolished
Dear old dad became a viscount when the Empire was finished
But times have changed for the better with freedom of choice
We're a thousand times richer, QED His Master's Voice

A dog stares into a gramophone trumpet, waits for its call to action
Mute and obedient, standing to attention

Look a little closer, the dog is a woman
She's working under a system that she can't understand
Trapped inside a world of labor and heat
So that she and her children will be able to eat

The trumpet is patriarchy, it's old and fixed
Where poor men are lured by desire to be rich
Where the limited power is still given to men
Where development aid is so wastefully spent

Where western education enforces this crap
Where women work in the open, yet live in a trap
There's one solution, and this is it
The dog leaps on the gramophone and has a shit

Chumbawamba

Anarcho-pop band from Leeds.

Originally formed in the early 1980s as Chimp Eats Banana, Chumbawamba first emerged in the anarchopunk scene which was dominated by bands such a pacifist punks Crass. As Chumbawamba increasingly differed from their peers in outlook and tactics, they began to adopt a new musical style which incorporated elements of folk music, indie rock and hip-hop.

After drifting between labels, their change in direction culminated in signing a record deal with major label EMI, a choice which sparked outrage amongst their former comrades, outrage that culminated in a “Fuck Chumbawamba” compilation. By chance, Chumbawamba’s new work with EMI resulted in an internationally best-selling single, “Tubthumping”, and a sudden rise to fame.

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