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Phil met a German couple in a remote Coromandel bay. That bay was their Gorlem, a mythical place the opposite of Germany's terrifying nuclear powderkeg at Gorleben in Saxony, right beside the Elbe River, where one more trainload of nuclear waste is still sent for storage each year, despite thousands of protestors. This song can also be modified for other contemporary causes. "I'm out supporting Greta/Gaza..."  Key
of C. Capo +5 frets
1. Gorlem
Gorlem is a mythical place where there is no threat of
nuclear radiation, perhaps insome New Zealand
wilderness, far, far from Gorleben. Nuclear power
stations were built in West Germany in the 1960s, and
in 1977 the Gorleben
salt dome was chosen as a nuclear waste dump
site, not for geological reasons, but political ones, as
it was the closest salt dome to East Germany. For more than 4 decades it has attracted huge protests from environmentalists, and in 2020 the mine was closed, after 70 geologists warned of the likelihood of radioactive leaks. But solid nuclear waste is still stored on the surface at Gorleben.  2. Ronald Regan  Regan
was an actor in cowboy movies before he entered politics,
becoming US President in Dec 1980 and accelerating efforts to
build a national missile defense system. "Regan's Star Wars"
efforts raised tensions with the Soviet Union, prompting
widespread public concern in 1982 about the possibility of war
between world’s two major nuclear superpowers.But his early opposition to US-Soviet arms control negotiations gradually gave way to engagement with Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev and helped usher in a new age in U.S.-Russian relations. 3. At Number 10 
The "Iron Lady" at Number 10 Downing Street was Margaret Thatcher, England's Prime Minister from 1979 to 1990. She worked closely with Ronald Regan to establish a regime of cheap oil, cheap money, and economic enclosure, a rose-tinted regime that came to a shuddering halt in 2009. of
Argentina in the South Atlantic, were taken over by that
country in April 1982, Thatcher started a war with
Argentina by sending an invasion fleet to retake it.
5. Don't Cry For Me Argentina This masterpiece from the Eva
Peron musical became the theme song of the British invasion
fleet. However the Split Enz number, "Six Months in Leaky Boat"
was banned in England when, by chance, it was released just as
the invasion fleet was sailing.
Discography 1984
Mike
Harding
-Time on the Road (LP) Cityfolk
1984 Acoustic Confusion - Hazy Days (LP) Real Groovy 1985
Chris Presley - Argentina to Invercargill (LP)
2005 Chris
Presley - Uncovered (CD) ?
Phil Powers CAN
ANYONE SUPPLY SOME BIO. DETAILS PLEASE?
Anti-nuclear protest songs in other countries New Zealand
French
Letter - French nuclear tests near Tahiti from 1968 to
1995 irradiated 10,000 Polynesians and killed many due to
cancer.
Send The Boats Away - French govt terrorists sank the Greenpeace Warrior protest ship in Auckland harbour in 1985. England
"God
rest ye merrie gentleman when ye are safe in bed
A merrie little H-bomb plane is cruising overhead To blow up all the Russians when the rest of us are dead Oh tidings of comfort and joy." United States All
Clear in Harrisburg after
the 3 Mile Island meltdown
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1.
Phil chooses a topic that is of significant
concern to MANY young adults, is a
spokesman for them, and presents some POSITIVE
action they can take.
2. He does not waste time telling us about his past meeting with the young German couple who were looking for meaning in a disintegrating materialistic world; he lets us DIRECTLY EXPERIENCE that meeting. 3. He weaves the Germans' words into a CATCHY REFRAIN with repetition that holds the song together. You come/Gorlem. You come/with me Hazy days/nuclear way (the original words were probably 'with nuclear waste') 4. Each refrain provides REPETITION with SIGNIFICANT VARIATION. 5. He uses only THREE EASY CHORDS so others can concentrate on the words when singing it, but he arranges them in a little-used way to produce a unique tune. 6.
The song moves at a BRISK SPEAKING PACE,
i t d o e s n o t d r a g o n i n t e r m i n a b l y with lots of loud frantic strumming between each phrase, while we sit and wait to find where the lyrics are going to, if anywhere. 7. The performance has CLEARLY-HEARD LINE-ENDINGS; Living fast, not livin' fars' - Where I stand, not stan' 8. The backing musicians stay in the background and fill the gaps beautifully. 9. It could be UPDATED easily "I'm going down for Gaza" |
This webpage was put onto folksong.org.nz website in May 2024