Stalin Wasn't Stallin' (Robert Wyatt)

[MagicByEli]

I love the lyrics between :18 and :58.

[scatsmfc1]

Hindsight is a wonderful thing,unfortunatly all of your arguments ( whether i agree or not ) is based on hindsight,history is written on hindsight,the here and now has not got this .....

[rabbitpi]

@scatsmfc1 'the here and now has not got hindsight' - bravo, you just said something totally obvious. Postmodern up-arse arguments aside, do you have any real points to make or knowledge of the subject, or did you just wander by in the vain hope of looking clever?

Anyway, not all history is written under hindsight; only *opinions* of history. Facts are checkable, like the number of deaths; whether or not someone signed a pact; sometimes even a reason why (if diaries or memoirs are found).

[scatsmfc1]

@rabbitpi no i,dont have anything interesting to say and am as thick as shit unlike you who have a crystal ball and know everything.why dont you dissapear back up your back passage and tell us how great that is...

[ezramead]

This song was made in the day of acid radio. It was right on. 

[levdt]

I have great respect for Robert Wyatt as an artist and a humanitarian. Like many idealistic militants of the mid twentieth century (Ewan Mccoll etc.) he harboured illusions about the socialist motherland. This song originated in the USA during the Second World War (see wikipedia), when Uncle Joe was celebrated as the great ally of the West for bearing the brunt of the Nazi blitzkrieg. Wyatt is not altogether wrong in his tongue in cheek reminder to the West about their erstwhile Russian ally.

[Flowmotion1000]

I 'm a RW fan but this pro stalin ditty is virtually unforgiveable.Equivalent,perha­ps,to David Bowie doing a nazi salute at Victoria station in the 70's.

[Kraftysot]

@Flowmotion1000 Thats insane. 20 million russians died so you could live in a free world. Covering this song is the least any one can do to remember those poor sobs sacrifice.

[Flowmotion1000]

@Kraftysot And approximately 11 million Soviets perished under Stalin.If this song was an ode to the Russian people and not to Stalin I wouldn't have criticised it.

Also: the Russians almost lost the war as Stalin had had so many of his leading officers shot.

[Kraftysot]

@Flowmotion1000 Theres plenty of historians who think that if it wasnt for the great purge, that stalin wouldnt have been able to order edicts like No Step Back, have total control of the industry and trade, and most likely would have been overthrown at the most critical stages of Barbarossa. He had his army organized for the attack, and was instead attacked himself. The generals he had killed would have deposed him merely for that. Then most likely asked for a horrible peace settlement.

[Flowmotion1000]

@Kraftysot Stalin had already agreed to a 'horrible peace settlement' with the nazis around 1939.In fact he lamented the way it all turned out by saying 'we could have ruled together',meaning he and the nazis,a lovely thought.

He was a psychopathic gangster and I can't imagine what history books you've been reading that says any different.

[Mrdie]

@Flowmotion1000 Really? You could check out books like 'Stalin's Wars' by Geoffrey Roberts, for one. I haven't seen a memoir from any Soviet figure (even ones fairly hostile to Stalin, like Khrushchev) that says such things. The British and French had no interest in an agreement with the Soviets over containing Nazi Germany and the Soviets felt that they were therefore pushing Germany eastwards. Check out 'The Soviet Union and the struggle for collective security in Europe, 1933-39' as well.

[Flowmotion1000]

@Mrdie I don't particularly want to spend precious time reading about Stalin in hope of finding redeeming qualities.Read 'Calculating the number of casualties' on wikipedia under 'Joseph Stalin'...he really was pretty ghastly.

[Mrdie]

@Flowmotion1000 I don't see what a Wikipedia article on the amount of people that died under Stalin has to do with your claim that Stalin wanted to be friends with Hitler as they carved up Europe or the whole world between each other. You don't need to admire Stalin to realize that he was opposed to fascism and felt that by having the pact he was buying the USSR time to arm itself against a Nazi invasion that would eventually come.

[Mrdie]

In addition, Molotov in 1939: "The decision to conclude a non-aggression pact between the U.S.S.R. and Germany was adopted after military negotiations with France and Great Britain had reached an impasse... we could not but explore other possibilities of ensuring peace and eliminating the danger of war between Germany and the U.S.S.R. ... we are firmly convinced that the interests of the U.S.S.R. coincide with the fundamental interests of the peoples of other countries."

[MrNoobrtuber]

Best stalin bashing song ever created... Can't stop Listening to it...

[carlbrett]

Hi Mrs. Cohen!

[minkemann]

Denne har jeg på en 7" i kjelleren et sted.