Wikileaks: Revealing "Imperialism's dreadful apparatus of oppression"

All those rogues who strut and swagger/
Take the road and seek other pastures/
To carry out their wicked schemes/
No more will our fine young men/
March to war at the behest of jingoists and imperialists/
So come all you who love freedom/
Pay no attention to the prophets of doom/
In your house all the children of Adam/
Will be welcomed with food, drink and hospitality/
All the flowers will blossom/
And Black Africa will bring crashing down/
All Imperialism's dreadful apparatus of oppression/.

 English translation of The Freedom Come-All-Ye by Dick Gaughan (copyright)
Hamish Henderon (1919-2002) was a Scottish intellectual, political activist, songwriter, poet and anthologist of Scottish political and cultural traditions. His epic song The Freedom Come-All-Ye is an powerful indictment of the imperial impulse: the desire of rich and powerful nations and corporations to exploit for their own interests the resources of other nations.

Henderson's song laments the role that the Scottish nation and the Scottish people played in the imperial project of the British Empire. The song was composed in the 1960's and renounces the tradition of the Scottish soldier who acted as both cannon foddder and colonial oppressor for the Britsh empire. It reflects Henderson's vision of a global order which is just and multi-racial and which opposes imperialism and exploitation by powerful nations.

Scottish singer songwriter Dick Gaughan recorded a version of Henderson's song (considered by many to be an alternative Scottish anthem) on his 1996 CD Sail On. Gaughan's version, supported by the haunting pipes of Fred Morrison, is a remarkable tribute to Henderson's profound political vision. Dick Gaughan's English translation of the lyrics can be found on his website.

Henderson's song concludes with the hope that there will be a time when people rise up to: 

".......Bring crashing down/All Imperialism's dreadful apparatus of oppression."

Henderson's evocative final line is precisely what makes Wikileaks so powerful and such a threat to the established political and corporate order.

Wikileaks is driven by the desire to bring crashing down "imperalism's dreadful apparatus of oppression", to use Henderson's term. The great power of Wikileaks is that it exposes for us all to see just how that  appartaus of corporate and military empire operates and how its workings are hidden from "we' citizens by the political and corporate elite.

And this is precisely why Wikileaks and its spokesperson Julian Assanage are being pursued with such ferocity.

Political singer songwriters- Dick Gaughan

"Let virtue distinguish the brave
Place riches in lowest degree
Think them poorest who can be a slave
Them richest who dare to be free"

words traditional arranged by Dick Gaughan (Both Sides the Tweed)

Been listening to Scottish singer songwriter and political activist Dick Gaughan who is one of the more committed political musicians around. I saw him at the Fly By Night Club here in Perth a couple of years ago. A stunning political performance.

Gaughan' passionate style, powerful delivery and political convictions are not for everyone but I am a huge fan. Here's an extract from an article in RootsWorld

Dick Gaughan is a politically-committed man. He cites his ties to the Scottish working class and their hardbitten years of struggle under Tory rule that forged his committment through strikes and turmoil. He recalls how the murder of Chilean folk singer Victor Jara by the fascist Pinochet regime galvanized Gaughan into putting his music where his heart already was. "I knew then I couldn't just play old tunes. You had to speak out. And, really, that is what the tradition is about. Traditional music--which to me has always meant just the songs that people sing and listen to, be that rock 'n' roll or old ballads--it has always had to do with politics. People's music, folk music if you will, is very dangerous stuff! It is subversive to acknowledge that ordinary people actually have a culture with artistic merit. This gives the lie to those who would like us to think that the poor are poor because they are stupid! There is a lot of wisdom in some of those old songs, and no reason I can see why songs about the politics of today are not part of The Tradition! I sing 'em, anyway, and that's the tradition I know.Gaughan's in-your-face progressive politics, and the effectiveness of his delivery, doubtless were a factor in the visa problems he experienced over the years when trying to get into the US to perform"

One of his more amazing and haunting songs is 51 st Highland Division's Farewell to Sicily (from his 1996 album 'Sail On'). The lyrics were written by the late Hamish Henderson who was in the 51st. Highland Divison in 1943 as they took part in the Allied invasion of Sicily. He was inspired to write it as he watched the regiment prepare to cross the Straits of Messina to face many months of fighting in Italy in order to drive the Nazis back. The music 'Farewell To The Creeks' is by Pipe Major James Robertson, Gordon Highlanders. You can listen to it here