Gerry DempseyThe Unknown War Criminal (2005)

A newly composed song by Gerry Dempsey. On this recording, Gerry plays mandolin and also overdubs bass and drums. Vocals and acoustic guitar by Tom Joad.

Another recording of this song with vocals by Gerry can be heard here.

Lyrics and Guitar Chords

(Note: the chords positions are displaced in places by the conversion to a web-page).

The Unknown War Criminal

Capo 5

Am
He likes the tales and legends,
G
The mighty deeds of yore
F
How he strode across the century
Am
And wrote his own folklore.

Am
They praised his deeds in sagas,
G
Adventures told in song,
F
Proud, heroic stanzas
Am
Of the Terrible and the Strong.


[Break] Dm Am G Em Am


Am
We used the Russians for roulette,
G
The dogs we had to train,
F
We needed target practise
Am
But peasants feel no pain.

Dm
The mothers of the Disappeared,
Am
Their voices now subliminal,
G Em
Standing by the graveside
Am
Of the unknown war criminal.

[Break] Dm Am G Em Am

Am
Behind the Iron Curtain,
G
Behind the barbed-wire fence,
F
What untold deeds of chivalry
Am
Might spring to his defence?

Am
Those girls were asking for it.
G
They were just the spoils of war.
F
The daughter of the enemy
Am
Is no better than a whore.

Am
And that old crippled lady
G
Some people thought it twisted
F
She didn't need her valuables
Am C
She shouldn't have resisted.
G Em
She couldn't take it with her.
G Em
She didn't own the lease
Dm
On all her prize possessions.
Am
It was a merciful release.

Dm
The names, the dates, the places,
Am
Forgotten and invisible
G Em
Record a fitting monument
Am
To the unknown war criminal.

[Break] Dm Am G Em Am

Am
And after the atrocities
G
We made a decent home.
F
The houses were all vacant.
Am
The owners were unknown.

Am
The universal soldier,
G
The unsung common man,
F
How many stabbed a neighbours back
Am
And took away his land?

Am
In the fog of war his mighty deeds
G
Were difficult to determine;
F
Who was friend and who was foe,
Am
Who was Russian, who was German.

Dm
The names, the dates, the places,
Am
Forgotten and invisible
G Em
Record a fitting monument
Am
To the unknown war criminal.

[Break] Dm Am G Em Am

Am
We were just obeying orders.
G
We couldn't disobey.
F
I didn't know no better.
Am
It wasn't me, anyway!

Am
And now the unknown soldier
G
Prefers to remain unknown,
F
To read heroic poetry
Am
And never to atone.

Dm
The names, the dates, the places,
Am
Forgotten and invisible
G Em
Record a fitting monument
Am
To the unknown war criminal.

This item is part of the collection: Audio Books & Poetry

Author: Gerry Dempsey
Date: 2005-00-00 00:00:00
Source: Born digital
Keywords: Mandolin; Anti-War; Political; Antiwar Songs; Satire; War crimes

Creative Commons license: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike

Notes

Contact: tomjoad2005[at]yahoo.com
g52dempsey[at]yahoo.co.uk

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