RED

RED One hundred years ago in Pollockshaws A man was laid to rest, From humble beginnings to a martyr They buried Scotland’s best. A man who stood for the people A man unshaken and proud, Till the imperialist and capitalist murderers Connived to put him in a shroud. A teacher a socialist a politician And a pacifist he stood tall, A man for the workers of Scotland John MacLean answered the call. Why should workers murder workers He cried, as part of a rich man’s game, As capitalists divvy the blood soaked ground As they stake their new found claim. Forty million casualties From Flanders to the Somme, Soldiers and civilians Torn apart by bombs. He held the empire to account And was never afraid to say, Threats and intimidation were constant To keep MacLean at bay. Laws were changed to jail him To quell his discerning voice, The imperial war mongers Now had reason to rejoice. Six years for sedition And the powers that be collude, To silence Scotland’s loudest voice And keep the truth subdued. Freedom came with armistice And pressure from the masses, To country riddled with unemployment Trying to pull up from the ashes. Carried high on shoulders By thousands through the street, The pressure from the workers Was called a mighty feat. The battle was now on home soil While people mourned their dead, The fight was now to stay warm And keep the children fed. The rich just got richer Which is always the tradition, While families fought to stay alive From poverty and malnutrition. Through socialism and communism The red clydesiders rose, Power to the workers A frightening idea grows. Celtic communism, unite the clans Nationalism begins to swell, Another five years for sedition This time sentenced to hell. Hunger strikes and torture And force fed twice a day, Slowly murdered in the jail His body in decay, They tried to break his mind In the end it took its toll, But they couldn’t break his spirit They couldn’t break his soul. Released after public pressure But torture was denied, The government cried fairness But once again they lied. A shadow of a man emerged The damage had been done, The crown had done its worst To silence Scotland’s son. He died on his feet on a soapbox A socialist right to his core, Pneumonia took its toll on his body From the pain and torture he bore. A funeral held in his home town The biggest in Glasgow there’s been, For a man loved by his people The likes has never been seen. A simple cairn marks his life His work and dedication, But you won’t hear of John Maclean In a school curriculum or education. Uncelebrated and overlooked They try to silence his voice, Mainstream politics avoid his socialism Instead of celebration and rejoice. One hundred years down the road And things are much the same, Capitalism has crashed about half a dozen times And socialism bails them out again. Why is socialism only for bankers Who’s recklessness destroys millions of lives, It’s the people who pay for the damage they do While the politicians and bankers contrive. Poverty is still much the same as in 1923 Children hungry and begging for food, Homelessness and suicides rising each day And they tell us austerity cuts are for the good. There are more food banks now than McDonalds While businesses close every day, With longer hours for workers While the people receive lower pay. The rich have certainly got richer While the public pay the price, Corruption is rife right through Westminster While we barely get enough to suffice. Price rises and record inflation With more strikes than in fifty years, Governments back corporations To compound the workers fears. It’s a last stand for the strength of the unions With the Tories prepared to sit tight, Regardless of the billions it costs They’re hoping that you’ll lose the will to fight. You will get no help from labour Their socialist roots long since gone, They will fire you for standing on a picket line With support for the unions all gone. Why the unions still pay them money It actually beggars belief, It’s time for the red Tories to rebrand themselves And get rid of the labour motif. We are a leftist and socialist country But we are ruled by the Eton elite, They try to deny us democracy And make nationalism obsolete. But we won’t tire in our fight for our country To stand on our own strong and free, To stop Westminster stealing our resources From our invention to our land and our sea. A John Maclean is just who we need To keep our Scotland afloat, Because the only socialism we have right now Is we are all together in the same sinking boat.