Sweet Little Lies
CAPTION:Sinn Fein Election Cheer: ‘Tell me lies!’
Sinn Féin election workers rally in front of their bus shouting their election cheer
Drawing in a breath, this morning on Dublin radio, as reported by the Sunday Life, in a pre-election interview, Gerry Adams exhaled, relating a very detailed and sweet little story about his time in prison, when he and a 100 other prisoners would sing “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life“ to each other in order to keep their spirits up. Adams, who famously holds fast to the claim he was never in the IRA, did time from 1973-1977, as an internee and then a sentenced prisoner (He also did a 6 month spell on remand in 1978). The song, from the Monty Python movie, “Life of Brian” wasn’t released until 1979. Mark Devenport diplomatically calls it a lapse in memory. But, as others have noted, Gerry Adams lies like the rest of breathe. The man just can’t help himself. Rusty, meanwhile, has the exclusive tongue-in-cheek report that the theme song on Sinn Féin’s election bus this year, as opposed to last time round, when it was The Talking Head’s “Road to Nowhere“, is Fleetwood Mac’s “Little Lies“. Adams leads the sing-song on the bus, taking the lead: “If I could turn the page, in time then I’d rearrange just a day or two,” while the rest of the candidates and electoral staff take the chorus of “Close my, close my, close my eyes,” then they all belt together: “Tell me lies, Tell me sweet little lies.” Rumours are they’ve won more than their fair share of karaoke contests in pubs along the way with that number…
UPDATE 1 JUNE 2009
Metamorphosis Of A Lie
In the 1996 edition of his autobiography Before the Dawn, in chapter ten, he describes being held on the remand wing in the H-Blocks in 1978 facing membership charges. (That would be membership of the IRA, not the NICRM, though he did beat the rap). He writes, starting on page 269: “One memorable night on the anniversary of internment there was a great session on on our wing that went on until the early hours of the morning.” At four in the morning, the prisoners made a loud racket imitating the banging of bin-lids, which attracted the attention of the screws, who came onto the wing in riot gear. The tension mounted while the prisoners waited to see what the screws would do; they eventually left after shouting abuse.
“I imagined I could hear a collective sigh of held breath being released as an eerie silence settled over the wing.
Suddenly a voice rose in song from one of the cells near me.
We’re on the one road, sharing the one load,
We’re on the road to God knows where…
The first was joined by another from a cell farther down the wing.
We’re on the one road, it may be the wrong road….
Then another and another.
But we’re together now, who cares…
And soon we were all singing.
Northmen, Southmen, comrades all
Dublin, Belfast, Cork or Donegal
We’re on the one road, swinging along,
singin’ a soldier’s song
By now everyone was in full voice, but as the chorus ended, the first singer took up a verse on his own.
The night is darkest just before the dawn
From dissension Ireland is reborn
Soon we´ll al united Irishmen
Make our land a nation once again
And then we were all back in for the chorus again. By the time we had the song finished our appetites had been whetted and our concert continued until some time after the light of dawn had entered our cells.
At HistoryForSale.com, a questionaire filled out by Gerry Adams, currently selling for $699.00, gives “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life” as his favorite song. So we see this story change from 1996, when it was still appropriate for Gerry Adams, two years after the 1994 ceasefire and two years before the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, to recall himself and fellow IRA prisoners singing rebel songs to mark the anniversary of internment.
In 2008/9 (and perhaps earlier), Adams has changed the story to himself and fellow prisoners singing songs to keep their spirits up after a beating – in the first story, the screws did not beat the prisoners. Internment is no longer remembered, much like it has been forgotten as the focus of the West Belfast Feile, which was started to mark Internment night and nowadays ensures everyone forgets it, and looks down their noses at any youths who dare to remember with the traditional bonfire. He has substitued the rebel songs for his own personal favorite song, and makes mention in the video of a song that had become associated with Sinn Fein, often played at their Ard Fheiseanna during the 90s, Labi Siffre’s “Something Inside So Strong” – an anti-Apartheid anthem released in 1987.
This little lie illuminates perfectly the evolving, self-serving propaganda narrative Adams has constructed for himself, with details changed as politics dictates. Who needs the truth, when he can provide a feel-good ‘happy ending’ in his loved-up folk tales? And so, the lies have bobbed and weaved throughout the years – but will catch up with him in the end.
CAPTION CONTEST AFTER THE JUMP UPDATE:
CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO IF PLAYER DOESN’T WORK
He’s been telling this lie at least since February 20, 2008
CAPTION CONTEST:
Add your own caption in the comments
Nice one “PAL” what did you just feed yer dog?
Time you recycled your wasted talent.
Even if my mental age is 7 still 6 years ahead of you. I don’t vote! You all bent out a shape as the issue is so serious? I did not say I was funny, pay attention, the Gerry Adams is funny.
Vote Orange!
Anyway you hurt my feelings I am away to hug a tree.
Cheer up Marty…You know what they say!
Soooome things in life are bad,
They can really make you mad,
Other things just make you swear and curse,
When you’re chewing life’s gristle,
Don’ttt grumble,
Give a whistle
And this’ll help things turn out for the best…
And…
Always look on the bright side of life…
Wee woo..we woo we woo we woo we woo!
