There's a guy on his knees, down on the ground
Gang of kids round him, bottles rain down
Is it something he did? something he said?
They hit him so hard they must have wanted him dead

Trouble on the street, trouble in the air
Trouble in the home, trouble everywhere
Dog eat dog, that's what they all say
Don't look back, walk the other way

Chorus
What's it all about?
What's it all about?

Did his name come up on some wanted list?
Are they crazy? are they all pissed?
So much fury, so much hate
Is he in the wrong gang? on the wrong estate?

Anger confusion, what's going on?
Despair and violence, what went wrong?
Is it cos he's different they went on the attack?
Is it cos he's brown? Is it cos he's black?

There's a guy on the street all on his own
Fled from his country, nowhere to go
Fighting for freedom in some far-off land
Got into trouble, ended up banned

Bureaucrat told him "You're not wanted here"
Avoided his eyes, full of anguish and fear
"Sorry my friend, you're not on the list
You better move on, you don't exist"

Behind every headline in the Sun and the Mail
There's some freedom fighter banged up in jail
Behind every story of refugee scum
There's a woman tortured, a man on the run

Behind every headline about scroungers and pests
There's a cluster bomb cargo bound from the west
Behind every lie about refugee hordes
There's an army of conquest sailing abroad

Chorus

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2. WILD GEESE

Goodbye Erin's Isle, we're crossing the sea
With nothing much at all but a handful of dreams
Farewell to Strabane, not a man to be found
The wild geese have flown to a Black Country town

Farewell to the sun and the blue, blue sky
You stand on the deck and you wave goodbye
One last look at the land you adore
Leave your broken heart on a Caribbean shore

Chorus
Wild Geese spread their wings and sail across the
sea

You stand on the deck and dream of success
There's plenty of jobs in the NHS
Pavements of gold across the Irish Sea
Tears in your eyes as you walk down the quay

Fishermen farmers from Montego Bay
Sugar cane workers, Saint Kitts .migr.s
Calypso carousers from Barbadian shores
In a Liverpool Infirmary scrubbing down the floors

Chorus

Cooks in the kitchen, porters in the hall
Cleaners in the theatre, nurses in the wards
Goodbye Tipperary, farewell Skibereen
We're washing dirty dishes in the ward canteen

They didn't like their accents, the colour of their skin
They needed their work but they didn't want 'em in
They did the jobs that no-one else would do
No Irish, no blacks in Britannia Avenue

Chorus

We cared for the young, we cared for the old
The summers were wet and the winters were cold
A night nurse in Bilston is doing her rounds
Dreaming of the sunsets in old Spanish Town

They were young, they were strong, they were keen, they were proud
They came from the land, they were bold, they were loud
They were just passing through, didn't mean to stay
Ended up stranded on bottom-line pay

Chorus

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3. TOO MUCH PRESSURE

They came from Jamaica and Asia to the land of liberty
To the golden gates of England, to support their families
Instead of milk and honey, all got was freezing rain
Too much pressure, prejudice and pain

Chorus
Too much pressure X4

They landed In England, come through the custom gates
They landed in the sweat shops and working for the welfare state
They landed in the jobs the white man didn't want to do
They were scrubbing down their floors and swilling out their loos

Chorus

They stayed through the mean years, stayed to build a home
Stayed through the hate years, made this land their own
Their kids grew strong and they had different schemes
But too much pressure blocking off their dreams

Chorus

Burn baby burn, the sky she is alight
Justice now, we demand our rights
They're walking from the shadows and they're walking to the day
"We're black and we're British and we are here to stay"

Chorus

I told my father a fireman I will be
This job I can do for our community
My father he smiled and then he shook his head
Said "There ain't no black, son, working in the red"

Chorus

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4. PAYAM'S SONG

This song is based on the experiences of a young Iranian man arrested and imprisoned by the Islamic police for talking to a young woman in the street.

