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Songlines Magazine reviews Chronicling the Times

Posted on December 24, 2023December 24, 2023 by admin

Leon Rosselson
Chronicling the Times, Free Dirt/PM Press

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 

The cover photo of Chronicling the Times shows Leon Rosselson playing guitar and singing in the street, the classic image of an angry protest singer. Rosselson is certainly a musical activist who has enlivened many rallies and demonstrations, but he is also one of the finest, bravest and most original singer-songwriters that the British folk scene has produced. His work rarely gets heard on the radio, which is why he is not as well known as he should be, but he has had a hit song. In 1985 Billy Bragg included Rosselson’s ‘The World Turned Upside Down’ on his Between the Wars EP, and the story of the 17th-century radical idealists, the Diggers, made it to #15 in the charts. For Bragg, Rosselson is ‘the embodiment of the original ideals of punk rock- using fearless wit and political integrity to highlight the hypocrisies of those in power.’

He has enjoyed a lengthy career. In the 60s he was part of the popular folk group The Galliards, joined Martin Carthy in The Three City Four and toured with the poet Adrian Mitchell. As a soloist he has moved from witty topical songs to thoughtful or bravely outspoken pieces that tackle an extraordinary array of topics. This 17-song retrospective – personally chosen by Rosselson-shows his range, musical skill (often in the company of Martin Carthy) and his fascination with history, politics and ideas. There are songs about the search for a better world, from ‘Bringing the News from Nowhere’, about the ideals of William Morris, through to the sad and thoughtful ‘Song of the Old Communist’, whose dreams of a glorious new world have never materialised. ‘Postcards from Cuba’ updates the same theme, evocatively examining how dollars and tourism have taken over from revolution, but ‘if you down enough mojitos, you’ll believe that dreams come true.’

Elsewhere, there’s a witty and bitter attack on the Iraq war on ‘General Lockjaw Briefs His Troops (As Recorded by a Sceptical Soldier), a furious reaction to the 2008 financial crisis in ‘Where are the Barricades?’, and topical folk-rock from the 80s, featuring Billy Bragg and members of The Oyster Band, on ‘Ballad of a Spycatcher’. Lyrics for all the songs are included, but it’s worth also checking out Rosselson’s new book Where are the Elephants? which provides a background to the songs as part of a free- wheeling autobiography that includes his thoughts on anything from communism to Christianity, Israel, political songs and his admiration for the French singer-songwriter who is the subject of the song ‘The Ghost of Georges Brassens’. And he devotes a chapter to the ideas behind one of his most controversial songs, ‘Stand Up for Judas’, in which he argues that Jesus ‘betrayed the poor’ and that Judas is the true hero. Rosselson has never cared if he causes offence. 

– by ROBIN DENSELOW for Songlines Magazine
TRACK TO TRY: Stand Up for Judas

The Song of Martin Fontasch

Posted on November 18, 2023December 24, 2023 by admin

Stop The Killing

Posted on October 14, 2023December 24, 2023 by admin
Stop the killing - harming civilians ANYWHERE is wrong. We must end the COMPLICITY of our governments. ALLOW humanitarian aid into Gaza. CEASEFIRE NOW

“The children are always ours, every single one of them, all over the globe; and I am beginning to suspect that whoever is incapable of recognising this may be incapable of morality”

– James Baldwin

During the 2014 Israeli military operations in Gaza, Leon wrote The Ballad of Rivka and Mohammad. How horrifying that, over a decade later, it is still relevant. Find the lyrics here.

Chronicling The Times (Double LP / CD) – 2023

Posted on August 26, 2023March 14, 2024 by admin

Leon Rosselson has been performing as a singer and songwriter for over 60 years. For such a lengthy career, choosing only two LP’s worth of material proved to be a difficult task. But, completing the task at hand is exactly what Mr. Rosselson did; personally selecting seventeen career-spaning tracks (and specific versions of those tracks) to encompass a life-long dedication to music for a higher cause. Music that not only entertains, but also helps to enlighten and empower those in the fight for a better world. May the music found in Chronicling The Times continue to encourage and inspire that fight!

The compilation is a companion to Leon’s memoir, Where Are The Elephants?, and is available as a double LP or CD. Both include all the song lyrics. The double LP has liner notes by Robb Johnson. 

