Red Union

(2003) Rebel Anthems
01. Student radio
02. Land of the living dead
03. Rebel anthems
04. Drink up
05. I hate girls like you
06. The partisan
07. Society
08. Juvenile army
09. Stout-black eyes
10. Ultimate stupidity
11. Night hides me well
12. Gott mit uns
13. Somebody stole my life



01. Student radio

We're making patterns
we're making look-a-likes
and we spread 'em over the airwaves
We'll tell you how to be "an urban modern type"
and even church is rocking these days
We have a copyright over everything
we own the trademark of revolution
with our pointless DJs, so called "alternative ways"
we offer a cheap solution

Chorus:
Turn off the student radio
give us new kind of entertainment
fake artists took over the media
locked up the music in the basement
And every now and then
I turn it on again
just to hear that nothing's changing
Now student radio
takes over ratio
public broadcast
is re-arranging

chorus...

Student radio FM stereo
Boring sounds for futile youth
Student radio FM stereo
taste the world's last year's fruit.

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The period known as "last 10 or so" years was notorious for its deviated cultural presentation and "no culture" culture. Milosevic's regime did their best to keep people interested in semi-cultural products and instant kitsch arts. After the guy stepped down, we have a whole new approach to culture and ways of distributing it to the people. But the thing is that new way is also very wrong! Instead of populist "arts" of so-called "turbo-folk", now we have culture departments busy with trying to stuff the empty heads of the nation with elitist music and other art. This song was our way of saying "there must be a third option, to be forced to chose between populist trash and non-understandable art for art's sake is not helping.". Other alarming fact is the trend of religious infiltration in popular music. In the last few years church put out a several projects with a mission to take over the popular (and even more disturbing, rock and "alternative") music and pollute it with its ideology of religious and national intolerance.



02. Land of the living dead

This is the land of the living dead
Can't you see nobody's alive
This is the land with an empty head
soaked in blood, fire and lie
I saw a soldier, he gave me advise
Don't look back, burn bridges behind
There's no time to think it twice
They are not of the human kind

Chorus:
Get your guns out - shoot for the head
This is the land of the living dead
Get your guns out - they're all mad
This is the land of the living dead
They try to get me, try to bite me
try to make me one of them
And I don't know if I can keep on fighting
I don't like this gun in my hand
Raise your head above barbed wire
I think this time we cannot win
Avoid the crowd and open fire
We'll try to run but the chances are thin

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Ever seen some Romero's zombie flick? I find those very scary. Re-animated corpses blindly roam around in search of the human flesh. It's not those film-like zombies that are a present threat. What about ordinary, real life people dumbed down to a level where they do the similar pointless routine, and trying to drag everyone down with them. Sometimes it seems that the most efficient thing to do is just to forget this sad place and to try to run away as far as you can. Is there a better place at all? Remember, one is not insane just because he's a minority of one.



03. Rebel anthems

Gloomy mornings, sun didn't show up
I need extra strength to get out of bed
cold water -the boiler's broken
snow and buses -oh, god I wish I was dead
Then again I get that feeling
that any moment I'll burst in flames
power chords leaping from the speakers
Are hitting bystanders in the face

Chorus:
With a head full of rebel anthems
with the pockets full of dusty air
I'm running thru the thick jungle of problems
to get away from pity and despair
Gloomy mornings -it's endless struggle
and it doesn't seem that I'm gonna win
every new day brings me new trouble
behind the corner to punch me in the chin

Chorus

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I asked myself so many times: Would I be the same person without the music that I listen to? Would I ever make it thru the hardest times without my records? I came to the conclusion that I owe a lot to music. And sometimes it seems that the damn thing owes a lot back to me ! I lose all suitable words when it comes to describing what it means to me when I hear Joe screaming "We come from a garageland!" or Jake Burns singing about senseless hatred (you can see so vividly all the sights from the song). Not to mention the music itself. Snare drum shoots right thru the heart, bass makes your guts swing and guitars finish what's left. A tribute to all the rebels of rock'n'roll!



