Union Songs

Them Dirty Robbin' Banks

A song by Peter Hicks and Geoff Francis©1995 Peter Hicks and Geoff Francis

- [play]

There's some who'll make you happy and there's some who'll make you sad.
There's some who work to make this world into a better place,
And some who'll rob you naked while they laugh right in your face.

Now you've heard of Robin Hood and you'll have heard of Jesse James,
Ned Kelly was another who was pretty much the same.
They took some from the rich and then they gave some to the poor -
I've heard folk tell the story that was what they hanged Ned for.

But there's a different breed of villain in the world today,
And if you know what's good for you, you'll not get in their way.
They'll rip the shirt right off your back and never give you thanks -
So make sure you don't mess none with … them goddam robber banks.

They'll belt you worse than Rocky just for walking through their door,
That's how they get to be so rich, by taking from the poor.
They'll mug you at the AutoBank and slug you on the phone,
They're drivin' old folks from their farms and young folks from their homes.

They'll suck out of every drop of blood then sneak off out of town,
And profit more from selling off the branch they've just closed down.
It isn't just their customers and patrons that they rob -
For thirty years of service you'll be left without a job.

Them politicians all agree, "It's a scandal and a shame!"
But none of them do nothing, 'cos they're every one the same.
There's none will give them robber banks the treatment they deserve -
We're just the ones who vote them in - but who d'you think they serve?

Yes, every generation has its good folks and its bad -
There's some who'll make you happy and there's some who'll make you sad.
But worse than any low-life skunk that ever crawled and stank,
Are the money-grabbing maggots of …. them goddam robber banks!

Notes

Many thanks to Peter Hicks and Geoff Francis for permission to add this song to the Union Songs collection.

Find more works by Peter and Geoff in this collection.

Visit the Peter Hicks and Radical Song Book website at http://home.austarnet.com.au/glazfolk/

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