External Relations from Tuque by Comrade Hat
Tracklist
| 3. | External Relations | 3:18 |
Lyrics
"I hate to make a fuss
But I can't get a bus
It's late and I don't know the way
These icy winds are blowing in
I feel the chill is here to stay
It's true, I have no truck,
With you, Canuck,
So why do you leave me in the cold?
I'm coming from the present,
You're fighting battles of old
The sun is setting where
The sun it never set
Now is the time to
Raise my head above the parapet -
And say - Put your empire where the sun it never shines
Maybe I'm being rash
Maybe it's the wine
But I'm done with
Being held at the barrel of a gun*
Must you put that thing on the table?
Let what's lost, be lost and what's won, won
Old animosities
Have sailed across the sea
And now they're sitting next to me
Can't we set them aside
if just for one night?
The sun is setting where
The sun it never set
Now is the time to
Go above the heads of government -
And say - Put your empire where the sun it never shines
Maybe I'm being rash
Maybe it's the wine
But I'm done with
Being held at the barrel of a gun*
Must you put that thing on the table?
Let what's lost, be lost and what's won, won
I don't care if it leaves us out in the cold
It can't get any frostier than this"
===
This song is written from the perspective of Irish Taoiseach (Prime Minister) John A. Costello while on an official state visit to Canada in 1948. He felt snubbed by the Canadian PM Lyon Mackenzie King, who, at dinner, reneged on a toast to both the King and the Irish president, toasting only the King, and the behaviour of Governor General Lord Alexander, who had placed a replica of the Roaring Meg cannon*, used during the siege of Derry in 1688, on Costello's table. Alexander was of Ulster Protestant descent and had unionist sympathies; Costello interpreted this as an act of hostility. During the trip he made a surprise announcement of Ireland's repealing its 'External Relations Act', marking its departure from the Commonwealth and effectively declaring a Republic.
Credits
Neil Burns: vocals, piano, synths, guitar, fake drums
Rohan Armstrong: electric bass
