Before WWII communism was very popular with the left leaning intellectual elite. They saw fascism as a huge threat and thought that by joining the communists in the Spain civil war they could prevent fascism from spreading, help the world, build a utopia, etc.
Needless to say, they were fairly naive. Many went to fight the fascists without any concept of how horrible it would be. So you had these left leaning university grad intellectuals (like Austin) who had only fired rifles when hunting, enlisting to be fighters and ambulance drivers in Spain. Hence the
"if I can shoot rabbits
then I can shoot fascists".
Only once they got there did they start to realize that the communists were just as much puppets controlled by Russia as the fascists were controlled by Germany & Italy (in fact maybe even more so).
They were young and vain and thought they could win. The fascists were much better equipped and organized and probably had more local support. Many returned to England and America broken men.
Hence the line
"Gravity keeps my head down
Or is it maybe shame
At being so young and being so vain".
Notice how they had to keep their heads down to avoid being shot.
Many had been pacifists in college, they were idealistic and unprepared. The war wasn't real to them, until they arrived and saw their friends killed.
Hence,
"Holes in your head today
But I'm a pacifist
I've walked La Ramblas
But not with real intent"
The war became a prelude to World War II, in which oddly enough, the victorious Spanish fascists remained neutral.
“Bullets for your brain today
But we'll forget it all again”
Brilliant analogy!
Regardless of the songs true meaning, to me it makes me think of trying to do better in my own life in order to protect the next generation (or my children) from experiencing any hardship or undue pain.
Not as deep but still as poignant :-)
Brilliant analogy!
Regardless of the songs true meaning, to me it makes me think of trying to do better in my own life in order to protect the next generation (or my children) from experiencing any hardship or undue pain.
Not as deep but still as poignant :-)
A few things that are a bit off the mark there, firstly the majority of volunteers from wales were not part of the 'intellectual elite' or 'left leaning students'.
They tended to be from strong working class unions, often miners. the line "if I can shoot rabbits I can shoot facists" was origionally from the book Miners Against Fascism.
A few things that are a bit off the mark there, firstly the majority of volunteers from wales were not part of the 'intellectual elite' or 'left leaning students'.
They tended to be from strong working class unions, often miners. the line "if I can shoot rabbits I can shoot facists" was origionally from the book Miners Against Fascism.
The facists did not have more local support than the republican/communist/anarchist side, most of franco's troops were nonlocal mercinarys brought in from outside spain and when the facist troops launched their coup it wasnt an organised army that stopped them in their tracks it was ordinary people rising up across spain.
Whilst some people who went to spain thought of themselves as communist, many were socialist, socialdemocratic, anarchist, or just commited to anti-facism and pro working class struggle. The majority of the spainish replublican side at the start of the war were not communists. It was only later that the communists took power over the reblican side (nearly leading to all out streetwarfare between the stalinists and the trotskyist/anarchists in 'La Ramblas' -which has a lot to do with the meaning of that line imo). The reason for there power was due to the fact that whilst hitler and Mussolini aided the facists, the democratic powers in europe refused to aid the rebllicans leaving russia as their only real source of weapons and munitions.
It's fair to say that the revolution in spain was defeated twice, firstly by the stalinist communists and then after by franco's facists.
DarKEther is right, the Civil War is a lot more complex than it seems. THe only reason communists took over was because of the Nationalists being supported by Germany and Italy.
DarKEther is right, the Civil War is a lot more complex than it seems. THe only reason communists took over was because of the Nationalists being supported by Germany and Italy.
I think that the message of the song is that everyone looked aside when the war started except for the brigadist. If the majority of people included governments (Britain, France etc.) had helped the Republicans who were elected by the people then it would have been a different story.
I think that the message of the song is that everyone looked aside when the war started except for the brigadist. If the majority of people included governments (Britain, France etc.) had helped the Republicans who were elected by the people then it would have been a different story.
There is a special place in hell for those who remain aside as Dante said.
There is a special place in hell for those who remain aside as Dante said.
@gongozolo ... like a true fascist twisting the words
The song is against fascism. Unlike those idealists who went to Spain to fight the evil of fascism despite "only hunting rabbits" without any military experience, many stayed at home thinking fascism will not come to their home and their children will not be next. Hitler and Mussolini came few years later and made british children "the next".
