DOWN WITH THE FIST AND ROSE!

Now if you try to sing this song - sing like, 'O Susanna'
Or by some other melody (if you really wannah).
This evening I woke up and scribbled this here 'dittle
And jotted down this warning: Beware of Melvin Little.

"Down With the Fist and Rose"
Copyright (c) 2004 Melvin's Nemesis

One day that Melvin Little wrote this to the list:
"It's time we all roll up our sleeves and form the Rose and Fist:
A caucus about action, about unity, and more:
A faction to bring back that SPA of yore.
America needs a Party; not our petty quibble.
So set aside that manifesto, hear out Melvin Little:
Let's not fight each other; instead, let's fight our foes.
So, Comrades, won't you join me? Let's make the Fist and Rose!"
  Oh, that Melvin -- he's crafty with his prose.
  But don't you get taken in; down with the Fist and Rose!

Now the Socialists had decided to try to win by sitting still;
A tiny sect way off the Left, that was the Party's will.
Nobody knows why Melvin thought he was their kind
When sectarian attitudes were on ev'rybody's mind.
We're not Labour or the NDP or anything like that;
Our customary policy is to lie down and do squat.
When the leadership read of it, their blood boiled until it froze:
Who was this Melvin Little? And what's this Fist and Rose?
  Most comrades saw what was a-comin', plain as the face upon your nose:
  (And they said) Down with Melvin Little! Down with the Fist and Rose!

The caucuses and tendencies were preppin' for a battle:
Cadre leaders led the charge, herding their troops like cattle.
The Issues Tendency had turned into the "Norman Thomases"
All sides met in Convention, tired of broken promises.
"Debs" and "Grassroots" on the "Left"; "Norman Thomas" on the "Right"
All lined up and bickering, and looking for a fight.
Then came along some new tendency, led by Melvin Little;
They ignored internal backbiting and wound up in the middle.
  I knew what they were up to; I think ev'rybody knows.
  We're on to you, comrades; down with the Fist and Rose!

The Convention became chaos: they almost fell to blows.
But the fight got interrupted when one young man arose
(And he said) "I've been a Socialist ever since that I was Little.
Comrades we need a new broad Left; not one that's hard and brittle.
Let's get our act cleaned up and call each other friends;
Let's start talking politics, not which tendency one tends."
Thus, with clever words and trickery, he sought out to fulfill
A mission to transform our tiny sect against the Party's will.
  But we're college graduates, not ordinary joes;
  The working class has no place here; down with the Fist and Rose!

"Don't listen to your 'leaders' -- at least not to their lies
Or to those who do nothing but factionalize.
Constant infighting is not how a Party grows,
And so I invite you now: come join the Fist and Rose.
Let's turn to the real world; help those who are bereft
Instead of constant arguing 'bout who's further to the Left.
We have a choice, here; I offer the Rose and Fist
But if we do not choose well, we might cease to exist."
  Oh, that Melvin, silver-tongued down to his toes --
  Stop him while you've got the chance: down with the Fist and Rose.

"I hate to sound angry, but you know how I get pissed;
I hate to see inaction, so I suggest the Rose and Fist;
I hate to see justice denied; let's act before it's too late
I hate to see people filled with hunger; and people filled with hate.
Let's do something before the Inquisitors come and inquist:
Set aside personal argument, and join the Rose and Fist!
Let's smoke out Republicans from the caves they dwelve in -
And all this is just a start," promised little Melvin.
  And the Convention fell silent as Melvin came to a close.
  Comrades, don't you give in; down with the Fist and Rose!

The delegates were mesmerized; they bought his ev'ry word.
He'd tricked 'em into thinking, and they thought 'bout what they'd heard.
They looked just like sleepers who'd woken from a doze
All by conniving Melvin, and his little Fist and Rose.
And they thought real deeply, until they'd got the gist.
Then one by one they all cried out, "We're with the Rose and Fist!"
Traditions died that day; we abandoned cherished ways:
And sectarian isolation soon saw the last of its days.
  Oh, my Comrades -- have we sunk to such new lows?
  Don't let them destroy us: down with the Fist and Rose!

They started to run ev'rywhere; unlike George, they got elected.
Next they started righting wrongs; and many were corrected.
They called each other 'Brother' (or 'Sister' if that was right)
They sang the Red Flag ev'ry day, and almost ev'ry night.
And as for their hero, they immortalized Melvin --
And he became real famous, just like that guy Lord Kelvin.
As for the Party: now we can say that we will try;
Because instead of saying nothing, now we say, "We'll do or die!"
  The power of solidarity, I guess that's what it shows
  [poco a poco ritardando]
  So let me change my tune right here:

"Long live the Fist and Rose."

Melvin's Nemesis is rumoured to be a pseudonym of Michael C. Marino. Marino denies this charge and asserts that he maintains a web site devoted to covering the news of the tidal wave of anti-Melvin Little sentiment currently sweeping the nation, but takes no side on the matter -- having written numerous articles denouncing Melvin Little simply to "...summarize the news. Truthfully, I run a fair and balanced web site featuring articles both for and against Melvin Little, a few of which contain almost as many facts as rumours."