“WE’RE AN ANTI-FASCIST BAND, announces Boff to the Budapest crowd, “and this is an anti-fascist song.”
It’s the a cappella section of the Chumbawamba show – a moment no small number of Hungarians use to head to the bar – and the other band members exit the stage, leaving Boff, Watts and Abbott alone to sing “The Day the Nazi Died.” It is a song they wrote as a reaction to pro-fascist rallies after the death of Rudolf Hess.”‘ — Rolling Stone, interview Feb. 1998 – https://www.rollingstone.com/t/chumbawamba/
[Lyrics]
“The Day The Nazi Died”
We’re told that after the war
The Nazis vanished without a trace
But battalions of fascists
Still dream of a master race
The history books they tell
Of their defeat in ’45
But they all came out of the woodwork
On the day the Nazi died
They say the prisoner at Spandau
Was a symbol of defeat
Whilst Hess remained imprisoned
And the fascists; they were beat
So the promise of an Aryan world
Would never materialize
So why did they all come out of the woodwork
On the day the Nazi died
The world is riddled with maggots
The maggots are getting fat
They’re making a tasty meal of all
The bosses and bureaucrats
They’re taking over the boardrooms
And they’re fat and full of pride
And they all came out of the woodwork
On the day the Nazi died
So if you meet with these historians
I’ll tell you what to say
Tell them that the Nazis
Never really went away
They’re out there burning houses down
And peddling racist lies
And we’ll never rest again…
Until every Nazi dies…
[Bio]
Chumbawamba was (1982-2012) a British (A)lternative music band that had, over a career spanning three decades, played anarcho-punk, pop-influenced music, world music, and folk music. The band’s anarchist politics exhibit an irreverent attitude toward authority. The band has been forthright in its stances on issues including animal rights, pacifism (early in their career), and later regarding class struggle, feminism, gay liberation, pop culture, and anti-fascism.
[Articles]
– The Anarcho-Punk History of Chumbawamba, By Joseph Gentile [Bandcamp] · April 07, 2022 – https://daily.bandcamp.com/features/chumbawamba-interview
[Links]