Oligarchs and Imbeciles

After “Avenues and Alleyways” – Tony Christie (1973)

Sleep like a baby,
My little lady,
Dream till the sunrise
Creeps into your eyes,
Dream till the sunrise turns on the day.

Oligarchs and imbeciles –
While you sleep there’s a whole world being bought and sold.
Gina and her billions,
Buying up her minions,
Trading souls for iron and gold.
Oligarchs and imbeciles –
Where the rich and the ruthless write the law.

Look around the chamber,
See the friendly stranger,
Watch the red hair catch the light,
Then a little later read it in the paper –
Someone new is picking Pauline’s fights.
Wake up, One Nation,
Smell the manipulation,
Stay through the daytime
Safe in the sunshine,
Stay till the daytime turns to night.

Oligarchs and imbeciles –
Where a woman’s conviction has its price,
Every vote a favour,
Every speech a labour
Done for Gina’s good advice.
Oligarchs and imbeciles –
Where the soul of a senator comes cheap.

She tried Peter Dutton,
A blunt little button,
Pressed him till the whole thing fell apart.
Lost the election,
Lost every direction,
Turned out he had no mind, let alone heart.
She tried Jacinta,
Bright flame through the winter,
Burned so hard and faded into grey.

Oligarchs and imbeciles –
Even proxies have a use-by date.
But Pauline keeps on smiling,
Keeps on reconciling
Gina’s dreams with Queensland’s hate.
Oligarchs and imbeciles –
Where the strong and the purchased walk as one.

Across the Pacific
Something more horrific –
The Donald on his gilded throne,
Every tariff swung like a weapon,
Every oligarch calling it home.
Everybody’s wheelin’,
Everybody’s dealin’,
All the low-rent living, all the lies.
Every democracy has got ’em,
Question is: can we ever stop ’em?

Some of us
Have got to try.

by Bakchos