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| This machine kills fascists |
Woody Guthrie hated fascism. We all like to think we hate fascism but with Woody it was in his bones. Reading some of his unpublished journal entries and letters included in the book Pastures of Plenty gives a good idea of how often and deeply he thought about fascism and the evils of the right-wing embodied by men like Hitler and Mussolini. On his guitar he kept a reminder – this machine kills fascists.
Woody Guthrie was Antifa before there was Antifa and his reflections on the right wing of his day is depressing relevant to ours.
“Fascism is a bully too dumb and too thick skulled to think out a mental reason or explanation or a hope or a plan for us, so it says the world belongs to the bullies and the gangsters who grab clubs and guns the quickest and rob and kill us first – before we can get ready mentally and bodily to fight back. But fascism can no more control the world than a bunch of pool hall gamblers and thugs can control America. Because all of the laws of man working in nature and history and evolution say for all human beings to come always closer and closer together – to know and understand all races, creeds, and colors better; and fascism says for us to split ourselves up into the thousand cliques and klans and beat our own chains of slavery onto our ankles by wasting our strength fighting our friends and neighbors – and allowing the fascists to nip us off one by one, little by little, group by group.”
Here are Billy Bragg & Wilco putting their music to Woody’s lyrics for “All You Fascists”:
I’m gonna tell all you fascists, you may be surprised
People all over this world are getting organized
You’re bound to lose
You fascists are bound to lose
Race hatred cannot stop us, this one thing I know
Poll tax and Jim Crow and greed have got to go
You’re bound to lose
You fascists are bound to lose
Poll tax and Jim Crow and greed have got to go
You’re bound to lose
You fascists are bound to lose
All you fascists are bound to lose
You fascists are bound to lose
You fascists are bound to lose
You’re bound to lose, you fascists are bound to lose
You fascists are bound to lose
You fascists are bound to lose
You’re bound to lose, you fascists are bound to lose
People of every color marching side by side
Marching across these fields where a million fascists died
You’re bound to lose
You fascists are bound to lose
Marching across these fields where a million fascists died
You’re bound to lose
You fascists are bound to lose
All you fascists are bound to lose
You fascists are bound to lose
You fascists are bound to lose
You’re bound to lose, you fascists are bound to lose
You fascists are bound to lose
You fascists are bound to lose
You’re bound to lose, you fascists are bound to lose
I’m going into this battle, take my union gun
Gonna end this world of slavery before this war is won
You’re bound to lose
You fascists are bound to lose
Gonna end this world of slavery before this war is won
You’re bound to lose
You fascists are bound to lose
All you fascists are bound to lose
You fascists are bound to lose
You fascists are bound to lose
You’re bound to lose, you fascists are bound to lose
You fascists are bound to lose
You fascists are bound to lose
You’re bound to lose, you fascists are bound to lose
I said, all you fascists are bound to lose
You fascists are bound to lose
You fascists are bound to lose
You’re bound to lose, you fascists are bound to lose
You fascists are bound to lose
You fascists are bound to lose
You’re bound to lose, you fascists are bound to lose
Words & Music by Mike Power 