The Common Man

Julian Tuwim 1894 (Łódź) – 1953 (Zakopane)



When plastered billboards scream with slogans
'fight for your country, go to battle'
When media's print assults your senses,
'Support our leaders' shrieks and rattles...
And fools who don't know any better
Believe the old, eternal lie
That we must march and shoot and kill
Murder, and burn, and bomb, and grill...

When press begins the battle-cry
That nation needs to unify
And for your country you must die...
Dear brainwashed friend, my neighbor dear
Brother from this, or other nation
Know that the cries of anger, fear,
Are nothing but manipulation
by fat-cats, kings who covet riches,
And feed off your sweat and blood - the leeches!
When call to arms engulfs the land
It means that somewhere oil was found,
Shooting 'blackgold' from underground!
It means they found a sneaky way
To make more money, grab more gold
But this is not what you are told!

Don't spill your blood for bucks or oil
Break, burn your rifle, shout: 'NO DEAL!'
Let the rich scoundrels, kings, and bankers
Send their own children to get killed!
May your loud voice be amplified
By roar of other common men
The battle-weary of all nations:
WE WON'T BE CONNED TO WAR AGAIN!

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 05, 2023

1:02 min read
245

Quick analysis:

Scheme AXBXXCDD CCCEFEFXBXGGXHH XXXXXIAI
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,154
Words 204
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 8, 15, 8

Julian Tuwim

Julian Tuwim, known also under the pseudonym "Oldlen" when writing song lyrics, was a Polish poet of Jewish descent, born in Łódź, Congress Poland. more…

All Julian Tuwim poems | Julian Tuwim Books

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