On Thurday night at the Riverdale Sing in the Bronx, I 'premiered' a new set of lyrics to "Red is the Rose" and it got a warm reception. It was suggested that I put it on the Net and since I don't have a website (and if I did no one would look at it) this seemed the right place to give it circulation and get feedback from a wider, international and more sophisticated (?) audience.

It's not copyrighted, so if you love it, feel free to make it your own -- make any improvements, additions, omissions, personalizations you want. In fact, if you want to claim authorship, let Ashcroft and the FBI come after you!


RED IS THE BLOOD


There in the U.N., that most esteemed of men,
Colin Powell spoke of Weapons of Mass Destruction.
Nowhere in his slide show was what we all have come to know:
An omission in his course of instruction.

        Red is the blood that we will cause to flood
        As behind our brave troops we will rally;
        Black is the oil that waits beneath the soil
        Of the Tigris and Euphrates valley.

Who could defend Saddam, that truly evil man?
His sins had not escaped detection.
But that for years we did stand, till he threatened our land
With his weapons of mass destruction.

        Red is the blood that we will cause to flood
        As behind our brave troops we will rally;
        Black is the oil that waits beneath the soil
        Of the Tigris and Euphrates valley.

Al Qaeda's deadly plane ride had wounded America's pride;
Some Arab land must suffer a ruction!
Though no sane man truly thinks there are real Iraqi links,
Let's blame those weapons of mass destruction.

        Red is the blood that we shall cause to flood
        As behind our brave troops we will rally;
        Black is the oil that waits beneath the soil
        Of the Tigris and Euphrates valley.

Bush says Germany and France are peeing in their pants;
Didn't I win clear victory in the election?
He tried to kill my pop, I'll give Saddam the chop
With his damn weapons of mass destruction.

        Red is the blood that we shall cause to flood
        As behind our brave troops we will rally;
        Black is the oil that waits beneath the soil
        Of the Tigris and Euphrates valley.

While pretending to wait for the U.N. to debate,
Halliburton had a no-bid contract for reconstruction,
And Cheney, smirking behind the throne, knew we were going it alone -
Bless those mysterious weapons of mass destruction.

        Red is the blood that we shall cause to flood
        As behind our brave troops we will rally,
        Black is the oil that waits beneath the soil
        Of the Tigris and Euphrates valley.

Okay, we gave the U.N. a chance, screw 'em (especially France),
An empire can wage a war of pre-emption,
And Congress on its knees, with its chicken heart agrees
'Cause Saddam's got those weapons of mass destruction.

        Red is the blood that we have caused to flood
        While behind our troops we did rally.
        Black is the oil that waits beneath the soil
        Of the Tigris and Euphrates valley.

The bombs and missiles flew and Baghdad to Hell we blew!
Civilian deaths? Even our smart bombs are just not perfection.
Collateral damage's a shame, but we're not to blame,
Blame those damn weapons of mass destruction.

        Red is the blood that we have caused to flood
        As behind our brave troops we did rally;
        Black is the soil that waits beneath the soil
        Of the Tigris and Euphrates valley.

Saddam's vaunted Republican Guard never really fought that hard -
In fact, there existence seems to have been a mere fiction,
As were chemical attacks, mustard gas, smallpox or anthrax,
Or any other weapons of mass destruction.

        Red is the blood that turned Iraq's dust to mud
        In an undeclared war that was waged illegally;
        Black is the oil that we're eager to despoil
        'Neath the Tigris and Euphrates valley.

Grateful Iraqis have been looting, and at our troops they're still shooting,
But despite all our intelligence and inspection,
Combing every inch of ground, they still have not been found,
Those evanescent weapons of mass destruction.

        Red is the blood that turned Iraq's dust to mud
        In an undeclared war that was waged illegally;
        Black is the oil that we're eager to despoil
        'Neath the Tigris and Euphrates valley.

It's sad to realize, but it comes as no surprise
That the spoils of war have been sold at auction,
That the cronies will get rich again, at the expense of war victims' pain,
And who remembers weapons of mass destruction?

        Red are the eyes as each war widow cries
        And the knell tolls in the church steeple;
        Black are the souls of those who played their roles
        In the deception of the American people.