As for "Gravity keeps my head down, Or is it maybe shame", G.Britain was secretly supporting Spanish fascists against "lefties" as a mean of keeping the british business interests in Europe (against rising socialism and...
@gongozolo ... like a true fascist twisting the words
The song is against fascism. Unlike those idealists who went to Spain to fight the evil of fascism despite "only hunting rabbits" without any military experience, many stayed at home thinking fascism will not come to their home and their children will not be next. Hitler and Mussolini came few years later and made british children "the next".
As for "Gravity keeps my head down, Or is it maybe shame", G.Britain was secretly supporting Spanish fascists against "lefties" as a mean of keeping the british business interests in Europe (against rising socialism and communism).
@gongozolo
this beautiful song is dedicate to INTERNATIONAL BRIGADISTS, young common people who changed shooting rabbits at the country side for shooting fascists in the battlefields of Spain
@gongozolo
this beautiful song is dedicate to INTERNATIONAL BRIGADISTS, young common people who changed shooting rabbits at the country side for shooting fascists in the battlefields of Spain
@gongozolo Our local Veterans for Peace Chapter is named after Clarence Kailin who was a young man who went to Spain to fight the fascists with his friends.
@gongozolo Our local Veterans for Peace Chapter is named after Clarence Kailin who was a young man who went to Spain to fight the fascists with his friends.
@gongozolo Our local Veterans for Peace Chapter is named after Clarence Kailin who was a young man who went to Spain to fight the fascists with his friends.
@gongozolo Our local Veterans for Peace Chapter is named after Clarence Kailin who was a young man who went to Spain to fight the fascists with his friends.
Before WWII communism was very popular with the left leaning intellectual elite. They saw fascism as a huge threat and thought that by joining the communists in the Spain civil war they could prevent fascism from spreading, help the world, build a utopia, etc.
Needless to say, they were fairly naive. Many went to fight the fascists without any concept of how horrible it would be. So you had these left leaning university grad intellectuals (like Austin) who had only fired rifles when hunting, enlisting to be fighters and ambulance drivers in Spain. Hence the "if I can shoot rabbits then I can shoot fascists".
Only once they got there did they start to realize that the communists were just as much puppets controlled by Russia as the fascists were controlled by Germany & Italy (in fact maybe even more so).
They were young and vain and thought they could win. The fascists were much better equipped and organized and probably had more local support. Many returned to England and America broken men. Hence the line "Gravity keeps my head down Or is it maybe shame At being so young and being so vain". Notice how they had to keep their heads down to avoid being shot.
Many had been pacifists in college, they were idealistic and unprepared. The war wasn't real to them, until they arrived and saw their friends killed. Hence, "Holes in your head today But I'm a pacifist I've walked La Ramblas But not with real intent"
The war became a prelude to World War II, in which oddly enough, the victorious Spanish fascists remained neutral. “Bullets for your brain today But we'll forget it all again”
Brilliant analogy! Regardless of the songs true meaning, to me it makes me think of trying to do better in my own life in order to protect the next generation (or my children) from experiencing any hardship or undue pain. Not as deep but still as poignant :-)
Brilliant analogy! Regardless of the songs true meaning, to me it makes me think of trying to do better in my own life in order to protect the next generation (or my children) from experiencing any hardship or undue pain. Not as deep but still as poignant :-)
A few things that are a bit off the mark there, firstly the majority of volunteers from wales were not part of the 'intellectual elite' or 'left leaning students'. They tended to be from strong working class unions, often miners. the line "if I can shoot rabbits I can shoot facists" was origionally from the book Miners Against Fascism.
A few things that are a bit off the mark there, firstly the majority of volunteers from wales were not part of the 'intellectual elite' or 'left leaning students'. They tended to be from strong working class unions, often miners. the line "if I can shoot rabbits I can shoot facists" was origionally from the book Miners Against Fascism.
The facists did not have more local support than the republican/communist/anarchist side, most of franco's troops were nonlocal mercinarys brought in from outside spain and when the facist troops launched their coup it wasnt an organised army that stopped them in their tracks it was ordinary people rising up across spain.
