Back at the end of the last century my first band, Academy Morticians, released their classic "Shallow Permanence" album to little acclaim. On that album was a song I wrote called "Profitganda", about the propaganda we get to go to war and kill innocent people so that those in charge can profit.
I love that song, and still play it. It's referenced in "With Burning Anger", in fact. It was the first legitimately good song I wrote and Simon, my Academy Morticians co-conspirator and I even played it on my wedding day.
The other day, as I was playing it after a long day of remote teaching, I began to realise that, although a completely different problem - government handling of COVID-19 - the profits over people mentality and supporting propaganda continued to play a role here. The first lockdown ended prematurely so the economy could be kick-started; the poor less able to self-isolate or stay at home to keep themselves and their families safe. Those who are the lowest paid in our society are those less likely to be able to work from home, and so, forced to earn a living, they put themselves - and everyone else - in danger because they simply couldn't afford to stay safe. All of which could have been avoided if the government had prioritised safety for all instead of safety for some, and protecting all citizens instead of protecting the economy. A universal basic income, for example, would have taken the worry out of people unable to work or self isolate and enabled us all to stay home, protect the NHS and save lives.
So I started re-working Profitganda for the coronavirus era. Some of the lyrics came to me in the middle of the night as I lay awake with insomnia. The rest came the next day, when it turned out Academy Morticians' drummer, Steve, had sent me a message also linking Profitganda to the handling of COVID.
So here is a new variant of a song I wrote when I was fifteen, updated nearly a quarter of a century later, following my own battle with COVID-19 over Christmas (I still don't have my full sense of taste and smell back!) For fans of Academy Morticians and Strangely Shaped By Fathers alike (and for all haters of government - "the bastards who won't stop it"). Enjoy!