Tekster: David Rovics. Occupation.

You ask me how it is that I dare to take a side
You say I loathe myself for pointing out that you have lied
You say it's tribal warfare, but I disagree
For the dynamics of the situation are not difficult to see
On one side is the fighter jet, on the other is the stone
On one side is the slave, on the other is the throne
For the many there are checkpoints while foreign soldiers rule the street
For one side there is victory, but the people don't accept defeat

The word you need to know is occupation
The very definition of a land without a nation
And if peace is what you're after then let us not deceive
It'll come on the day the tanks return to Tel Aviv

On one side there is hunger and bulldozed olive trees
On the other is the Army ruling by decrees
Caterpillars maul the streets, destroy entire city blocks
While children swallow shrapnel for the crime of throwing rocks
Fences are erected around the towns they flatten
And Herzl's own fanatics sleep on sheets of satin
And they water their plantations drilling ever-deeper wells
While the displaced children of the hopeless are filled with bullet shells

The word you need to know is occupation
The very definition of a land without a nation
And if peace is what you're after then let us not deceive
It'll come on the day the settlers return to Tel Aviv

On one side there is the Mossad rounding up the men
Thrown in jail with no trial, being tortured once again
On the other there is rage, helplessness and fear
And a growing realization that another holocaust is near
On the outside there are prisons, inside detainees
Being stripped of their humanity, beaten naked to their knees
Outside the ghetto prison walls, stormtroopers all around
While inside the hungry people yearn for liberated ground

The word you need to know is occupation
The very definition of a land without a nation
And if peace is what you're after then let us not deceive
It'll come on the day the jailguards return to Tel Aviv

All across the world you can hear the people say
The children of Jerusalem will be free one day
In overcrowded camps amidst the stench of death and flies
To the suburbs of Detroit you can hear the anguished cries
While in the land of Israel with God ever on their side
Walls and fences are constructed and papers are denied
People fight for their existence while we turn a blinded eye
And those who should know better insist on asking why

The word you need to know is occupation
The very definition of a land without a nation
And if peace is what you're after then let us not deceive
It will come on the day the refugees return to Tel Aviv