04. Drink up

I won't sing the refrain full of sorrow and pain
though the trouble is all around
instead I'll recall time we stood by the wall
when laughter was our only sound
So drink up one more for the road
for our hearts of lead-gold
drink up just for drink's sake
for our smiles never fake
nothing's same, different place
cause we fell from the grace
deep in the suburbs of hell
but you've stayed by my side
helped me swim thru the tide
and it seems like we never fell
so drink up...
For defeated in life drink up
your way thru the night
there's more options to chose
and I really don't care if we lose
tomorrow comes fast
lessons learned from the past
advise us to stand strong as one
and it's you who I'll call
cause together we're wall
we won't stop until our job is done

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Friendship. Eternal value. I heard so many songs about dead friendships and similar disappointments. I felt the urge to write down a little something about my feelings for my closest friends. I love them! There for each other when the glasses are filled and the music is loud but also when there's nothing to pour in the glass and cheer is nowhere to be found. It's not just an ode to my gang or anything like it, we don't go around looking for trouble. It's more of a question whether there will be anyone to give you some dough to pay the bills and leave everything he/she does and come to help you...



05. I hate girls like you

Nothing ever puts her mind in a go
What to wear is the biggest problem of all
Where to go, what place is cool
what will say all the kids in school
Is she the most wanted girl of all...
TV's boring, so she must buy some friends
Someone cool and funny and well aware of trends
one pretty face for the party crowd
who's got a car and won't think out loud
who'll never try to take her place on throne

Chorus:
But she doesn't care
She doesn't wanna know about the world
But that is quite OK
Cause she is normal modern girl
There's a war going on, people die and get hurt
but everything is neat in her fashion world
Designer label and branded stuff
it's all that matters, she can't get enough
And chart-hit soundtrack to her empty life
But I tried to tell her
About books and films and record sleeves
I tried to explain her
the strikes and riots and politics
About Strummer and Jones
Orwell, Ramones
but it seems I'm boring her to the bones!

Chorus

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This may sound like a punk kid asking himself why won't some girl look at him? Is it because he doesn't have a car? Is it because of his clothes? No! This is more of an honest and straight insight in the mind and ideals of a modern girl (it applies on boys as well). What happens to someone to make her believe that cosmetics catalogue comes before any other book? What raises the level of self-worshiping without the urge of actually building-up yourself as a person. I can only regretfully observe the process of dumbing down. Should she be just a good looking show? Can you find time for both: Being every man's fantasy and discuss books and arts and politics? After all, we all drool as they walk by...



06. The partisan

When they poured across the border
I was cautioned to surrender,
this I could not do;
I took my gun and vanished.

I have changed my name so often,
I've lost my wife and children
but I have many friends,
and some of them are with me.

An old woman gave us shelter,
kept us hidden in the garret,
then the soldiers came;
she died without a whisper.

There were three of us this morning
I'm the only one this evening
but I must go on;
the frontiers are my prison.

Chorus:

Oh, the wind, the wind is blowing,
through the graves the wind is blowing,
freedom soon will come;
then we'll come from the shadows.



07. Society

Can you remember the first time you saw us
can you remember the day?
We're everywhere except in your mirror
we never go away
Can you remember where are you going
we're gonna show you the way
you can blame us for all your failures
until your dying day

Chorus:
Hello boy, we 're the society
a bunch of people hangin' around
we're concerned for order and morality
make sure you stay underground
We're bunch of rules and regulations
designed to keep you down
we are the armies, we are the nations
swim with our stream or drown

Chorus

We're the doctors we're the school
we're the managers and cops
we are writers, we are fools
we are devils, we are gods
We're the safety inspectors
we are building engineers
we are commies we are nazis
but we all have our careers
Society!

Chorus

Now you know what's a society
all runners in the same track
double standards double morality
and a knife in the back

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"Yes! I killed all these people, and set the school on fire with kids inside...but...hmmm, society is to blame!" Is that a valid excuse? No, but it is very true that living among other people in today's conditions can really drive someone mad! Why do we, as people often fail to do right when it's do or die? Often hiding behind vocation. Why do we suffocate other's creativity. What is so amusing in minding someone's else's business? What are all the pros and cons of living in a "well designed, orderly community of people" called modern society?



08. Juvenile army

Maybe you never wanted to be a king
or some executive as well
maybe you've dreamed about some ordinary thing
when blue paper sent you to hell
Maybe you thought about finishing school
Getting a job and some nice car
But olive uniform blew it away
and normal life seems so far

Chorus:
Army of kids saves the nation
marching to glory and disintegration
father will get a national flag
wheelchair brigade with the names on the tag
After so many humiliations
after so many coffins of steel
After the landmine and dum dum bullets
You're not a man but big gun's meal
The righteous fight is now long gone
no one remembers that epical war
invented medals and patriotism
for crippled army silent and poor

Chorus

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Someone noticed that every generation gets a chance to taste a bit of war. The feeling I got from reading E.M. Remarque's novels and later looking at exactly the same situations around me is one of the saddest moods you can get yourself in. When state calls for its youngsters to drop the books, toys and girls and pick up a gun and march to death. Veterans, crippled and ruined people. Find some meaning in life after you lose your limbs. Is a piece of brass on someone's chest a substitute for a normal life? Why were they forced to swap their little dreams for a short-lived illusions of mad generals and bastards in high places...I think sound of the trumpet (played by Atila, a good mate of ours) in this song can give you some kind of a picture of a ruined man coming home from war.



