Dedicated to Gung-ho George...(The Texaco Kid)

Wanted:- Dead or Alive

Wars about wars
Wars about hate
Talk peace & listen
Before it’s too late
But peace is so boring
Let’s go have some fun
Nuke a few gooks
And let the blood run
Saw a swallow nesting today
Wars of attrition,
Some won & some lost
Why try it again?
Think of the cost
Order, fight to the last
There will be no surrender
Then send off the body bags
Return to sender.
Turned on a tap and the water of life flowed out
Wars about oil
In a desert that’s sunny
No, this one’s for real
It’s all about money
So the common man dies
In pursuit of a dream
While the fat cats stay home
And skim off the cream
The coriander bush is flourishing
Wars about space
Where satellites fly
Maybe the birds know
Who owns the sky
Pontificate honour
Our cause is right
So unfurl the flag
To the death we will fight
Rain’s stopped & the sun’s coming out
Wars between classes
To eat cake or bread,
Wars about colour,
White against Red
In the spaces between
Do we find common ground?
Or just take a breather
Before the next round
Built a gate today to keep the dogs in, not people out.
Wars about ownership,
Fight for our land,
Saving our country
Or acres of sand.
Was it all worth it?
What did we gain?
Lives lost for what?
We must be insane
Had a brain once, where the hell have I put it?
Wars of religion
Believe it or not
God’s on your side
Not mine, I’m a Trot.
Christian or Muslim
We say we believe
So why create havoc?
Why make the world grieve?
I thought the code said No women or children?
Wars for the Fatherland
Or is it our Mother?
Sister gainst sister
Brother kills brother
Are we cursed by Cain?
Or are we more Abel?
Put down the gun
Get round the table
When I talk in my sleep, does it make more sense?
Wars of the Mighty
Build more & more galleons
The Lord’s on the side
Of the biggest battalions
Cemeteries full of them
Heroes, but why?
And what of the innocent
Were they ready to die?
Thou shalt not kill. I’m sure I read that somewhere?
Wars of expediency
A pundit will claim
And the shadowy, They
Are the ones you should blame.
It was all done for us
A freedom libretto
So why am I back
In this working class ghetto?
Should I do this in longhand? To remind me I can.
A land fit for heroes
A war to end war
But who really won?
And who was it for?
A war about us?
We’ve fought colour, race, creed
A bloodless good war
Is just what we need
A Fatwa on hunger
A blackout of greed
Not napalm, but aid
To all those in need
Let’s annihilate poverty
Rescue poor from their ditch
Put disease to the sword
And sequester the rich

Charlie Rees