First Published: The Voice of the Youth, newspaper of the Communist Youth Union of Canada (Marxist-Leninist), Vol. 1, No. 1, June 1979
Transcription, Editing and Markup: Paul Saba
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On December 31st, in a meeting hall,
With a portrait of Stalin proudly hung on the wall,
The Party of the Canadian proletariat,
With militant revolutionary spirit,
Held a joyous celebration to usher in
The bright new year of J.V. Stalin.
And there, with their parents, were the young pioneers,
Already, in spite of their tender years,
Following in the footsteps of beloved Stalin,
Who, at age fifteen, determined to win,
Embraced as his own the proletariat’s mission,
And set out on the road of socialist revolution.
So the young pioneers, for this happy event,
Created a play, which they then did present
To the comrades and friends who were there that day,
And the action unfolded in just this way:
The comrade in charge of the youth did say,
“What is the way forward for us today?
The plan of the rich and their state provides
No way out for the youth, attacks us on all sides.
With their prisons, police, their curfews and courts,
With their drugs and degenerate culture of all sorts,
They seek to convert us into their tool,
To help them preserve their barbaric rule.
One day they attack us, with no jobs to be had,
(Half a million youth with no jobs – and all boiling mad!)
The next day their faces are all sweet, sweet smiles,
’Join the army, learn a trade!’ they say, full of wiles,
’There’s no life like it!’ – and they fling open the door
To reveal dark scenes of fascism and war!”
The young pioneers spoke out bravely,
“A tool of the rich we never will be!”
And so they decided to demonstrate
’Gainst the fascist attacks of the rich and their state.
They made banners, and placards, and signs to say,
Down with Fascism! Make the Rich Pay!
They wrote leaflets, their families and friends to invite
To join the militant youth in their fight.
And when all the families and friends were there,
The Party comrade did declare,
“We cherish the youth, a precious treasure,
In them we see our hope for the future.
The proletariat will never permit
The rich to crush the youth’s fighting spirit;
The proletariat will never abandon
The youth to be fodder for the bourgeois’ cannon.
So arise, oh youth, take Stalin as your model,
And set your course by his brilliant example.”
These words so moved each young pioneer
That they all at once gave a mighty cheer,
And began to march – ’twas the comrade who led,
And the Party’s banner flew high, high overhead.
They marched around and ’round the hall,
Denouncing the rich and their state and all
The sinister plans the rich have in store
To embroil the youth in fascism and war.
And right in front, for all to see,
Was Stalin’s portrait, proud as can be.
They marched and marched, ’til they came to a stop,
Right in front of the bourgeois parliament talk-shop.
Trudeau was there (he was a puppet, of course!)
And he was about to begin his New Year’s discourse.
“It’s been a very prosperous year!” he said,
“With reasonable prices for meat and bread.”
There arose from the young pioneers a great outcry
Against this most monstrous Trudeau-type lie.
Just then there appeared in all the windows and doors
Politicians aplenty, by the dozens and scores:
Chretien and Clark, Levesque, Broadbent
– All waving their arms while giving vent
To sounds of support for the status quo.
(As puppets are inclined to do, you know!)
The young pioneers all hissed and booed,
And the comrade spoke out, expressing their mood,
“Youth, behold the government’s bankruptcy,
See the fraud of bourgeois democracy!
They may say some different things, and fight amongst each other,
But when it comes to the people’s demands, they’re all lined up together;
For if you look closely into the shadows remote,
You’ll see the black hat and the long-tailed coat
Of the moneybags-master whose hand guides their show.”
The youth went to look, and there it was, the infamous tuxedo!
Suddenly, the politicians did all disappear,
And on came the police, equipped with riot gear.
Their spokesman (who was a cowardly puppet too)
Said, “We’re here to keep order and protect all of you.”
But the young pioneers could see plain as day
That the sticks the police held were pointed their way.
“The rich are afraid of the youth,” the comrade said,
“A great revolt is seething – and it fills them with dread;
They resort to fascist terror as the final recourse
To stop the youth from becoming a mighty revolutionary force.
So we say, Down with the attacks of the fascist police!
And our answer to these attacks will be to increase
Our efforts to Make the Rich Pay! still more,
And defeat their plan for fascism and war!”
With this, the young pioneers ended their play,
And there’s only one thing more we would like to say;
It was said long ago, by Comrade Stalin,
On the eve of a New Year that he ushered in:
“There’s the dawn. Soon the sun will rise.
The time will come when this sun will shine for us.”
(J.V. Stalin, New Year’s Eve 1902)