Tracklist:

Song of the Old Communist
Stand Firm
Across the Hills
Ballad of a Spycatcher
Flower Power = Bread
She Was Crazy, He Was Mad
Topside Down Party
Rules of the Game
Postcards From Cuba
Bringing the News from Nowhere
General Lockjaw Briefs the Troops
Where Are the Barricades?
Talking Democracy Blues
Wo Sind Die Elefanten?
World Turned Upside Down (Part 2)
The Ghost of Georges Brassens
Stand Up for Judas

“This man knows exactly how to turn good ideas into great songs, and always with such a command of language, whether it is the playful delight in wordplay of She Was Crazy, He Was Mad or the sharp-as-razors anger and analysis of Where Are the Barricades? His songs ask pertinent, not rhetorical, questions.” —Robb Johnson

“In many ways, Leon Rosselson is the embodiment of the original ideals of punk rock. His hair isn’t spiky, but his music is, using fearless wit and political integrity to highlight the hypocrisies of those in power.” —Billy Bragg

“Rosselson is certainly a musical activist who has enlivened many rallies and demonstrations, but he is also one of the finest, bravest and most original singer-songwriters that the British folk scene has produced” — Robin Denselow for Songlines Magazine. See the full review here.

Mail order from Fuse Records (UK only)

Buy the CD
£15 (incl. postage to the UK)

Buy the Double LP
£20 (incl. postage to the UK)


Use the Buy Now buttons above to order via PayPal, or send your order and a cheque as per Mail Order instructions here.

Order online from PM Press (USA and worldwide)

Chronicling The Times – Double LP
Click to order on pmpress.org
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Chronicling The Times CD
Click to order on pmpress.org
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Where Are The Elephants? A memoir by Leon Rosselson

Posted on December 22, 2022March 2, 2025 by admin
Where are the elephants? By Leon Rosselson

Leon Rosselson has spent a lifetime chronicling the times in song and envisioning the birth of a world after capitalism.

His book is an absorbing account of his journey from a childhood during the 2nd World War to lockdown during the pandemic, with lyrics from his songs to light up the way.

Also available, a compilation of all the songs mentioned in the text on CD or on a double LP. Both include all the song lyrics. The double LP has liner notes by Robb Johnson. 

Order Now

‘Like many of his more complex songs, Leon Rosselson’s eminently readable memoir consists of discrete – and sometimes seemingly disparate – sections yet coheres as a fascinating deeply thoughtful whole.’

– read the full review on Morning Star

‘This is a gem of a book… Leon’s writing is often laugh-out-loud hilarious. At other times it is moving and reflective…’

– read the full review on Jewish Voice for Labour

‘One of the joys of this book is the writing. Rosselson has written for children but he is a good adult writer. Orwell would have approved of his uncluttered, clear style.’

– MQB Magazine

Number 1  beach read for the summer: ‘Leon Rosselson weaves his own musical and political  journey  into an extraordinarily powerful account of how with acoustic guitar and a good tune, while we may not be able to dance to it, the spectacle of how and why we must change the world is more than enough to have us humming along.’

– Philosophy Football

‘I am reading with immense pleasure, Rosselson’s memoirs, a slim but absorbing volume combining essays and those clever witty lyrics.’

– Salut Live

‘It would not be hyperbolic to describe Leon Rosselson as a living legend…. The book is an engaging read’

– read the full review on Labour Hub

Order Your Copy Now

Mail order from Fuse Records
(UK Only)

Price: £12 (incl. postage to UK)

Use the Buy Now button below to order via PayPal, or send your order and a cheque as per the Mail Order instructions here

If you live outside of the UK please order from the PM Press or contact us for the correct postage amount.

Order online from PM Press
(Worldwide Delivery)

Click the button below to order from PM Press

Where Are the Elephants?
Order on pmpress.org
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On Her Silver Jubilee

Posted on September 10, 2022September 11, 2022 by admin

I remember, I remember when my world was hardly grown
And the daughter of a dead dull king ascended to the throne
And though I was just a lad at school, I saw it all with scorn
The solemn, sacred emptiness, the monumental yawn
And the slime exuding daily from the sycophantic slugs
And the Coronation ash trays and the Coronation mugs
And the rows of ermined mummies with their maggot-eaten brains
All the swarms of bloated blowflies the majestic turd sustains.
Droves of decorated duchesses like newly painted slums
Kneeling flunkeys, praying monkeys, loyal holes for royal crumbs
And the well-heeled sharks discreetly selling tickets for the show
Park Lane balconies with champagne at a thousand quid a throw.
Come and cheer the golden fairy Queen, forget your daily cares
For she radiates a glory that a grateful nation shares
And the pageantry, the panoply, the sanctified decay –
But I knew the hour was coming that would sweep it all away.
Now time has me in a corner and I’m moth-eared from the fray
But Her Majesty is reigning still today.

