Ewan MacColl & Peggy Seeger - Legal Illegal
Every time you pick up a newspaper
Every time you turn on the TV
You can bet your old boots that at some point you ll see
A high ranking copper or else an MP
Calling on all who are British and free
To stand up and defend law and order
It s illegal to rip off a payroll
It s illegal to hold up a train
But it s legal to rip off a million or two
That comes from the labour that other folks do
To plunder the many on behalf of the few
Is a thing that is perfectly legal
It s illegal to kill off a landlord
Or to trespass upon his estate
But to charge a high rent for a slum is OK
To condemn 2 adults and 3 children to stay
In a hovel that s rotten with damp and decay
Is a thing that is perfectly legal
If your job turns you into a zombie
Then it s legal to feel some despair
But don t be aggressive that is if you re smart
And for Christ s sake don t upset the old apple cart
Remember the boss has your interests at heart
And it grieves him to see you unhappy
If you fashion a bomb in your kitchen
You re guilty of breaking the law
But a bloody great nuclear plant is OK
Though plutonium processing hastens the day
When this tiny little isle may be blasted away
Nonetheless it is perfectly legal
It s illegal if you are a Gypsy
To camp by the side of the road
But it s proper and right for the rich and the great
To live in a mansion or own an estate
That was got from the people by pillage and rape
That s what they call a tradition
It s illegal to carve up your missus
Or put poison in your old man s tea
But poison the rivers, the seas and the skies
And poison the mind of a nation with lies
If it s done in the interest of free enterprise
Then it s proper and perfectly legal
It s legal to join a trade union
And to picket is one of your rights
But don t be offensive when scabs cross the line
Be nice to the coppers and keep this in mind
To picket effectively that is a crime
Worse than if you had murdered your mother
It s legal to sing on the telly
But they make bloody sure that you don t
If you sing about racists and fascists and creeps
And thieves in high places that live off the weak
And those who are selling us right up the creek
The twisters, the takers, the conmen, the fakers
The whole bloody gang of exploiters!
