FAWM: "I Don't Want to Be Nice (to Liberals Anymore)"

I Don't Want to Be Nice (to Liberals Anymore)

2 weeks ago by @philnorman

I Don't Want to Be Nice (to Liberals Anymore)

philnorman

00:00

Liner Notes

Snark doesn't really build solidarity, but this is me blowing off some steam while trying to hold on to hope in this political moment. Down versus up, not left versus right. If you work for a living, we're on the same side.

If you're confused by my meaning of "liberal," I mean it from a leftist perspective.

"Shallow understanding from people of goodwill is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will." - MLK

Comments deleted: 1
If you want to argue with me, write your own song.

#folk #thismachinekillsfascists #fullyautomatedluxurygayspacecommunism #political #protest

Lyrics

I don’t want to be nice to liberals anymore

I want to shake them awake on MLK day
Before posting that quote did you read the whole thing?
Before that well-meaning thing comes out of your mouth,
remember we live so well by exploiting the global south

I want comrades who understand that
the material conditions of the working class
Build community and solidarity
More than a fundraising email from AOC

I don’t want to be nice to liberals anymore

Boss makes a dollar and I make a dime
Just because his father owned an emerald mine
When you can’t afford rent then will you make the deduction
that the workers should control the means of production?

Mutual aid. We keep us safe.
Love thy neighbor shouldn't be so hard to explain.
In this house we believe ACAB
because they’re class traitors protecting the bourgeoisie

I don’t want to be nice to liberals anymore

No war but class war, the system can’t be reformed
the world is burning and there's ICE at the door
If it can happen to you it can happen to me
That’s why we say Free Palestine until all of us are free

I don’t want to be nice to liberals anymore

Comments

@robynsdad 1d

Bravo! This is why we still need folk heroes.

@bethdesombre 4d

Yes! Sometimes you just have to snark. Weirdly the chorus structure reminds of Taylor Swift songwriting moves (in a good way)(no, I'm not actually a Swiftie). I like the MKL reference at the beginning.

@kvnwoodruff 1w

Some great snarky folk story telling. Your hashtags are cracking me up!

@joshbelville 1w

This song is Too Woke, but at least I can scrape its contents for my AI LLM. (For real though, we need you playing this at picket lines and union halls!)

@sheslin 1w

I just adore the classic folk style of this song - your beautiful just the right amount guitar, and those absolutely gorgeous, emotive vocals singing the incredibly moving melody and lyrics. These are very challenging times, and we can not escape our history and our reality. It is hard to hold onto hope right now, but hearing something this beautiful and moving gives me a little hope. Thank you!

@billwhite51 1w

a serious take on a subject phil ochs satirized in his "love me im a liberal." i love your singing and guitar playing. you sound the way the folksingers i grew up on sounded. and you possess a similar mental clarity.

@jinx 2w

Omg I love you Phil ❤️ This song is the catharsis I needed so bad. I literally both laughed and cried while listening to this, because it speaks the feelings of my heart.

(Just earlier today I was reading the wonderful classic book "Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution" by Kropotkin, and then this fantastic song comes along. Serendipity.)

@mikedebenham 2w

Amen. I reckon Woody would agree (after a big long sigh).

@abudabard12514 2w

I haven't listened because I'm backstage on a gig right now but I'm reading the lyrics and I'm fired up. Hell yeah comrade. Super profundo. Excellent work

@becca 2w

Honestly… The lyrics confuse me, but I’ve always known you to be such a deeply loving man, and I love your chords and Melody and voice.

@cmharwood89 2w

Holy cow - this is my new favorite of FAWM so far. You've literally brought tears to my eyes... It's this sublime angry/relaxed/soothing/grieving/cathartic bit of poetry with the *perfect* sparing guitar and haunting vocal delivery. You've made an overtly political song that avoids the bombast of so many protest pieces. It comes across as this quietly-resolved self dialog, and I'm positively moved. Can't pick a favorite line; too many.

@jeffdesantis 2w

Love it. Soulful and articulate. And I agree.

@oddbod 2w

Amen to that. Can’t help but listen

@rshakesp 2w

Really nice musical write - soulfully played and sung with lots of breathing space that pushes you into the words. Great chord choices in the ending which was the cherry on this cake for me.

@scottmcb 2w

You've perfectly articulated the sort of despair running through a lot of folks minds. Makes me wish we had an ACTUAL liberal party in the U.S.

@miltz 2w

Hell yes.

@nigelthomas 2w

Great work, you had my attention the entire way through.

@lcad 2w

Oof, this does not pull punches. Great rhymes on this, beautifully put together, venomous, and sharp. Excellent work and great vocals to boot!

@laurenoxford 2w

it's wild to see something i have been so viscerally feeling expressed so succinctly, eloquently, and with a barely-restrained heartbroken quality that is utterly devastating.

so many clever rhymes here, including the internal ones. you really have to hear it sung, not just read the lyrics, to *get* everything, and i love that.

what a song. well done, and thank you, comrade. solidarity forever 🖤❤️

@nkrefting 2w

It doesn't come out like snark, it comes out like grief. Beautiful stuff, beautifully delivered.

@chrisshepard 2w

Dig it! I like the change on "liberals". The emerald mine line was a nice touch and your voice sound raw and emotional. It's good to have a totally Acoustic Song for these times, as the electricity is probably going to be cut off.

@danieldeshon 2w

“Love thy neighbor shouldn’t be hard to explain” absolutely killed. Fantastic songwriting and performance. Simple excellent.

@axl 2w

This must be the most tender, fragile and vulnerable political battle song I've ever listened to. 😀 It feels good to hear many of my own views stated so clearly by someone else. Left vs. Right these days seems to me more and more like one big psychological operation to obscure the obvious fact that the real struggle is Up versus Down. I say that as an old-school lefty who has been accused of holding "right-wing views" or being "rechtsoffen" more than once especially in the last few years. Anyway, I'll stop ranting. Unfortunately, there is no raised fist emoji.

@ductapeguyMod 2w

I took this as more of a call to action than a condemnation. The hook phrase is certainly provocative but that's what folk music is for.

@scarlettcompton 2w

Damn. You really went there, and I'm so damn proud to hear every word of it. Your voice is beautiful. Can't believe these lines you've got, some are plucked from my stream of conscious I swear! I cannot wait to share your song with my partner, this is something we will both enjoy listening to more than once. "The World is burning and there's ICE at the door" ...ooof. Great line. Thanks so much for this song. I am an instant fan @philnorman