Without Henry Kissinger

from Bearing Witness by David Rovics

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Henry Kissinger lived to be 100 years old, without ever serving a day in prison for his many crimes against humanity.

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He was born in 1923
Left in ’38, to escape the Nazi country
Whatever lessons he learned from being a German Jew
Were different from the ones some other people drew
Still a young man when he joined the Department of State
And the rest of the world would discover its fate
Consider Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam
And the millions of tons of napalm

Imagination can be wondrous, and it can drive you mad
Thinking about the world we could have had

Kissinger commanded the empire he led
In a war in Indochina, three million dead
Where every day people still are killed and maimed
By the bombs left over from his Great Game
How many reigns of terror, how many genocidal wars
Might have gone so differently if not for
This man, who knows, the world we’d get
Might be one that never knew the rule of Pinochet

What if East Timor had never been invaded
Without that one, and so many others he orchestrated
Under the doctrine of might makes right
And no death toll is too high if you want to win a fight
For world domination at the terrible cost
Of so many innocents lost
If individuals change history and how history plays out
Then here’s one where there is no doubt

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from Bearing Witness, released April 19, 2024

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David Rovics Portland, Oregon

Singer/songwriter, writer, podcaster (on Spotify, Substack & Patreon), anarchist, dad, lover of life.

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