Whilst some people who went to spain thought of themselves as communist, many were socialist, socialdemocratic, anarchist, or just commited to anti-facism and pro working class struggle. The majority of the spainish replublican side at the start of the war were not communists. It was only later that the communists took power over the reblican side (nearly leading to all out streetwarfare between the stalinists and the trotskyist/anarchists in 'La Ramblas' -which has a lot to do with the meaning of that line imo). The reason for there power was due to the fact that whilst hitler and Mussolini aided the facists, the democratic powers in europe refused to aid the rebllicans leaving russia as their only real source of weapons and munitions.
It's fair to say that the revolution in spain was defeated twice, firstly by the stalinist communists and then after by franco's facists.
@gongozolo What an excellent analysis. Spot on, it explains and clarifies everything in this hermetic text. Thanx, gonzolo!
@gongozolo What an excellent analysis. Spot on, it explains and clarifies everything in this hermetic text. Thanx, gonzolo!
DarKEther is right, the Civil War is a lot more complex than it seems. THe only reason communists took over was because of the Nationalists being supported by Germany and Italy.
DarKEther is right, the Civil War is a lot more complex than it seems. THe only reason communists took over was because of the Nationalists being supported by Germany and Italy.
I think that the message of the song is that everyone looked aside when the war started except for the brigadist. If the majority of people included governments (Britain, France etc.) had helped the Republicans who were elected by the people then it would have been a different story.
I think that the message of the song is that everyone looked aside when the war started except for the brigadist. If the majority of people included governments (Britain, France etc.) had helped the Republicans who were elected by the people then it would have been a different story.
There is a special place in hell for those who remain aside as Dante said.
There is a special place in hell for those who remain aside as Dante said.
@gongozolo ... like a true fascist twisting the words The song is against fascism. Unlike those idealists who went to Spain to fight the evil of fascism despite "only hunting rabbits" without any military experience, many stayed at home thinking fascism will not come to their home and their children will not be next. Hitler and Mussolini came few years later and made british children "the next". As for "Gravity keeps my head down, Or is it maybe shame", G.Britain was secretly supporting Spanish fascists against "lefties" as a mean of keeping the british business interests in Europe (against rising socialism and...
@gongozolo ... like a true fascist twisting the words The song is against fascism. Unlike those idealists who went to Spain to fight the evil of fascism despite "only hunting rabbits" without any military experience, many stayed at home thinking fascism will not come to their home and their children will not be next. Hitler and Mussolini came few years later and made british children "the next". As for "Gravity keeps my head down, Or is it maybe shame", G.Britain was secretly supporting Spanish fascists against "lefties" as a mean of keeping the british business interests in Europe (against rising socialism and communism).
@gongozolo this beautiful song is dedicate to INTERNATIONAL BRIGADISTS, young common people who changed shooting rabbits at the country side for shooting fascists in the battlefields of Spain
@gongozolo this beautiful song is dedicate to INTERNATIONAL BRIGADISTS, young common people who changed shooting rabbits at the country side for shooting fascists in the battlefields of Spain
@gongozolo Our local Veterans for Peace Chapter is named after Clarence Kailin who was a young man who went to Spain to fight the fascists with his friends.
@gongozolo Our local Veterans for Peace Chapter is named after Clarence Kailin who was a young man who went to Spain to fight the fascists with his friends.
isthmus.com/archive/from-the-archives/unrepentant-red-clarence-kailin-looks-back-on-a-lifetime-of-fighting-the-good-fight/
isthmus.com/archive/from-the-archives/unrepentant-red-clarence-kailin-looks-back-on-a-lifetime-of-fighting-the-good-fight/
@gongozolo Our local Veterans for Peace Chapter is named after Clarence Kailin who was a young man who went to Spain to fight the fascists with his friends.
@gongozolo Our local Veterans for Peace Chapter is named after Clarence Kailin who was a young man who went to Spain to fight the fascists with his friends.
isthmus.com/archive/from-the-archives/unrepentant-red-clarence-kailin-looks-back-on-a-lifetime-of-fighting-the-good-fight/
isthmus.com/archive/from-the-archives/unrepentant-red-clarence-kailin-looks-back-on-a-lifetime-of-fighting-the-good-fight/