Chumbawamba: The birmingham six

Birmingham, 1974, there occurred a bloody murderTwenty-one people killed by bombs, Britain reeled in horrorWithin three hours the British State found the first available scapegoats--Five Irish men bound for Belfast, about to board the boatAnd this is their story, very sad, but trueOf how six men were falsely imprisoned for something they didn't doAnd if any should say, "British justice is the very best in the world"Tell them, "Well of course it is, for the vested interests it serves"The men were taken to Morkham to be tested for explosivesTests which have since proved ambiguous but were at the time held as conclusiveOne scientists' word was sufficient to condemn the Irish menLike vultures the police moved in to begin interrogationsIn the circumstances how well do you think the men's rights were observed?The cops thought they had the bombers; do you think they kept their judgement reserved?Does 'innocent till proven guilty' have any meaning at allWhen you're alone in a police house surrounded by cops being kicked around like a ballIn a dark windowless room half a dozen detectives were waitingBilly Power was thrown in, the serious questions about to beginHe was kicked and hit and punched from all sides, spread-eagled against the wallThey kicked him and hit him again, a voice from the dark said, "Stretch his balls"Soon after, poor Billy surrendered, screamed, "I'll tell you anything you want me to say"Sat in his own excretia, he could hardly speak he remained in a dazeWhilst cops compiled his statement of how he planted the bombsThey threatened him with the treatment again so Billy signed a confessionThursday night became Friday night, the five men were took back to BirminghamThe threats and the violence continued--a taste of what was to comeDeprived of food and sleep, all part of procedure to break the menJohnny Walker blacked out twice; they untied his hands while he signed his confessionAnd Richard McIlkenny was threatened with a gunThe cop said it was OK to shoot him, that the home officer'd given permissionThe cop asked him if he was going to sign, put the gun against his headPlaying Russian roulette with a blank; when he banged McIlkenny thought he was deadHugh Callaghan, a sixth man, was picked up in Berm and torturedHe, too, hadn't done it but they made him sign a confession to mass murderSix men kept in isolation no contact with each otherAnd it weren't until Monday morning that they each got a duty solicitorStill separate each unbuttoned his shirt to show how he'd been beaten upThe solicitors, filling in legal aid forms, said there wasn't time and refused to lookThe only obvious injury, Johnny Walker's black eye in court that dayWhen he tried to unbotton his shirt all the majistrates said, "Let's take him away"Leland workers staged a walkout, their banners read "Hang the IRA"The labor government empowered at the time rushed through the PTAIn their war on the Irish people the British wanted vengeanceDespite glaring omissions in the so-called confessions the six men hadn't a chanceThe judge dismissed their claims, said it would've meant there'd been a conspiracyBetween fifteen officers from two different forces, as if it was an impossibilityThe police in fact became heroes, got their promotion and victory medalsThe six men got life imprisonment and fifteen years on they're still in jailThe men protested their innocence but it fell mainly on deaf earsThey wanted to bring the policemen to trial, the appeal took seven yearsLord Denning dismissed their case out of hand, saying "These actions cannot go on"What he really meant was the State machine could never admit it's done wrongAnother six years, another appeal, another set of judiciaryTo uphold the original convictions as safe and satisfactoryFor if it ever gets out that the State judges wrong, well what would people say?We'd say, "We know who are real enemies are now", and we'd form our own IRAOh let me tell a story, very sad, but trueOf how six men were falsely imprisoned for something they didn't doAnd if any should say, "British justice is the very best in the world"Tell them, "Well of course it is, for the vested interests it serves"For as long as we remain ignorant they'll fight their war against IrelandFor as long as we remain silent they'll imprison any they wantFor as long as we keep our eyes shut they'll continue to contain usFor as long as we remain passive they'll trample us into the dustHugh Callaghan, Patrick Hill, Richard McIlkenny, Johnny Walker, Gerry Hunter, and Billy PowerStill fighting for their freedom fifteen long years onTheir spirits shall remain when our State is deadWhen our State is deadWhen our State is dead and gone