Evil Done, and Evil Do

Back to *The Ottoman Empire Was An Empire*

> *SNAIL PLAYED THE FIRST THREE NOTES OF A TUNE THAT CAME TO ME IN A DREAM ALMOST TWO DECADES PREVIOUSLY! THE CHORUS WAS MANIFEST WHEN I COMPELLED HIM TO LEARN THE REST*
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***Evil Done, and Evil Do*** is the ninth track of *The Ottoman Empire Was An Empire*.

## About

‘Evil Done, and Evil Do’ is about the Janissaries, an elite division of the standing army of the Ottoman Empire. Established in the second half of the 14th Century, the Janissaries would become the first modern standing army in Europe. As well as being a mighty military force, the Janissaries were also a powerful political force within the Ottoman Empire itself.

While esteemed members of Ottoman society, Janissaries would begin their lives as children of Armenians, Bulgarians, Greeks, and other peoples bordering the Ottoman Empire. Under the Ottoman Devshirme system (translated as “child levvy”), these children would be ‘forcibly recruited’, circumcised, and converted to Islam to ensure their loyalty to the empire.

Whilst initially being a military force to be reckoned with, the Janissaries eventually stagnated in comparison to the Ottoman’s European rivals, and stubbornly clung on to old and outdated traditions. In 1826 the Janissaries were disbanded, after numerous revolts in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

## Lyrics

> *Here they come, the Janissaries.*
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> *Implement the child levies.*
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> *Steal them from their weeping mothers.*
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> *Turn them into elite soldiers.*
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> *First we start with circumcision,*
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> *Then we teach them our religion.*
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> *BADADADA*
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> *BADADADA*
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> *BADADADA*
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> *BADADADA*
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> *BADADADA*
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> *BADADADA*
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> *BADADADA*
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> *BADADADA*
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> *Marching through the border regions,*
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> *Drafting children to our legions.*
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> *Placated with wealth and power**,*
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> *All submitting to be our*
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> *Loyal subjects of the empire.*
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> *Cast their old lives to the fire.*
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> *BADADADA*
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> *BADADADA*
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> *BADADADA*
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> *BADADADA*
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> *BADADADA*
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> *BADADADA*
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> *BADADADA*
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> *BADADADA*
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> *Janissaries*
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> *Slavery*
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> *K I L L L L I N G*
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> *Janissaries*
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> *Slavery*
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> *K I L L L L I N G*
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> *Damn the emperor, thrice we damn you*
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> *For Evil Done, and Evil Do.*
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> *Catch and shackle the old archpriests.*
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> *Take children as Janissaries!*
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> *Hear them cry, the moms and fathers.*
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> *Last year my son, now my brothers!*
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> *BADADADA*
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> *BADADADA*
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> *BADADADA*
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> *BADADADA*
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> *BADADADA*
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> *BADADADA*
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> *BADADADA*
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> *BADADADA*
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> *Janissaries*
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> *Slavery*
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> *K I L L L L I N G*
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> *K I L L L L I N G*
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> *DEATH ALL AROUND IS WHAT I SEE*
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> *Janinininininissaries*
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> *K I L L L L I N G*
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> *K I L L L L I N G*
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> *DEATH ALL AROUND IS WHAT I SEE*
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### Notes

1. ↑ Unlike other slaves, the Janissaries would be paid a regular wage, as well as being trained in various disciplines, from engineers to artisans.
2. ↑ Whilst the Janissaries were powerful members of Ottoman society, they were, for all their power and status, owned by the Sultan himself (see

recommended reading).
3. ↑ This whole verse comprises a Greek folk song, rallying against the kidnapping of children, and their forced recruitment into the Janissaries.

## External links

### Recommended reading

On the Ottoman janissaries (fourteenth-nineteenth centuries) - Gilles Veinstein

Encyclopedia of Modern Greek Literature, Page 197 - Bruce Merry