With a glass cage around her and an absence in her eyes
And though regiments surround her, they can’t take her by surprise
She’s as poised as a picture, she’s a sight for all to see
With a glass cage around her on her Silver Jubilee
with a glass cage around her she feels free.

I remember 1956, division East and West
British paratroops in Suez, Russian tanks in Budapest
And the peaceful marchers singing for the dream that must come true
Of a world freed from the nightmare we’ve since grown accustomed to
And the Cuban missile crisis with the rumours flying round
That the Queen was in her secret bomb-proof palace underground
And the violence exploding when anger made a stand
For a peasant people burning in a torn and tortured land.
And the Monarch walked her corgis behind the palace wall
Never once betraying what she felt or if she felt at all.
While her husband shot his mouth off like a walking blunderbuss
She gave birth to royal children with the minimum of fuss
Maintained her waxwork dignity as she trod the royal dance
Fulfilled her royal functions in a kind of royal trance
Balmoral, Ascot, Sandringham, the ship launching routine,
Palace banquets, garden parties ever smiling and serene
Unique symbol, model woman, never seeing, always seen
so we watched her as she played at being Queen.

With a glass cage around her etc.

She seems so commonplace a woman in her fuddy-duddy hats
But she doesn’t stand in bus queues or live in high-rise flats
And she doesn’t ride the rush hour or cycle down the Strand
And she doesn’t play maraccas in the Ivy Benson band.
And she doesn’t shop for bargains, she’s never on the dole
And if she does the football pools she doesn’t tell a soul.
And she never used to bother with the Inland Revenue
Though she’s royally rewarded for the things she doesn’t do
With palaces and properties and to keep her in good cheer
A working wage of 36.7 million pounds a year
A royal train, a royal plane, a costly royal yacht
And lucrative investments in only God knows what.
Oh the magic of the monarchy, the mystery sublime
Growing gracefully and effortlessly richer all the time.
She’s the rock of hope and glory in the quicksand of despair
For although the pound may tumble, although panic fills the air
Although governments may crumble and the cupboard’s nearly bare
Though the stairs begin to rattle and the rats begin to stare
She enfolds in mystic unity her subjects everywhere
And we know we’re safe from harm while Nanny’s there.

With a glass cage etc.

Turning Silence Into Song: The Music of Leon Rosselson

Posted on August 1, 2022August 1, 2022 by admin

“Turning Silence Into Song” – Leon Rosselson has been doing that for six decades, creating a sound track for unsung heroes and unspeakable scoundrels.  Revisit his classics or be introduced to one you never heard before.  Invite someone who never heard of Leon – it’s about time!


This live Zoom concert, sponsored by The People’s Music Network, featured an international lineup of musical luminaries celebrating the life and work of Leon Rosselson.

ARTISTS

  • Frankie Armstrong, www.frankiearmstrong.uk (UK)
  • Billy Bragg, www.billybragg.co.uk (UK)
  • Rick Burkhardt, www.rickburkhardt.com (US)
  • Martin Carthy, www.mainlynorfolk.info/martin.carthy (UK)
  • Russ Chandler, www.russchandlermusic.com (UK)
  • Barbara Dane, www.barbaradane.net (US)
  • Chris Foster, www.chrisfoster-iceland.com (Iceland)
  • Robb Johnson, www.robbjohnson.co.uk (UK)
  • Reem Kelani, www.reemkelani.com (UK)
  • Nancy Kerr, www.nancykerr.co.uk (UK)
  • Sandra Kerr, www.sandrakerr.net (UK)
  • Charlie King, www.charlieking.org (US)
  • Leon Rosselson, www.leonrosselson.co.uk (UK)
  • Martin Simpson, www.martinsimpson.com (UK)
  • Dean Stevens, www.facebook.com/Dean-Stevens-Musician-158769790827759 (US)
  • Elijah Wald, www.elijahwald.com (US)

About Leon Rosselson

Posted on October 25, 2021April 25, 2022 by admin

Leon Rosselson is an acclaimed singer and songwriter with more than 50 years of performing under his belt and the author of 17 children’s books. Here you can find more information, a complete bibliography and musicography of Leon’s works as well as an up to date list of upcoming gigs.

