I'm sorry, but I don't want to be an emperor
That's not my business
I don't want to rule or conquer anyone
I should like to help everyone, if possible
Jew, Gentile, black man, white
We all want to help one another
Human beings are like that
We want to live by each other's happiness
Not by each other's misery
We don't want to hate and despise one another
In this world there is room for everyone
And the good earth is rich and can provide for everyone
The way of life can be free and beautiful, but we have lost the way
Greed has poisoned man's souls, has barricaded the world with hate,
Has goose-stepped us into misery and bloodshedWe have developed speed, but we have shut ourselves in
Machinery that gives abundance has left us in want
Our knowledge has made us cynical
Our cleverness, hard and unkind
We think too much and feel too little
More than machinery we need humanity
More than cleverness we need kindness and gentleness
Without these qualities, life will be violent and all will be lostThe aeroplane and the radio have brought us closer together
The very nature of these inventions cries out for the goodness in men
Cries out for universal brotherhood for the unity of us all
Even now my voice is reaching millions throughout the world
Millions of despairing men, women, and little children -
Victims of a system that makes men torture and imprison innocent peopleTo those who can hear me, I say do not despair
The misery that is now upon us is but the passing of greed
The bitterness of men who fear the way of human progress
The hate of men will pass, and dictators die,
And the power they took from the people will return to the people
And so long as men die, liberty will never perishSoldiers!
Don't give yourselves to brutes
Men who despise you, enslave you
Who regiment your lives, tell you what to do
What to think and what to feel!
Who drill you, diet you
Treat you like cattle, use you as cannon fodderDon't give yourselves to these unnatural men
Machine men with machine minds and machine hearts!
You are not machines!
You are not cattle!
You are men!
You have the love of humanity in your hearts!
You don't hate!
Only the unloved hate, the unloved and the unnatural
Soldiers! Don't fight for slavery! Fight for liberty!In the 17th chapter of St Luke it is written:
"The Kingdom of God is within man"
Not one man nor a group of men, but in all men! In you!
You, the people have the power, the power to create machines
The power to create happiness!
You, the people, have the power to make this life free and beautiful
To make this life a wonderful adventureThen, in the name of democracy
Let us use that power, let us all unite!
Songwriters
JAMES ILLINGWORTH, JONATHAN VINCENT NOTLEY, MAX DONALD MACKINNON, CHARLIE CHAPLINPublished by
Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC, O/B/O APRA AMCOS