Oakland Lullaby


MSNBC anchor: “In Oakland, police fired tear gas to calm down the crowd.”

Hushabye, hushabye, rest your sweet head
The tear gas is fired, the rioters fled,
The bullets are rubber; we’re saving the lead
Hushabye, hushabye, darling…

Hushabye, hushabye, close your sweet eyes
The tear gas would give them a sorry surprise
So looking about you is rather unwise
Hushabye, hushabye, darling…

Hushabye, hushabye, draw down the shades
The darkness approaches, the day softly fades
There’s no need to witness the flash-bang grenades
Hushabye, hushabye, darling…

Hushabye, hushabye, darling, now rest
Sleep like an angel; sleep heaven-blessed
Sleep while your momma is under arrest
Hushabye, hushabye, darling…

Hushabye, hushabye, time now to snooze
Nothing to see here, we’ve turned off the news
So no one can see when policemen abuse
Hushabye, hushabye, darling…

Hushabye, hushabye, here in the dark
No need to worry about folks in the park
It isn’t a fire; it’s only a spark
Hushabye, hushabye, darling…

(Yes, there is a particular tune, but any sleep-starved parent could come up with one equally as good. It’s quiet, gentle, and would put any baby to sleep. Even in Oakland.)

Comments

  1. Cuttlefish says

    Hushabye, hushabye, time to give thanks
    Pray for policemen protecting the banks
    Maybe tomorrow you’ll get to see tanks
    Hushabye, hushabye, darling…

  2. jannacomeau says

    Absolutely brilliant, as always! I have to also give a special thank you to you, Digital Cuttlefish- I just got a donation to my donor’s choose page from one of your followers! Thank you for supporting education! Sorry for the excessive exclamation marks, but I’ve been reading your poetry forever; I even bought one of your books on iBooks. So having my project be found through your page is one of the coolest things I’ve had happen in a bit :) Thank you! And thank you again, to Howie, the donor!
    -Janna Comeau

  3. Cuttlefish says

    Well, that makes it easy–I had some credits left over from projects that (heartbreakingly!) did not get funded, so they are now on their way to you, Ms. Comeau. Not much, cos I drained my account when the challenge started, but it’s yours now.

  4. Howie says

    Cuttlefish – Thanks for supporting Janna’s Donors Choose project!

    Janna – I am glad that I can help. Good luck bringing music to the kids!

  5. dobbinriddle says

    Thank you, Cuttlefish, for everything you do! I love your work.
    ~ a long-time lurker, first-time poster

Trackbacks

  1. […] Cuttlefish wrote a lullaby about these events. If I could find a tune, I’d use it to cry myself to sleep. Sharing: Posted in Current Events, Privilege Tags: iraq war, occupy wall street, ows, police brutality, social causes « Upvote the Secular Student Alliance You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. GA_googleFillSlot("Science_Embed1_300"); […]

  2. […] In Ferguson, according to twitter, police are firing rubber bullets to calm the crowd. To calm the crowd. Gee, and here I thought I’d never have another opportunity to post this lullaby… from a couple of years ago in Oakland… […]

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