GOd, dear God in Heaven, hear me praying I call you now as when I was a kid Why did my poor old father not destroy me While in my mother's womb I still lay hid Now that I'm old, a grey and deaf old woman The whole of my short life was plagued with need A lot of struggle, God, just for a little bread I strained my voice for peace in two great wars And what did I achieve? Soon I'll be dead O GOd, can't YOU make communism triumph?! Almost like a fascist in a soviet state And yet he was a communist himseif And lied, the sod, until the roof fell in The pig, he really had us on all right FINAL PRAYER SOCIALIST CHALLENGE, 15-31 December 1977, page 7 Christ, God, if we'd only been spared Stalin To my mind there was one to assassinate God, that bastard carried on - forgive me -But still put tons of communists to death And put the screws on people with his might O GOd, can't YOU make communism triumph?!
The old communist Grandma Meume's Great Prayer in Hamburg Goodbye Richard Nixon Your California bedroom was red white and blue You won ten thousand dollars playing poker in the Navy Your college football team was called The Poets Gave you a sort of safe feeling You had a music box played Hail to the Chief Your favourite building was the Lincoln Memorial Your favourite food was coffage cheese with ketchup And you never wiped gour arse Two Good Things There's one good thing about a cow-pat: If you leave it in the sun it dries.
And there's one good thing about capitalism -it dies.
What it Meansto be a Manin London Down London canyons move the high tension cowboys, gangsters, boxers and rockstars Iron mouths frozen eyes tougher you look safer you are saw a snowdrop in the park kicked it to death felt really ballsy And you rucked the bottom of your tie into the top of your trousers Your favourite Xmas song was Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer God, believe me, man will never do it I've bent my back to serve the party's good Remember how I hid Karl Scholz at my place His guns and all, and even cooked his food I've grafied day by day for the oppressor And chen that Hitler, him I won't forget How then our party broke down on its knees The best all died in concentration campa The others snuffed it in the wat like fleas O GOd, can't YOU make communism triumph?! Like his father did behind barbed wire To know 1 didn't trust in you in vain God, please see my dearest Wolf don't end up See his wayward mind is quickly reconciled To the party which went and kicked him out And for my sake please make it over there That peaceful state we want that's rich and free So that no bugger hops the wall and then They can pull it down and I'll die happy Dear God, "cos only then will communism triumph! Wolf Biermann, Poemsond Hallads, $1.50, Pluto Press