For the moment the horizon is on fire
Democracy rising balanced on a wire
Liberation, you can smell it in the air
Things are moving and the rich are all aware
Some will talk along the sidelines, others they will do
Me, I’ll sing a song for Chavez before the coup

For the moment the airwaves are alive
On the radio the barrios have arrived
Cuban doctors in their thousands on the street
In the shanty towns they’re pouring the concrete
The opposition whines that Venezuela is all through
Sing a song for Chavez before the coup

For the moment folks are learning how to read
The constitution is the people’s creed
From their back pocket they’ll take it out for all to see
And their motto is death or liberty
There are those who will complain, mostly the privileged few
Sing a song for Chavez before the coup

For the moment the oil wells are flowing
And Citgo’s profits know exactly where they’re going
Feed the hungry, house those without a home
Give the tractors to those who dig sod and loam
Maybe he will meet the fate that Allende knew
But I’ll sing a song for Chavez before the coup

For the moment the movement’s on the rise
It’s all happening right before our eyes
But turn on the TV and there’s nothing they will say
If he’s gone and we don’t hear it did it happen anyway
If the future’s to be ours I ask what are you gonna do
Sing a song for Chavez before the coup

[A song by David Rovics on his 2005 album For the Moment. Rovics wrote: “Lots of people have problems with Chavez. He’s too free market for the communists. He’s too authoritarian for the anarchists. He’s too military for the pacifists. Whatever. He’s also arguably the most radical elected leader of a national government on the planet today.” Visit <http://www.davidrovics.com>.]

From Green Left Weekly, April 27, 2005.
Visit the Green Left Weekly home page.

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