HARRY WAS A BOLSHIE
or ‘The Ballad of Harry Pollitt’
By Elin Williams
I have just received a very interesting article in the International Brigades Memorial Trust eNewsletter 13 January 2021 in which Jim Jump writes about the song ‘Harry Was a Bolshie’ aka ‘The Ballad of Harry Pollitt’. Jim points out that it was a song sung by the British Battalion during the Spanish Civil War and goes on to describe its history and how it was written by Elin Williams, a Welsh communist. There are several Mudcat threads which discuss the song and it can be found in the DIGITRAD. Here is a link to Jim Jump’s article on the IBMT site.
http://international-brigades.org.uk/content/harry%E2%80%99s-song-sung-spain
Here is a link to Joe Glazer singing a short version of the song on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQ_l4UnbDGs
Many recordings (some complete) of The Ballad of Harry Pollitt on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=The+Ballad+of+Harry+Pollitt
Harry was a Bolshie and one of Lenin’s lads
Was foully murdered by counter-revolutionary cads
Counter-revolutionary cads, counter-revolutionary cads
Was foully murdered by counter-revolutionary cads
He landed up in heaven trembling at the knees
‘May I speak to God I am Mr Pollitt please
Mr Pollitt please, Mr Pollitt please,
May I speak to God I am Mr Pollitt please’
‘Who are you’ said God ‘if you’re humble and contriteAnd a friend of Lady Astor, then OK, you’ll be alright
Then OK you’ll be alright, then OK, you’ll be alright
And a friend of Lady Astor, then OK, you’ll be alright’
They dressed him in a nightie, put a harp into his hand
And he played ‘The Internationale’ in the hallelujah band
In the hallelujah band, in the hallelujah band
He played ‘The Internationale’ in the hallelujah band
They put him in the choir, the hymns he did not like
So he organised the angels and he fetched them out on strike
Fetched them out on strike, fetched them out on strike
He organised the angels and he fetched them out on strike
One day as God was walking around the heavenly state
Who should he see but Harry chalking slogans on the gate
Slogans on the gate, slogans on the gate
Who should he see but Harry chalking slogans on the gate
They put him up for trial before the Holy Ghost
Charged with disaffection amongst the heavenly host
Amongst the heavenly host, amongst the heavenly host
Charged with disaffection amongst the heavenly host
The verdict it was guilty, said Harry ‘That is swell’
And he tucked his nightie ’round his knees and he floated down to Hell
Floated down to Hell, floated down to Hell
He tucked his nightie ’round his knees and he floated down to Hell
A few more years have ended, now Harry’s doing swell
He’s just been made the people’s commissar for Soviet Hell
Commissar for Soviet Hell, commissar for Soviet Hell
He’s just been made the people’s commissar for Soviet Hell
Now the moral of this story is easy for to tell,
If you want to be a Bolshevik, you’ll have to got to Hell,
You’ll have to go to Hell, yes, you’ll have to go to Hell,
If you want to be a Bolshevik, you’ll have to go to Hell!