Carolers ask Congress members: Bring our families home
Armed with a guitar, Santa hats and some terrific antiwar lyrics for Christmas caroling, members of Military Families Speak Out sang out on Iraq Moratorium day Friday, serenading two members of Congress and asking them to bring family members and loved ones home now.
The carolers visited the homes of two Republican House members,Ed Royce (R-Fullerton) and Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach) and even got a photo and article in the Orange County Register, no easy feat.
The lyrics by Vern Nelson are terrific. You can find them, for eight different songs, on the Orange Juice Blog Here's a sample:
Why the Hell Are We Here?
(tune of Do You Hear What I Hear, Nelson-Alviso 2006)
Said the grunt to his sergeant in Iraq:
Why the hell are we here? (Why the hell are we here?)
Tryin’ to not get shot in the back,
Why the hell are we here? (Why the hell are we here?)
A wife and child wait for me back home,
spending Christmas-time all alone,
spending Christmas-time all alone.
Said the sarge to the Captain in command:
Why the hell are we here? (Why the hell are we here?)
Ev’ry week it seems I lose a man.
Why the hell are we here? (Why the hell are we here?)
A roadside bomb planted in the night
filling ev’ry moment with fright;
There’s no way to win such a fight.
Said the Captain to the Joint Chiefs of Staff:
Why the hell are we here? (Why the hell are we here?)
In this civil war in Iraq?
Why the hell are we here? (Why the hell are we here?)
Each bomb we drop only makes things worse;
and our choosing sides is perverse
in this Sunni/Shia universe.
Said the troops to the Congressman back home
Time to bring us back now! (Time to bring us back now!)
Congressman all comfy back home,
Time to bring us back now! (Time to bring us back now!)
This war, this war, has gone on far too long,
Can you hear the words of our song—
Getting out will make us— more strong!!!
A report from that action, and reports and photos from others across the country, are available at the Iraq Moratorium website.
