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Let's Sing a Song About Paris Burning
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My new song rocks and you'll see how I'm not afraid to pull out a knife and slice now
home taping new wave
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bent out of shape proto new wave
Ten years ago Bodycocktail had it's one and only Christmas hit, "I've Got a Salty Lunker Grub for You This Christmas" which is now available online to add cheer to the holidays in our own special way.
Song Info
Genre
Alternative • Pop Punk
Charts
#16,708 today Peak #28
#734 in subgenre Peak #2
Author
Bodycocktail
Rights
2005 ZH27
Uploaded
November 17, 2005
Track Files
MP3
MP3 3.2 MB • 128 kbps • 0:00
Story behind the song
The amazing political situation in Paris as it's burning blew a hole in my logic system. I read a sensible coverage of the subject in the Economist and the next day at work was singing "Let's Sing A Song About Paris Burning" somehow morphed over the tune of Nick Cave's "Sonny's Burning". I wrote a chorus at work. When I came home it took me some time to flesh out the subject. Here are a few background details as they relate to the lyrics: President Chirac has been a long serving president by French standards so it's on his shift that the current immigrant assimilation problems began stewing. He was elected mayor of Paris in 1977, a position he held until 1995. He, and massive swaths of French politicians past and present, were all educated at the same prestigious École Nationale d'Administration, who's graduates would include few immigrants, I'd suspect. "Banlieues" are the grim French housing estates that encircle many French towns. In the middle of the worst rioting Paris has seen since 1968 the prime minister made a public address referring to the rioters as "scum", a comment sure to calm things down. In order to bring quiet to rioting cities the prime minister had to invoke 1955 Algerian war era curfew laws.
Lyrics
House all your poor immigrants away from the center of Paris When jobless youths are angry give police special power to harass See that they have no political representation Act indignant that they don’t love France when they stage a demonstration Let’s sing a song about Paris burning The lessons there that no one’s learning I’m only surprised it didn’t happen before The simmering tensions too hard to ignore So fires gut some banlieues – official response it tepid How many cars must they alight before someone gets the message? Liberty Equality Fraternity who will believe that lie? His city is in flames, Chirac somehow turns a blind eye They’ve talked the subject to death but where’s the action? Their Frenchy French words have lost all their attraction So let’s sing a song about Paris burning Banlieues in flames as Chirac is snoring Call them scum guarantees they’ll riot some more As they invoke curfew laws from the Algerian war You’d think being mayor of Paris for 10 years or more Would make the riot a bit too much to ignore But it takes 10 days for Chirac to say “Be Calm” Yet not admitting it was on his shift things went wrong So sing a song about Paris burning Banlieues on fire my stomach’s turning Air is thick with lies as it is with smoke The problem will remain now that’s no joke 100 cars burning a night is normal to someone As if setting cars on fire is the work of scum Politicians passed the Ecole but failed this lesson Their tired solutions pandered only increases the depression So here’s my song about Paris burning French wake up to a country that’s churning “Be Calm” Chirac says as he wakes 10 days later Love France it will love you back, you traitor!
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