You can also get in touch if you’d like more information or to purchase a book or record.

Musings on Medium.com

Posted on April 16, 2021April 25, 2022 by admin

There’s lots to comment on in these turbulent times so Leon has launched a new blog on Medium.com. There you’ll find provocative musings on songwriting, politics and life’s little ironies. Leon’s first musing asks if Zionism is inherently antisemitic and comes after the suspension of Ken Livingstone and the furore over supposed antisemitism in the Labour Party. 

Visit the blog >>

Israeli Checkpoint

WELCOME TO THE WITCH HUNT

Posted on October 10, 2017 by admin

My local Labour controlled council has just voted, like other councils, as well as universities and the UK government, to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism. This consists of a rather loose basic definition, followed by a rambling discourse around the subject that twice mentions Israel and then 11 examples, 7 of which refer to the state of Israel. Anyone with a functioning brain might suspect that this definition has less to do with protecting Jews from antisemitism than with shielding Israel from criticism.

When the European Parliament were due to vote on whether to adopt this definition, I wrote to my MEPs urging them to reject it. Two replied in identical terms, pointing out that the definition makes it clear that ‘criticism of Israel cannot be regarded as antisemitic’. Except that it doesn’t. They lied. Why would they do that? What it actually says is that ‘criticism of Israel similar to that levelled against any other country cannot be regarded as antisemitic’.

The italicised phrase changes everything. Why is it there? Obviously to muddy the waters. Who is to decide whether criticism of Israel goes beyond that levelled against any other country? In any case, Israel is not like any other country. It is a settler colonial state, founded on massacres and ethnic cleansing. It is, by any definition, a criminal state. Transferring Israeli settlers into the occupied territory is illegal, as is transferring Palestinian prisoners into Israeli jails. The Wall, built largely on Palestinian land was judged illegal by the International Court of Justice in 2004. The collective punishment inflicted on the people of Gaza is a war crime under the Fourth Geneva Convention. Israel itself is a racist state where ‘Arabs’ are viewed as a demographic threat. Unlike other countries (Myanmar is an exception), it is not a state for all its citizens but for all the Jews in the world, who are given the ‘Right of Return’, a right denied to the indigenous people.

Continue Reading on Medium >

Sign reading "Justice for Grenfell - We demand the truth"

Palaces of Gold

Posted on June 19, 2017 by admin

 

 

PALACES OF GOLD by LEON ROSSELSON 

 

If the sons of company directors and judges’ private daughters

Had to go to school in a slum school

Dumped by some joker in a damp back alley

Had to herd into classrooms cramped with worry

With a view onto slagheaps and stagnant pools

Had to file through corridors grey with age

And play in a crackpot concrete cage.

Buttons would be pressed

Rules would be broken

Strings would be pulled

And magic words spoken

Invisible fingers would mould

Palaces of gold.

If prime-ministers and advertising executives

Royal personages and bank managers’ wives

Had to live out their lives in dank rooms

Blinded by smoke and the foul air of sewers

Rot on the walls and rats in the cellars

In rows of dumb houses like mouldering tombs

Had to bring up their children and watch them grow

In a waste land of dead streets where nothing will grow.

Buttons would be pressed 

Rules would be broken

Strings would be pulled

And magic words spoken

Invisible fingers would mould

Palaces of gold.

I’m not suggesting any sort of a plot

Everyone knows there’s not

But you unborn millions might like to be warned

That if you don’t want to be buried alive by slagheaps

Pitfalls and damp walls and rat-traps and dead streets

Arrange to be democratically born

The son of a company director

Or a judge’s fine and private daughter.

Buttons will be pressed

Rules will be broken

Strings will be pulled

And magic words spoken

Invisible fingers will mould

Palaces of gold.

 

“The lesson of Aberfan is never put your faith in experts or authority….Unless ordinary people take notice there will be another Aberfan, another Chernobyl and much worse.” – Cyril Vaughan, Vice-Chairman of the Aberfan Disaster Fund 18 October 1986, 20 years after Aberfan.

The Wall that Stands Between

Posted on June 1, 2017 by admin
Liberty Tree flyer - Cecil Sharp House, March 8th

Don’t miss The Liberty Tree in Leeds!

Posted on May 31, 2017 by admin

THE PERFECT POST-ELECTION MORALE BOOSTER!

