War Is a Racket (Smedley Butler’s Song)
Donald A. Smith, PhD / Progressive Memes
Using lyrics based on the actual words of Major General Smedley Butler and using the Suno.com program for the music, I created this Broadway-style song about war being a racket. To hear the “Broadway version” of Gen. Butler’s words, click on this link.
Butler Speaks to the Veterans Bonus Army, 1932
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War Is a Racket. It Always Has Been
To hear the “Broadway version” of Butler’s words,
click on this link.
War is a racket. It always has been. A few profit — and the many pay but there is a way to stop it.
You can’t end it by disarmament conferences. You can’t eliminate it by peace parleys at Geneva. Well-meaning but impractical groups can’t wipe it out by resolutions. It can be smashed effectively only by taking the profit out of war.
[Chorus] War is a racket. It always has been. A few profit — and the many pay. We must take the profit out of war.
I served in all commissioned ranks from a second Lieutenant to a Major General. And during that time, I spent most of my time being a high-class muscle man for Big Business, for Wall Street, and for the bankers. In short, I was a racketeer for capitalism.
War is just a racket. A racket is best described, I believe, as something that is not what it seems to the majority of people. Only a small inside group knows what it is about. It is conducted for the benefit of the very few at the expense of the masses.
I believe in adequate defense at the coastline and nothing else. If a nation comes over here to fight, then we’ll fight. The trouble with America is that when the dollar only earns 6 percent over here, then it gets restless and goes overseas to get 100 percent. Then the flag follows the dollar and the soldiers follow the flag.
I wouldn’t go to war again as I have done to protect some lousy investment of the bankers.
[Chorus] War is a racket. It always has been. A few profit — and the many pay. We must take the profit out of war.
A Few Other Recent Songs:
We are Spending Two Trillion Dollars on Weapons That Must Never Be Used
We Can’t Compete with China, So Let’s Provoke a War
Thomas Merton’s Prayer for Peace
The Unholy Land Has Genocide
The-Endless War Blues
