The Folk Song Army

## Song info

**"The Folk Song Army"** Was released in in 1965 in the album "That was the Year that was"

## Lyrics:

SPOKEN INTRODUCTION
One type of song that has come into increasing prominence in recent months is the folk song of protest. You have to admire people who sing these songs. It takes a certain amount of courage to get up in a coffee house or a college auditorium and come out in favor of the things that everybody else in the audience is against, like peace and justice and brotherhood and so on.
But the nicest thing about a protest song is that it makes you feel so good. I have a song here which, I realize, should be accompanied on a folk instrument, in which category the piano does not, alas, qualify.
So imagine, if you will, that I am playing an 88-string guitar!
sung:
We are the folk song army

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When Tom Lehrer wrote this song in 1964 or ‘65, the American folk music revival was just about to reach its peak, meaning that of course a multitude of folk singers and folk groups (a veritable “army” indeed) were in existence at that time. It also meant that folk music enjoyed an – if ultimately short-lived – run of mainstream popularity, making it a ripe target for being lampooned.

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Every one of us cares

We all hate poverty, war, and injustice

Unlike the rest of you squares

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Of course, most people hate poverty, war, and injustice, but may acquiescence to them by failing to take meaningful action. The distinction from “the rest of you squares” implies a sense of moral superiority. However, Lehrer criticises folk singers as effectively taking no action later in the song. (“Some people may prefer action / But give me a folk song any old day.”)

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The fascists won the Spanish Civil War largely because no major country other than the U.S.S.R. provided any substantive military aid. (“Though he may have won all the battles / We had all the good songs!”) Merely singing songs and protesting did not stop the fascist dictatorships in Germany, Italy, or Spain. By sarcastically calling folk singers courageous in the intro, Lehrer impliedly compares them to those who fought to the death in wars against fascism.

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There are innocuous folk songs, yeah

But we regard 'em with scorn

The folks who sing 'em have no social conscience

Why, they don't even care if Jimmy Crack Corn

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This is a deliberate play on the sound of the words in the popular folk song Jimmy Crack Corn (give me cracked corn) which, in certain regional accents sounds like “Jimmy”. The “they don’t even care” line is a riff on the second part of the chorus which implies that the singer of *Jimmy Crack Corn* won’t care about anything else, as long as he has the corn.

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If you feel dissatisfaction

Strum your frustrations away

Some people may prefer action

But give me a folk song any old day

The tune don't have to be clever

And it don't matter if you put a couple extra syllables into a line

It sounds more ethnic if it ain't good English

And it don't even gotta rhyme... excuse me: rhyne!

Remember the war against Franco?

That's the kind where each of us belongs

Though he may have won all the battles

We had all the good songs!

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Before World War 2, Spain was in a Civil War. On one side was the Liberal/Communist Coalition known as Republican Spain and headed by, most notably, Jose Diaz. They fought against Nationalist Spain (who were fascists) led by general and eventual ruler, Francisco Franco. The Spanish Civil War was the inspiration for many folk songs.

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So join in the folk song army!

Guitars are the weapons we bring

To the fight against poverty, war, and injustice

Ready, aim, sing!