 

 I do not believe in the creed professed by the Jewish Church, by the Roman Church, by the Greek Church, by the Protestant Church, nor by any church that I know.  MY OWN MIND IS MY OWN CHURCH. 

“When the rich plunder the poor of his rights, it becomes an example to the poor to plunder the rich of his property.” 

 

Liberty Tree flyer - Cecil Sharp House, March 8th

Don’t miss The Liberty Tree – March 8th!

Posted on February 8, 2017 by admin

The only London performance this year!

Cecil Sharp House, 2 Regent’s Park Road, London NW1 7AY.

Box office: 020 7485 2206 or book online here.

 

 I do not believe in the creed professed by the Jewish Church, by the Roman Church, by the Greek Church, by the Protestant Church, nor by any church that I know.  MY OWN MIND IS MY OWN CHURCH. 

“When the rich plunder the poor of his rights, it becomes an example to the poor to plunder the rich of his property.” 

 

They Come Like Armies

Posted on February 8, 2017 by admin

 
 
They come like armies, they assault the land
They pump down vast amounts of water, toxic chemicals & sand
To crack the rocks and win the prize
The shale gas they hope will see their profits rise.

They say it’s safe, nothing to fear
But it doesn’t take a fracking scientist to spot a bad idea
Just one small leak in the wells they sink
Will contaminate the water that we drink

Ask who will profit? Who pay the price?
This patch of earth they’re violating isn’t theirs to sacrifice.
Why can’t they see that it’s insane
To heat the planet, scar the earth for short term gain?

Earth’s buried treasures they take by force
And fracking uses so much water it depletes the water source
So now in Texas they’re asking why
The shale gas flows while the water taps run dry.

Let’s choose clean water, let’s choose clean air
Let’s choose a future that’s sustainable for everyone to share
Let’s choose clean energy sea, sun and wind
So we can keep those fossil fuels in the ground.

Records Available for Download

Posted on August 11, 2016 by admin

Leon Rosselson’s early vinyl recordings are now available as downloads on all major digital retail outlets, including iTunes, Amazon, Google Play and Napster.

You can see a list of early vinyl records on the records page.

Book Cover - That Precious Strand of Jewishness that Challenges Authority

That Precious Strand of Jewishness that Challenges Authority

Posted on March 22, 2016 by admin

 

Now available from Five Leaves Bookshop Occasional Papers

 
Singer-songwriter Leon Rosselson questions what it means to be Jewish.
 
“For my parents and grandparents, Jewish identity, in religion, culture and language, was a given. Not so for me. I’m not religious, not a Zionist, so in what consists my Jewishness? Is a love of chopped liver and a belief that chicken soup cures all ills enough? And does it matter? This is the story of my search for answers. It is an argument with myself, with song lyrics to embellish the argument.”
 
28 pages £4.00
ISBN 978-1-910170-33-5
 
Order from Five Leaves (UK P&P free)
 
Send your name, address and a cheque for £4
payable to Five Leaves, 14a Long Row,
Nottingham NG1 2DH
or call 0115 837 3097, 10–5 Mon–Sat, with
your address and credit card details
or pay via PayPal to [email protected] 
 
This essay was originally presented as the 2015 Yerushah Lecture at the Faculty of Divinity, University of Cambridge at the invitation of Dr Daniel Weiss 
Where are the Barricades? CD Cover

Where are the Barricades? – 2016

Posted on January 19, 2016October 19, 2021 by admin

Leon Rosselson has been at the forefront of songwriting in Britain for over 5 decades.  His latest collection (and final recording) features some of his finest songs, ranging from the humorous to the poignant and from the lyrical to the satirical. Stories for our times, musically varied and not a word out of place

Track List:  1. FULL MARKS FOR CHARLIE  2. WHERE ARE THE BARRICADES?  3. LOOTERS 4. BENEFITS  5. SIXTY QUID A WEEK  6. I’M GOING WHERE THE SUITS WILL SHINE MY SHOES 7. LET’S GIVE THANKS  9. REJOICE  8.  MARITAL DIARIES  10. FAIR’S FAIR  11. ACTIVE AGEING  12. PARIS IN THE RAIN 13. THE BALLAD OF RIVKA & MOHAMMED  14. FOUR DEGREES CELSIUS  15.  AT DAWN 

With Roy Bailey, Robb Johnson, John Kirkpatrick, Liz Mansfield, Janet Russell and Fiz Shapur.

