Thanks Gareth, Wolfgang, Joe and others. The late Johnnie Hasted sang this ballad on one of his visits to St Pancras Y.C.L.in 1952. Of course we all received it rapturously. On March 3 (?) 1953 in the evening, after panegyrics and tears, we went on the streets to sell the next day's Daily Worker with its front page scoop(?) about Stalin's death. Newsreels showed that he was mourned by millions around the world. We didn't know any better then. Some of you probably know the song about Stalin's "peaceful" nature as he "smokes a pipe and wears a taxi-driver's cap". I do have the words to that one. I needed the ballad for my visit to his birthplace of Gori. They talk about him a lot there.