Music: "Battle Hymn of the Republic"
Something like the first verse has been in the back of my head for many years. Today it all came together. I've deliberately mixed together the would-be book banners of the right and the left.
I don't know if anyone has tried to ban "Terrible Swift Sword." The line is just irresistible.
Lyrics Copyright 2022 Gary McGath.
Mine eyes have seen the coming of the mighty censor horde.
They are trampling on the bookshelf where "The Grapes of Wrath" is stored.
They have loosed their lightning on Bruce Catton's "Terrible Swift Sword."
Their gangs are marching on!
Refrain:
Glory, glory, light the bonfire!
Glory, glory, light the bonfire!
Glory, glory, light the bonfire!
Their gangs are marching on!
They are burning Harry Potter and Cormoran Strike as well.
They'd have "Huckleberry Finn" and "Maus" burn side by side in Hell.
The Bible and Quran are books they're planning to expel.
Their gangs are marching on!
Refrain
The only valid thoughts are ones that they have thought, they're sure,
And disagreement with them is a thing they can't endure.
They mustn't be offended and they have to keep you pure.
Their gangs are marching on!
Refrain
In the beauty of their thoughts they can't stand any blasphemy.
They don't want us reading anything that is less than P.C.
They are sure their cause is holy, and they hate a press that's free.
Their gangs are marching on!
Refrain
@janeg Mar 2022
The attacks on a free press and real journalism, as you reference at the end, are even worse than the book bans. We can take solace that none these self-appointed censors read well enough to realize how much they are increasing sales and readership of the books they banned.
@headfirstonly Mar 2022
This would be hilarious if it wasn't so on-the-nail depressingly accurate. There are days when it feels like the world had just gone so far over the edge that satire can't keep up.
At least it's done wonders for the sale of Art Spiegelman's books, which are back in the bestseller lists again.
@quadrivium Feb 2022
Great parody, Gary! I read an article in the Atlantic Journal recently that there have been a rash of schools banning books again. Sadness. :-(