I'll tell you a story of not so long ago
I was out a-walking, walking down the road
The sky was blue, the sun was in the trees
I saw a pretty woman sailing on the breeze

I took one look in her dark brown eyes
That shone like stars in the midnight sky
I could ask her name, that would be too bold
Love in my heart, fear in my soul

Gentle slender woman, walking by my side
Why must a love so strong be denied?
One small move and I could touch your hands
A move so small is too much for this land

Chorus
I love you
No matter what they say
I love you
I only want to stay
I love you
No matter what they do
I just want
To walk alone with you

The flame burns strong, the flame burns wild
The flame in my heart must it flicker fade and die
The river runs deep, the river runs free
The river in my heart is searching for the sea

Chorus

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5. HALABJA

Morning sun breaks through the trees
Swaying gently on the morning breeze
Dappled shadows in the village square
Soft breeze blows away the chill night air

People gather in a dusty street
Stalls are opening, the old folk meet
Conversations on the morning air
Another day is dawning in Halabja village square

Children safe behind school yard gates
A few last stragglers arriving late
Teachers ready for another busy day
A time to study and a time to pray

Sweet, sweet breeze blows through the town
Gently flowing, makes no sound
Trickles silent beneath the doors
Like the sea laps against the shore

No bird song, no sound in the street
The school lies still, no clatter of feet
A sweet sweet fragrance hangs in the air
Deadly harvest in Halabja village square

Chorus x2
A gift from France and the USA
Love and kisses from the UK
Soft skinned handshakes behind closed doors
Vultures gather to count the score

It's got nothing to do with me
I cannot hear, I cannot see
It's got nothing to do with me
It's not on my TV

I'm the king of the castle and you're the dirty rascal

Chorus

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6. THE GREAT DIVIDE

Young Joseph Steiner in old Berlin city
Scrubbing the pavement as people go by
Too late to show him compassion or pity
Nazis in jackboots with hate in their eyes

Friday in Southall, a warm summer's evening
Young Gurdip Singh stops to talk to a friend
Cold flash of steel and the white youths are running
19 years old and his life's at an end

Chorus
Know your friends, know your enemies
Fight, fight the great divide
That turns the black against the white
Fear and hatred sets alight
Turning a wrong into a right
A friend to an enemy
Fight, fight the great divide.

Men, women, children, the Nazis they slaughtered
At Auschwitz and Belsen and Dachau they lie
To safeguard the race with blood unpolluted
Six million Jews in the gas ovens died

In Leicester and Bradford, the flags they are flying
Slogans of Empire and national pride
Just like the glory the Nazis were plying
Black-shirted storm troopers, genocide

Chorus
Know your friends, know your enemies
Fight, fight the great divide,
That turns the Irish against the Jew
Moslem turns against Hindu
Kurd against Croat, me against you
Fight, fight the great divide

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7. MARSINAH

On May 2nd 1993, workers at the PT Catur Putra Surya plant in Indonesia, a factory in an Export Processing Zone, went on strike demanding a wage rise of 20%. On May 7th, the body of one of the organisers, Marsinah, was found in a paddy field. She had been tortured and brutally murdered for her trade union activities. It is widely believed that the Indonesian military were responsible for her death.

Marsinah lived in Surabaja
A shanty town by the Java Sea
She watched the big ships sail to the ocean
Dreamed one day she would be free

Marsinah worked with nimble fingers
Assembling watches to earn her pay
Don't talk now, the guards are coming
A dollar reward for a ten-hour day

Chorus
There's tears in the seams of your Levi jeans
And blood on your Nike trainers

Marsinah said, "It's a yellow union
Bought and sold for foreign gold
West meets East with a loaded pistol
And they go to the boss with a begging bowl"

At sewing class on a Sunday morning
In whispered voices plans are laid
"How can we live on such little wages?
We are strong, we are not afraid"

Chorus

Marsinah said, "It's time for striking
We drink water, they drink wine
Suharto's thugs will not divide us
We stand firm on the picket line"

They came in the night to take Marsinah
They tortured her, she would not yield
They racked her flesh with electric currents
And dumped her body in a paddy field

The workers toil in Surabaja
And the big ship loads for the open main
Marsinah's voice calls across the ocean
Bangkit La! We rise again!
Bangkit La! We rise again!
Bangkit La! We rise again!

