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lyrics

There’s a little sun-drenched island in the Caribbean Sea,
It used to be like paradise, all fun and gaiety;
You could take a plane from Florida, just ninety miles away,
And live there like an emperor for fifty bucks a day.

Chorus: Happy days at an end ...
Uncle Sam, the poor old sod, ain’t got a friend.

There were servants cheap and plentiful, the natives were in debt;
But for sportsmen on vacation there was faro and roulette;
And if you fancied other sports you flashed a dollar bill
And regiments of whores were there your pleasures to fulfill. (chorus)

The government took orders from the local C.I.A.
And always served the interests of the good old USA;
The natives they all knew their place and did what they were told,
Hotels were air-conditioned and the beer was always cold. (chorus)

One day in nineteen-fifty-six, the year was almost run,
Ten-thousand U.S. citizens lay browning in the sun,
When a certain hairy Cuban, regardless of the risk,
Lit a big cigar and burnt those U.S. arses to a crisp. (chorus)

Well, the gangsters and the bankers, all the con-men and the crimps,
The corporation lawyers, all the bully-boys and pimps,
Shouting, ‘FREEDOM!’ and ‘DEMOCRACY!’ (and other thrilling cries)
Flew back to God’s own country like ten-thousand blue-arsed flies. (chorus)

One by one, Batista’s outposts were attacked and overrun,
By a band of compañeros led by him they call The Man;
He lit a big Havana as they rested at the halt,
Then through Oriente Province went just like a dose of salts. (chorus)

credits

from At The Present Moment, released September 14, 1973
Ewan MacColl - vocals
Peggy Seeger - backing vocals, guitar

Engineered by Mike Cooper
Recorded at Pan Sound Studios

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Ewan MacColl London, UK

This site is maintained by the MacColl family, aiming to make Ewan's catalogue available to download.
Ewan MacColl is known to most as a songwriter and singer, but he was also of significant influence in the worlds of theatre and radio broadcasting. His art reached huge numbers through the folk clubs, greater numbers through his recordings and untold millions through the radio. ... more

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