09. Stout-black eyes

Now I can't remember much
I really can't recall
I know I was half drunk in the bar
When crossed my path with hers
I can't recall her name
Can't tell her good from bad
Hangover took all the fun away
As I slept thru the whole next day
But one thing left carved in my mind
her beautiful voice and stout-black eyes

Chorus:
I'm looking for stout-black eyes
All over this damn barroom
I am looking for what I won't find
In the depths of another pint
City night is sober and cold
I'll be dragging myself towards home
But until this darkness dies
I'll be in search of the stout-black eyes

Chorus...

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Is this our love song? Can't we do any better? I like to think of it as of a story about what's it like when you are really wasted and you meet someone really beautiful. You wanna talk something appealing and try to sound cool. Was she pretty wasted too? Now, when you think about it: was she really that nice at all? How come I never see her again? I'm sure I was a real cool cat that night...Maybe it's better off this way. I just can't really tell what exactly happened.



10. Ultimate stupidity

How come you never think about important things
Never question what you're told
How can you let someone else pull your strings
I get the impression that you were born old
There is no miracle TV cure or any wonder pill
gray matter gone to hell and you remain forever ill

Chorus:
Ultimate stupidity - disease of the 21st century
Malice and hypocrisy - values of society
But the saddest thing of all
is that you're the one in control
Telling me to stand in line
Not to talk and keep things fine
For once I'll try to have my say
your set of rules I won't obey
you can beat me or take my pay
But from now on I'll go my own way
No more I'll try to change the likes of you
Fix my eyes on the horizon, I'll be leaving soon
Deadly virus of your apathy tragic lack of brain activity
being next to you is killing me

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Is it just me, or the whole human race rapidly got stupider (No, it's just you who got stupider, hahaha!)? Can anyone explain this global phenomenon of people being interested in nothing at all? Those moments when you realize that you have nothing to talk about with a great majority of people you meet. What would be a most rewarding thing to do? Trying to change things or just keep on searching for a kindred soul, becoming like the rest is not an option. How many times you got the feeling that all the stupid people are carefully placed on all important positions?



11. Night hides me well

With all the damp in the city night
I greet all stray cats and rats
Stomp the asphalt and slip in sideway
nobody noticed me again

Chorus:
Oh yeah!
Night hides me well
streetlight's always broken
above the place I stand
Night hides me well
I disappear in back streets
and no one can see me there
I've walked this road for thousand times
no need to look or watch my step
the rain passed away and swept all the trash
always feel like bum with home and petty cash
Drivers from hell have one more go
Buses make the time pass slow
I read my city like an open book
Some things are changing
only if you don't look

Chorus

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What do you do with 25 cents in your pockets? A young person must find some way to amuse himself. Spending the night on the street with you friends is not really a coolest thing you can do. Just look at all the other kids sitting in fancy places...hmmm! I'm not really sure where this song stops being a complain and becomes an ode to a way of life. When you are finally able to join those people in their fancy clubs, you suddenly don't want to! To sum it up: street is a very strange place. In a dark backstreet you can get stabbed but then again, you can meet some really fine and honest people. Tough situations build lasting friendships.



12. Gott mit uns

no text



13. Somebody stole my life

When did it happen -I don't know
Maybe it started long time ago
I haven't noticed till today
that somebody stole
stole my life away

Chorus:
Somebody stole,
Somebody stole my life away
I don't have memories -I live for today
Somebody stole, Somebody stole my life away
I won't see the future -I'm stuck in this day
I'm moving in circles
staring at the sun
and I do a lot of nothing
everything's been already done

Chorus...
Hey fellow man, don't give up the strife
Try to act human and take back your life
constant apathy is ruling my day
I never do anything my way

Chorus

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I think we'll never get enough of this subject. Living a life should be something every normal human being is capable of. But, what can you do when when depression sneaks in? I think you have all the important answers in this song. I can only tell you how happy I was when we made this one. It was the second song we ever made. Back then, I thought it's impossible to top this one, ever...it's always a crowd pleaser at gigs (along with the covers).