Phil Ochs - We Seek No Wider War (Home Tape) lyrics

Over the ashes of blood marched the civilized soldiers Over the ruins of the French fortress of a failure Over the silent screams of the dead and the dying Saying please be rea**ured, we seek no wider war The treaties were signed, the country was split into sections But growing numbers of prisons were built for protection Rapidly filling with people who called for elections But please be rea**ured, we seek no wider war Ngo Dinh Diem was the puppet who danced for the power The hero of hate who gambled on hell for his hour Father of his country was stamped on the medals we showered But please be rea**ured, we seek no wider war Machine gun bullets became the bloody baptizers And the falcon copters don't care if someone's the wiser But the boy in the swamp didn't know he was k**ed by advisers So please be rea**ured, we seek no wider war And fires were spitting at forests in defoliation While the people were pressed into camps not called concentration And the greater the victory the greater the shame of the nation But please be rea**ured, we seek no wider war While we were watching the prisoners were tested by torture And vicious and violent ga**es maintained the order As the finest Washington minds found slogans for slaughter But please be rea**ured, we seek no wider war Then over the border came the Bay of Pigs planes of persuasion All remaining honor went up in flames of invasion But the shattered schools never learned that it's not escalation But please be rea**ured, we seek no wider war We're teaching freedom for which they are yearning While were dragging them down to the path of never returning But, we'll condescend to talk while the cities are burning But please be rea**ured, we seek no wider war And the evil is done in hopes that evil surrenders But the deeds of the devil are burned too deep in the embers And a world of hunger in vengeance will always remember So please be rea**ured, we seek no wider war We seek no wider war