Hi Everyone
This is the final list of carols - two more than the previous list.
Hope you can make it tomorrow , at 6pm 23rd Dec , Trafalgar Square near the
Tree. Anyone who wants to join the
main singing group, please meet at the entrance to the crypt of St.
Martin's in the Fields (or inside if it's raining)
and we will have to find a quiet corner to rehearse at 5pm.
See you tomorrow
Abe


ALTERNATIVE CHRISTMAS CAROLS
DECEMBER 2002

1)
O COME ALL YE FAITHFUL

O come all ye faithful
Those who care for justice,
O Look ye, O look ye at Bethlehem.

Come and behold it,
Under occupation.
O come letıs not ignore it,
O come letıs not ignore it,
O come letıs not ignore it -
Tell the world.

Sing all ye people,
Sing in indignation,
Be with the citizens of Bethlehem.

Sing out for justice,
Freedom from oppression.
O come letıs not ignore it,
O come letıs not ignore it,
O come letıs not ignore it -
Tell the world.

O come all ye faithful
Those who care for justice,
O Look ye, O look ye at Bethlehem.

2)
O LITTLE TOWN OF BETHLEHEM

O little town of Bethlehem,
How still we see thee lie;
Above thy deep and restless sleep,
A missile glideth by.
And over dark streets soundeth the mortar's deadly roar,
While children weep in shallow sleep
For friends who are no more. +

O little town of Bethlehem,
How still we see thee lie!
A curfew's laid where children played,
Now only tanks roll by.
And in their homes sit starving
Thy people; and they say:
"One man from us blew up a bus;
Why must the whole town pay?"

How ruthlessly, how ruthlessly
The F16s bombard!
What God imparts to human hearts
This arrogance so hard?
They terrorise a people -
A war-crime and a sin;
However tall they build their wall,
Revenge can still get in.

O promised child of Bethlehem,
Tear down the iron cage,
The walls of hate that separate
And harden and enrage;
Bring justice and make equal,
Come down from far above;
And come to birth upon this earth,
As hope and peace and love.

***********************************
3)
ONCE IN ROYAL DAVID'S CITY

Once in royal David's city
Stood some big Israeli tanks;
Mothers giving birth to babies
Met with checkpoints and roadbanks.
Holy land was all defiled
As a bullet killed a child.

Jesus, were he born this Christmas,
Would not even have a shed;
For it would have been demolished
For a settler road instead;
Now the poor and meek and lowly
Homeless are in land called holy.

Davidıs people once instructed
All the world in righteousness;
Once they spoke of truth and justice
Now they ravage and oppress.
Nations, look at Bethlehem
And speak out the truth to them.

4)
IN THE BLEAK MIDWINTER

In the bleak midwinter,
Refugees made moan;
Sharon stood like iron,
Bush was like a stone.
Tanks were rolling, tank on tank,
Tank on tank,
Through the camps of Gaza
And the West Bank.

How can we stop him,
Ariel Sharon?
Silence of the nations
Lets him carry on.
Where is there a wise man
Who could do his part?
Tell the world to stop him
With its heart.


5)
THE TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS

On the first day of Christmas, Arik Sharon sent me
An uprooted olive tree.

On the second day of Christmas, Arik Sharon sent me
Two trampled doves
And an uprooted olive tree.

On the third day of Christmas, Arik Sharon sent me
Three trench guns,
Two trampled doves,
And an uprooted olive tree.

On the fourth day of Christmas, Arik Sharon sent me
Four falling bombs,
Three trench guns,
Two trampled doves,
And an uprooted olive tree.

On the fifth day of Christmas, Arik Sharon sent me
Five settlement rings.
Four falling bombs,
Three trench guns,
Two trampled doves,
And an uprooted olive tree.

On the sixth day of Christmas, Arik Sharon sent me
Six tanks a-rolling,
Five settlement rings.
Four falling bombs,
Three trench guns,
Two trampled doves,
And an uprooted olive tree.

On the seventh day of Christmas, Arik Sharon sent me
Seven checkpoints blocking,
Six tanks a-rolling,
Five settlement rings.
Four falling bombs,
Three trench guns,
Two trampled doves,
And an uprooted olive tree.

On the eighth day of Christmas, Arik Sharon sent me
Eight gunships firing,
Seven checkpoints blocking,
Six tanks a-rolling,
Five settlement rings.
Four falling bombs,
Three trench guns,
Two trampled doves,
And an uprooted olive tree.

On the ninth day of Christmas, Arik Sharon sent me
Nine smashed computers,
Eight gunships firing,
Seven checkpoints blocking,
Six tanks a-rolling,
Five settlement rings.
Four falling bombs,
Three trench guns,
Two trampled doves,
And an uprooted olive tree.

On the tenth day of Christmas, Arik Sharon sent me
Ten homes demolished,
Nine smashed computers,
Eight gunships firing,
Seven checkpoints blocking,
Six tanks a-rolling,
Five settlement rings.
Four falling bombs,
Three trench guns,
Two trampled doves,
And an uprooted olive tree.

On the eleventh day of Christmas, Arik Sharon sent me
Eleven starving people,
Ten homes demolished,
Nine smashed computers,
Eight gunships firing,
Seven checkpoints blocking,
Six tanks a-rolling,
Five settlement rings,
Four falling bombs,
Three trench guns,
Two trampled doves,
And an uprooted olive tree.

On the twelfth day of Christmas, Arik Sharon sent me
Twelve assassinations,
Eleven starving people,
Ten homes demolished,
Nine smashed computers,
Eight gunships firing,
Seven checkpoints blocking,
Six tanks a-rolling,
Five settlement rings.
Four falling bombs,
Three trench guns,
Two trampled doves,

And an uprooted olive tree.

6)
WE THREE KINGS

We three Kings of Orient are
Bearing gifts we traverse afar;
Field and fountain, moor and mountain,
Following yonder star.

O star of freedom, star of light,
Star of peace and justice bright,
Shining ever;
They can never
Target-bomb thy perfect light.

Now weıre coming close to the star,
But we havenıt got very far,
Blocked by trenches,
Checkpoints, fences,
Wondering where we are.

O we were made to wait all night,
Stared at through a rifleıs sight,
Shot and bleeding,
Still proceeding,
Still we track the perfect light.

Now a soldier stops Balthazar,
Searches through his frankincense jar -
Grows suspicious,
Hard and vicious,
Bundles us in a car.

O though weıre in a dreadful plight,
In a jail and out of sight,
Those who beat us
Canıt defeat us -
Still we know the star shines bright

Just Peace UK - Dec 2002

******************************************
These ³alternative² carols were composed
by Just Peace UK after an idea from Rev. Garth
Hewitt of the Amos Trust whose first stanza of
³O Little Town of Bethlehem² is being used here.+

We wish to reflect the dire situation in
Bethlehem this year when the city is under
Occupation and curfew by the Israeli Army
making it difficult to celebrate Christmas.
Just Peace UK is a mainly, but not exclusively Jewish peace group, working
for a peace with justice in Israel/Palestine.

E-mail : justpeaceuk@...
Tel: 07957 486379, PO Box 37402 London N3 2XG



















































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