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8. I'M A COOK, I'M A CLEANER

My name is Winston Harper
I come from Montego Bay
I drive a double decker bus
Through the wind and snow and rain
I often dream of the motherland
And the world I left behind
But I got a new home in Manchester
So you put that from your mind

Chorus
I'm a cook, I'm a cleaner, I'm a waiter, I'm a joiner
I'm a doctor, I'm a singer, I'm a chef
I'm a bricky, I'm a chippy, I'm a skivvy, I'm a spark
I'm a farmer, I'm a teacher, I'm a vet
I can clear the tables and work the tills
And fix any car in town
I never refuse to take my tools
Wherever I can earn a pound

My name is Paddy Heaney
I came from West Belfast
I drove a cat for Bovis and Laing
To the other side of hell and back
No work for me in the Emerald Isle
So I crossed over the sea
Sold my soul to the tarmac
Road building "the land of the free"

My name is Aisha Jahangir
I live in Liverpool Street
I came over from Pakistan
'Cos I had itchy feet
My husband came to the cotton mills
That's how he earns his pay
I gotta job in the rag trade
Sewing the seams all day

Chorus

My name is Hamid Sharriff
I come from Halabja Town
I fought against Saddam Hussein
Tried to bring the bastard down
Fifteen days in the back of a truck
Fleeing for my life
I'm over here looking for work
With my two kids and my wife

My name is Fatimah Khaltun
A Somalian refugee
Soldiers came into our town
Killed everybody they could see
They tortured and abused me
And then left me for dead
All I want is to live my life
And earn my daily bread

My name is Nazarine Bakhshayesh
I'm a student from Tehran
I organised a demo
Against Khomeini in Iran
My name was on the wanted list
I knew it was time to go
But I will not rest until I know that government's
overthrown

Chorus

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9. MOTHER, MOTHER

Mother, mother can you hear me?
Oh, how much I miss you
Miss your smile, miss your voice
Miss your arms around me
I walk through the streets of Salford
Far from my homeland
Strange faces pass me by
They don't even see me

Farewell to my sweetheart
For a while I must leave you
No time to look back
The boat's at the quay
So its pack up your bags
And consider no longer
For I must be gone
Far away across the sea

People staring, people pointing
People walking past me
Harsh words beneath their breath
What can they be thinking?
Children throwing stones and insults
No-one wants to know me
They don't even know my name
And yet they seem to hate me

Farewell to the land of shillelagh and shamrock
Farewell to the girls of old Ireland all round
May their hearts be as happy as ever I would wish them
When far far away from my homeland I'm bound

We left behind us pain and torture
We came to seek a new life
Now we find we are despised
Outcasts in this strange land

Mother, mother, can you hear me?
Oh, how much I miss you
Oh, how my heart is aching
Need your arms around me
Mother, mother, can you hear me?
Oh, how much I miss you
Oh, how my heart is aching
Need your arms around me
Mother

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10. OPEN BORDERS

Travelling north in search of freedom
Down dusty roads and motorways
Only the roaring diesel engine
Comforts a lonely émigré

Over cool mountains, burning deserts
Flying past forests, fields of corn
Onward we go, lost in the darkness
Travelling north from dawn to dawn

Chorus
Tear down the walls, no detention
Unbolt the locks, no prison chains
Cut through the wires, open borders
Fling back the doors, let freedom reign

Here in the dark we dream of sunlight
And cool river banks where the small fish glide
We yearn for the scent of sweet magnolia
And garlands of stars in the Eastern sky

We come here to work, to sell our labour
We offer the skill of our hands and our brains
Farmers, doctors, students, teachers
Hoping to breath free air again

Chorus

We are 'the poor and huddled masses'
Driven in exile to your shores
Leaving our families far behind us
Fleeing oppression, famine and war

Millions have walked this way before us
With holes in their shoes, hope in their hearts
From the ghettos of Warsaw to Sarajevo
They ask for a chance to make a new start

Chorus

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11. WAR

War in the streets
War amongst we people
All we got to do is hear them say
No War, no war etc.

Who sells the guns?
Who makes the wars?
Who does deals
On the backs of the poor?
Who sells the gas?
Who peddles the lies?
Who makes profit
Out of mass genocide?