Price: £12
Postage to the UK included in the price.  
Send a cheque as per Mail Order instructions here or click the Buy Now button below. 
In the U.S.A. & Canada, this CD can be bought via the PM Press website
 
 



 
“Every selection’s a sparkling example of definitively literate wordsmithery, right-on social, political and philosophical commentary, polemic and invective, waspish wit, humour and irony, passion and compassion in equal measure.”  – fRoots
“Heartily recommended listening – and packaged with care and with extensive explanatory notes, this is a classic on every level.”
– Living Tradition
“a clutch of passionate, thoughtful and melodic songs…”   – Rock ‘n’ Reel
 
 
Where are the Barricades? CD Cover

New CD: Where are the Barricades?

Posted on December 17, 2015October 19, 2021 by admin

NOW AVAILABLE! 

Leon Rosselson has been at the forefront of songwriting in Britain for over 5 decades.  His latest collection (and final recording) features some of his finest songs, ranging from the humorous to the poignant and from the lyrical to the satirical. Stories for our times, musically varied and not a word out of place

Track List:  1. FULL MARKS FOR CHARLIE  2. WHERE ARE THE BARRICADES?  3. LOOTERS 4. BENEFITS  5. SIXTY QUID A WEEK  6. I’M GOING WHERE THE SUITS WILL SHINE MY SHOES 7. LET’S GIVE THANKS  9. REJOICE  8.  MARITAL DIARIES  10. FAIR’S FAIR  11. ACTIVE AGEING  12. PARIS IN THE RAIN 13. THE BALLAD OF RIVKA & MOHAMMED  14. FOUR DEGREES CELSIUS  15.  AT DAWN 

With Roy Bailey, Robb Johnson, John Kirkpatrick, Liz Mansfield, Janet Russell and Fiz Shapur.

Price: £12
Postage to the UK included in the price.  
Send a cheque as per Mail Order instructions here or click the Buy Now button below. 
 



 
In the U.S.A. & Canada, this CD can be bought via the PM Press website  
 
 

A song for Gaza – The Ballad of Rivka and Mohammad

Posted on August 4, 2014December 7, 2023 by admin

I was watching the news from Gaza
And I fell asleep on my chair
And when I woke up from my slumber
A young girl was standing there.

She said, My name is Rivka
They killed me because I’m a Jew
I died in the ghetto of Vilna
In nineteen forty two.

The ghetto was like a prison
They wouldn’t allow us to leave
Some said they were going to kill us all
We didn’t know what to believe.

That day I wore my new red dress
My bubbe had made for me
And in that crowded ghetto
It made me feel proud and free.

I looked up at the soldier
I looked him in the eye
I forgot to bow my head down
And so I had to die.

He smashed my head with his rifle
Because I was too bold
I was killed in the Vilna ghetto
When I was seven years old.

And then out of the darkness
A young boy’s gaze met mine
He said, My name is Mohammed
My country is Palestine.

I’ve lived all my life in Gaza
And the only time I feel free
Is when I go down to the harbour
And feel the wind from the sea.

That day I went with my cousins
We ran down to the beach to play
Then the soldier fired a shell at me
And blew my life away.

They want to crush our spirits
They want us to be afraid
Locked up in the prison of Gaza
The prison that they have made.

To them our lives don’t matter
They force us to live in a cage
I was killed on the beach in Gaza
At eleven years of age.

They don’t think that we deserve freedom
Or belong to the human race.
Mohammed, my brother, said Rivka,
This world is a cold, cold place.

Mohammed, my friend, my brother,
Let us leave this world of war.
Then each took the hand of the other
And then they were seen no more.

But I saw spokesmen and politicians
Lining up to speechify
And every word was a hypocrite
And every word was a lie.

I saw children still being slaughtered
The monster must have its fill
While the people with power sat on their hands
And supplied the weapons that kill.

I weep for the people of Gaza
And they are weeping still
And I curse the ones who do nothing
And encourage the monster to kill.

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This is my letter to the Guardian which it refused to publish though it had well over 100 signatories:

"Since Gaza is uninhabitable, because Israel has made it so, and since most of Gaza’s citizens are refugees or the children of refugees, because Israel has made them so, the only just and humane solution is for them to be allowed to return to their homes in what was Palestine until Israel usurped it. Another Great March of Return, only this time without the violence inflicted on the marchers by Israeli snipers."

Leon Rosselson is a singer, songwriter and children's book author.
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