4th September 2006

A Cheltenham Green party member sent us this protest song by SongBird Cooper and Joe Lannon who are inviting people to write more verses.

Not In My Back Yard

(Revolting NIMBY)

 
Oh I love to fly to Cyprus
I love to fly to Rome
I don't object to flying
Unless it’s near my home
Gatwick is a triumph
Heathrow is a dream
Keep pollutin’ down in Luton
As long as my back yard’s clean
 
Chorus
Not in my back yard boys
Not in my back yard
You can stick your airport anywhere else
But not in my back yard
 
I’m all for building ring roads
More concrete, slap it on!
You can keep your eco warriors
their hair styles look all wrong
it's us holding up the system
We pay our tax when due
But plan your road near our abode
my gawd, we’ll swing for you!
 
Chorus
Not in my back yard, boys
Not in my back yard
You can stick your ring road anywhere else
But not in my back yard!
 
I love my four by four, guys
Our garage hosts three cars
We have no truck with politics
Until  it’s  in our back yard
Ten thousand miles we clocked up
and that was just last week
But if the air gets poor
Near our back door
We'll stand on a box and preach
 
Chorus
Not in my back yard , boys
Not in my back yard
Pollute the air
And I won’t care
But not in my back yard
 
All together now:
Not in my back yard, boys
Not in my back yard
Go stick your airport anywhere else
But not in my back yard!
 

SongBird Cooper 2006

Comment: Feel free to add a verse, incinerators, nuke power stations verse and so on. Email: <press@greenparty.org.uk>. It's a very singalong basic so would suit a punky rollicking rant style. Some have been heard singing it to a combination of 'My old man's a dustman' and 'Knees Up Mother Brown!'  The thing about activist songs is that where it's a quarrel between the message and the art/skill, the message has to win. It's more akin to the advertising genre than 'art'..... Hear it at:
http://www.soulsoothingmusic.co.uk/mp3/notinmybackyard.mp3