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<title>The Ballad of Dennis Karjala |
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- GNU Project - Free Software Foundation</title> |
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<h2>The Ballad of Dennis Karjala</h2> |
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|
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<p>A political comment in the form of a broadside ballad,</p> |
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<address class="byline">by Timothy R. Phillips</address> |
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|
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<div class="lyrics" style="margin: 1em 0"> |
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<p>Come all you brave songwriters, and listen unto me,<br /> |
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I'll tell you of a man who fought all for our liberty.<br /> |
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With nothing but a web site and a stout heart in his breast,<br /> |
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he fought the Disney company and the greedy Gershwin Trust.</p> |
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|
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<p> |
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It wasn't many years ago, in nineteen and seventy-eight,<br /> |
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they added nineteen years onto the term of copyright;<br /> |
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then said the movie barons and the proud high-lords of song,<br /> |
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“our copyrights will suit us well if they can last this long.”</p> |
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|
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<p>But when the nineteen extra years were nearly past and done,<br /> |
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those same proud barons then returned with cash to Washington.<br /> |
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“We want another twenty years, we hate the public domain.<br /> |
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And here's some cash that you can use to fund your next campaign.”</p> |
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|
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<p>Then up spoke Dennis Karjala in Arizona's land,<br /> |
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“Rise up, rise up my merry men! for we must take our stand<br /> |
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all for the Constitution, or the lords of copyright<br /> |
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will steal away our books and music in their haughty might.”</p> |
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|
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<p>Then up rose Dennis's merry men, they gathered to his cause:<br /> |
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The wise man Peter Jaszi, well learned in the laws;<br /> |
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and Mary Brandt, the valiant maid from Mississippi's land,<br /> |
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with a hundred alligators that all wait on her command.</p> |
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|
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<p>“Oh Congressmen, you are deceived! the lords of Hollywood<br /> |
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have made you to forget your oath to serve the common good.”<br /> |
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“Hush you, Dennis Karjala, your egghead words are rash.<br /> |
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We'll listen to the film-lords, and to their ready cash.”</p> |
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|
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<p>“Alas for us, my merry men! the Congress is beguiled,<br /> |
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the public domain is put to nought, and freedom is reviled.<br /> |
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Now let us warn the people with a web-page on the net.<br /> |
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Though our proud foes are mighty, perhaps we'll beat them yet.”</p> |
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|
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<p>Now Dennis posts his web-page on a node in cyber-space<br /> |
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and Mary Brandt with her alligators back in her own place,<br /> |
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launches a web-wide mailing list where messages will run,<br /> |
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that the evil that the song-lords plan might somehow be undone.</p> |
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<p>The President sits in his house with an Intern at his feet,<br /> |
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and a Congresswoman comes to him with words so honey-sweet.<br /> |
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The President, he signs the bill: for twenty years more by law,<br /> |
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song-barons will suck the public's life into their greedy maw.</p> |
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|
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<p>“Alas for us, my merry men, alas for the public domain.<br /> |
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The people's right is thrown aside all for the film-lords' gain.<br /> |
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But let us fight on 'til the day the barons in their greed<br /> |
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are cast down from their seat, and song and letters will be freed.”</p> |
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</div> |
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<div class="infobox nocenter" role="complementary"> |
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<hr /> |
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<p> |
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First posted January 27, 2000. |
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</p> |
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<p>Please send general FSF & GNU inquiries to |
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<a href="mailto:gnu@gnu.org"><gnu@gnu.org></a>. |
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There are also <a href="/contact/">other ways to contact</a> |
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the FSF. Broken links and other corrections or suggestions can be sent |
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to <a href="mailto:webmasters@gnu.org"><webmasters@gnu.org></a>.</p> |
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<p><!-- TRANSLATORS: Ignore the original text in this paragraph, |
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replace it with the translation of these two: |
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We work hard and do our best to provide accurate, good quality |
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translations. However, we are not exempt from imperfection. |
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Please send your comments and general suggestions in this regard |
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<web-translators@gnu.org></a>.</p> |
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README</a> for information on coordinating and contributing translations |
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of this article.</p> |
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</div> |
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<p>Copyright © 2000 Timothy R. Phillips</p> |
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<p>The author thanks Peter Jaszi, Mary Brandt Jensen, and Dennis |
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Karjala for allowing him to portray them in mythological garb. This |
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ballad may be reprinted freely as long as the words are unaltered and |
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this notice is included.</p> |
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<p class="unprintable">Updated: |
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<!-- timestamp start --> |
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$Date: 2023/05/10 10:43:10 $ |
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