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Song Of The Old Communist by Leon Rosselson
Song Of The Old Communist
Tuning: E A D G B E
Capo: 1st fret
Key: Bbm
The original guitar part for this song is complex and implies a lot of chords in passing,
but this outlines the primary harmony and sounds correct enough to my ear.
Play with a capo on the first fret to match the recording.
[Intro]
Am
[Verse 1]
Am
He was one of those dogged old men
Am E7
Who lived in the past, telling stories you don't want to know
E7
About how it was then, the hunger, the hardship
E7 Am
The hopes and the struggles of so long ago
Am
And we must have looked bored, for like sparks from the cinders
Am E7
His eyes glowed with anger, his words seemed to burn
E7
He said, "I will be heard, for my life is not over-
E7 Am
I've something to say yet, and you've something to learn"
[Chorus]
A
He said, "You, who have nothing at all to believe in
A E
Oh you, who's motto is 'money comes first,'
E
Who are you to tell us that our lives have been wasted
E Am
And all that we fought for has turned into dust?"
[Verse 2]
Am
I was only a lad, when we read that in Russia
Am E7
The workers, the Soviets, had taken all power
E7
And the man they called Lenin, who led them, was our inspiration
E7 Am
His triumph was our finest hour
Am
And I'll always remember how fear shook the wealthy
Am E7
Like thieves who have just been caught out in their crime
E7
But we, who had known only war and the workhouse
E7 Am
Rejoiced, as a new world was born at that time
[Refrain]
A
You can't know what it meant, and the pride that we felt
A E
To know working people, people like us
E
Could shake off the shackles, could topple the palaces
E Am
Remake the world without ruler or boss
[Verse 3]
Am
It was this kept us going, this dream of a new world
Am E7
Through all those dark years of defeat and despair
E7
When we who were proud to proclaim ourselves communists
E7 Am
Fought for that world free from hunger and fear
Am
It was down with the means test, no cuts in our wages
Am E7
We want three pounds a week and the seven hour day!
E7
And there wasn't a thing that we got, but we fought for it
E7 Am
Don't you know bosses give nothing away
[Refrain]
A
And the strikes and the marches, the battles to beat off
A E
The bailiffs and coppers when hope was still young
E
Hot heads and hot hearts, as we tested our power
E Am
"The workers triumphant!" - that was our song
[Verse 4]
Am
For a time, he was silent, and lost in his memories
Am E7
Then, but more softly, his words came again -
E7
Perhaps we hoped for too much, perhaps the cost was too much
E7 Am
There are things I know now that I couldn't know then
Am
We believed revolution was just round the corner
Am E7
And we were the vanguard to bring it about
E7
And the other left parties we classed as class traitors
E7 Am
Bourgeois social fascists, of that we no doubt!
[Refrain]
A
And then the times changed, we campaigned for the popular front
A E
The old line might never have been
E
But we led the workers in combating fascism
E Am
Mosley in London and Franco in Spain
[Verse 5]
Am
We believed we were history's chosen
Am E7
And Soviet Russia, our future, our heart and our soul
E7
And the Five Year Plan was a vision of plenty
E7 Am
For us who'd lived half of our lives on the dole
Am
We knew of the trials and purges of course
Am E7
And were shocked when we heard those old comrades confess
E7
But, yes, we defended the first worker's state
E7 Am
In the face of the slander and lies of the press
[Chorus]
A
And you, who have nothing at all to believe in
A E
Oh you, who's motto is 'money comes first,'
E
Who are you to tell us that our lives have been wasted
E Am
And all that we fought for has turned into dust?
[Verse 6]
Am
You may think we were duped, well we paid for our dreams-
Am E7
Broken lives, broken marriages, jobs lost and jail
E7
Some lost heart and left, some betrayed us for medals
E7 Am
There are always some turncoats who's souls are for sale
Am
But the best of us never surrendered our vision
Am E7
And we kept the faith through the bleakest defeat
E7
Do you think that was easy, surrounded by hatred
E7 Am
The sneer of indifference, the hurt of deceit?
[Refrain]
A
And our lives were made rich by the cause that we fought for
A E
The friendship the fellowship, sharing one pain
E
To transform society, end exploitation
E Am
And that day will come yet, but not in my time
[Verse 7]
Am
And again he was silent, and what could we tell him?
Am E7
That the world now was different, that he'd had his day?
E7
That an old man's dreams were not our concern?
E7 Am
But still, there was something he wanted to say-
Am
Now when I look back, I see what we fought against-
Am E7
Homelessness, hunger, injustice and war
E7
But what did we fight for? What dream did we strive for?
E7 Am
I used to know once, now I'm no longer sure
[Chorus]
A
But you, who have nothing at all to believe in
A E
Oh you, who's motto is 'money comes first,'
E
Who are you to tell us that our lives have been wasted
E Am
And all that we fought for has turned into dust?
[Outro]
Am
He was one of those lonely old men
Am E7
Who lived in the past, telling stories you don't want to know
E7
About how it was then, the hunger, the hardship
E7 Am
The hopes and the struggles of so long ago
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