Don't Let It Happen Here
By Charles Mingus
One day they came and they took the communists,
And I said nothing because I was not a communist.
Then one day they came and they took the people of the Jewish faith,
And I said nothing because I had no faith left.
One day they came and they took the unionists,
And I said nothing because I was not a unionist.
One day they burned down the Catholic churches.
And I said nothing because I was born a Protestant.
Then one day they came and they took me.
And I could say nothing because I was guilty as they were,
For not speaking out and saying that all men have a right to freedom.
---
I discovered this a while back when I gave my sisters play-list a spin. I was floored by the power of this poem in its simplicity. The song that accompanies the poem is wonderful as well. For someone raised on freedom and diversity it was refreshing to discover this, literally by accident. If you've heard it you will know exactly what I'm talking about. If you haven't, give it a spin.
By Charles Mingus
One day they came and they took the communists,
And I said nothing because I was not a communist.
Then one day they came and they took the people of the Jewish faith,
And I said nothing because I had no faith left.
One day they came and they took the unionists,
And I said nothing because I was not a unionist.
One day they burned down the Catholic churches.
And I said nothing because I was born a Protestant.
Then one day they came and they took me.
And I could say nothing because I was guilty as they were,
For not speaking out and saying that all men have a right to freedom.
---
I discovered this a while back when I gave my sisters play-list a spin. I was floored by the power of this poem in its simplicity. The song that accompanies the poem is wonderful as well. For someone raised on freedom and diversity it was refreshing to discover this, literally by accident. If you've heard it you will know exactly what I'm talking about. If you haven't, give it a spin.
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