Did Romanian gypsies
shut down the mines?
Did Kosovan exiles
Shatter our lives?
Did Somalian migrants
Poison our seas?
Who cut the rain forests?
Iraqi refugees?

War in the East
War amongst we people
All we got to do is hear them say
No war

Who gave the guns to
Saddam Hussein?
And looks the other way
When genocide reigns?
And who runs the banks?
And is taking the profits?
And who'll keep on making it
Unless we get to stop it?

Who runs the telly?
And the tabloid lies?
Who is sitting back
When the people start to die?
Did Iranian migrants
Cut the NHS?
Did Kurdish rebels
profit from the mess?

War in Iraq
War against we people
All we got to do is hear them say
No war

Stand up now
Stand up for your rights
There's only one way
Gotta stand and fight
Don't sit back
With your hands in your pocket
Nothin's gonna change
Unless we gonna stop it

Everything we say
Everything we do
Gotta pull together
Gotta pull through
The only thing we got
Is our brothers and our sisters
The only thing we gotta do
Is organise resistance

War in the East
War against we people
All we got to do is hear them say
No war

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CREDITS

WRITING AND RESEARCH
Dave Rogers was primarily responsible for the lyrics. The tunes for Wild Geese, Payam's Song and Marsinah were written by Dave.
The music and arrangements for the other songs were largely created collaboratively by Fred Wisdom, Jilah Bakhshayesh, Dave Rogers and Charlie Davis.
Interview recordings by Dave Rogers and Pervaiz Khan.

RECORDING AND PRODUCTION
Charlie Davis

SPECIAL THANKS
To all the many people whose stories were the basis for the songs we wrote, especially Payam Bakhshayesh, Houzan Mahmoud, Jim Arnison and Faisal, Aso, Mohammad and Ayman and the many others who for their own security, felt unable to leave their names.

MASTERING
Thanks to Purdy Bhagal

MUSICIANS
Thanks to the musicians who helped to make this possible.

Banner Musicians
Dave Rogers: Vocals
Fred Wisdom: Guitars, vocals and music direction
Jilah Bakhshayesh: Vocals, violin
Charlie Davis: Vocals

Guest Musicians
Ian Reid: Bass (Yamaha)
Jonathan Crust: Trumpet
Chris Bowden: Alto sax
Ashley Sheehan: Drums

DESIGN
Kevin Hayes

PHOTOGRAPHY
Cover, Snow Geese: Bruce Coleman
1st May Band members: Kevin Hayes

ADMINISTRATION
Ian Gasse and Dave Rogers

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FINANCIAL SUPPORT

This CD is part of Banner Theatre's Wild Geese production, which has been funded by the Arts Council of England, Birmingham City Council, Birmingham Community Empowerment Network, Comic Relief, the European Social Fund and the Sir Barry Jackson Trust.

The CD has also been supported by Unity Theatre Trust and the following trade union organisations:
Amicus (Coventry branch);
the Broadcasting, Entertainment, Cinematograph & Theatre Union;
the Ceramic & Allied Trades Union;
the Communication Workers Union;
the Fire Brigades Union;
the General Municipal & Boilermakers Union (Nottm No 1 Apex branch);
the Graphical, Paper & Media Union;
the National Association of Schoolmasters/Union of Women Teachers;
the National Association of Teachers in Further & Higher Education;
the National Union of Marine, Aviation & Shipping Transport Officers;
the National Union of Mineworkers;
the National Union of Teachers (Coventry branch);
the Public & Commercial Services Union;
the Professional Footballers Association;
the Southern & Eastern Regional TUC;
the Transport & General Workers Union (Midlands, North West and South & E Anglia regions);
and the Union of Shop, Distributive & Allied Workers.
Banner Theatre is supported by the Baring Foundation.

A Banner Theatre 30th Anniversary Project

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More info:

The CD is available from Banner Theatre for £12 (£10 unwaged) plus £2 p&p

Banner Theatre's office is based at the
Oaklands Centre, Winleigh Road, Birmingham B20 2HN
Tel: 0845 458 1909
Or click here to send an email