Changed my mind…I won’t mock the political system.
Vote White. I took my medication, thanks greenie for reminding me your best PAL in the world.
I can see my post made you spit the dummy and through the toys out of the pram ayedeadon – but you missed the point, as i knew you would, and took it personally.
If you want to mock politicians you should at least be funny – otherwise you’re the one that looks the knob and not the politician. Its as simple as that.
Ah Das Goat, I am neither a member of any political party, nor am I lost(?).
If you could stop this little bout of petulance and stop being evasive of the real issue, you could explain your use of the term PSF. It says a lot about your political masters!
Ah well what can I say I am not gifted like so many.
I doubt I took it personal since you are clearly seething with your empty insults. I did not miss your point just was to busy laughing that my stupidity made you throw up a half arsed post.
Nice of you to pick on dopey me, the leader will send you flowers later.
One day when I grow up I aspire to be a fine upstanding citizen and use my right to vote for corrupt parties and corrupt governments.
Anyway I better go and find a box a tissues need to blow out the green building in my head.
Here’s a wee bit of advice, don’t read my dumb rants, the fact you did makes you twice as dumb for reading and worse replying.
Yes, Jolly Green Giant I am away to play with my Lego and sulk, as your wit is lethal.
If slagging PSF is a crime then I am guilty, not funny, but guilty.
What is it with you and kid references? Don’t tell me you are a Christian Brother? Maybe a trip to a shrink might ween you away from the kiddie stuff.
If you could stop this little bout of petulance and stop being evasive of the real issue, you could explain your use of the term PSF. It says a lot about your political masters!
Posted by Paul Kielty on Jun 01, 2009 @ 12:48 AM
When you try and bury the ‘P’ in PSF you try and bury the past Mo Chara…But then again Gerry and Marty own the parts of the past that suits them in their revisionism of the Past with a ‘P’ as in PSF…But then again..always look on the bright side of life…Woo We..Woo we….Wo wee!
Jaysus what’s the aspiration here, a campaign in the style of John McCain? Potty humor and stale canards, good thing the world doesn’t count for shite so we can spend time on this stuff. Issues anyone?
Hi all,
Gerry Adams looks bad in all this.
“What a long post for such an irrelevant story.”
On the contrary this is a very relevant story as it cuts right to the quick of a senior politician’s credibility.
Adams makes, in the course of a broadcast, an extremely serious allegation to the effect that when he was in prison the warders beat him and fellow prisoners “brutally”. He makes this allegation in the middle of an election campaign presumably to show his commitment to his cause and to enhance his political credibility.
The single verifiable claim that comes out of the anecdote is that he and his fellow prisoners then sang a humourous song to show their peaceful and dignified defiance of such brutal treatment by the prison staff.
This claim is provably false, Adams is making it up, Adams is therefore a proven liar and should now apologise to the prison staff about whom he has lied.
God love that wee critter, his head’s away with it!
He forgot he was in in ra
He forgot that he personally was never beaten in long kesh
He forgot about mountain climber
He forgot about what songs they sang
Now he’s forgot how to tie laces
He’s either very forgetful or a fucking liar by the clock
Is he serious about jogging?
Ah no…. I got those for him in Cyprus, they’re just to help him jog his memory!
Catriona: Look Babs, that’s where Seabird disappeared to……
Paul Kielty is worried about people using the ‘P’ in PSF, but I’m sure the party leaders are more worried that people are taking the pee out of S.F. nowadays.
Does he seriously think those Primark runners will help him make a quick getaway if we bump into the dissidents
What! you mean the money he’s worth and he still shops in Primark
[Through clenched teeth]: “I thought Martin told you to remove his shoelaces?” dB: “It’s alright, after the first knot it’s no more than an hour til he gets the second one done”.
i remember that night. big bob started the song off, he was in the bottom cell. god, you should have heard gerry belt out faith of our fathers in the middle of the fighting.
babs “stop pretending to tie your laces gerry, you have to face the cameras sometime!”
I thought only Cinderella had two ugly sisters.
Do you think if I pretend to tie my laces they’ll go away?
Gerry stand up straight before Pete Baker has you on one of astronomy features on uranus or blackholes.
“Bow to me like this”
[i][Through clenched teeth]: “I thought Martin told you to remove his shoelaces?” dB: “It’s alright, after the first knot it’s no more than an hour til he gets the second one done”. [/i]
And the David Trimble Prize for Most Risible Sense of Humour goes to….
Gerry says he was singing with his mates!!!
Martin says, sing on your mates.
Paul Kielty, are you a wee bit saft? You are the most unconvincing closet shinner I have seen in ages. I know it’s unnatural and disgusting but you should come out and show your ‘GA pride’. You were blethering something about the ‘real issues’; the real issue here is Gerry telling whoppers, embellishing his past. It’s kind of the reverse of his usual tactic of telling whoppers and embellishing the future, UI in 2016 and all that shite.
Paul Kielty,
“If you could stop this little bout of petulance and stop being evasive of the real issue, you could explain your use of the term PSF. It says a lot about your political masters!”
I’m guessing it means Political Sinn Féin. What else could it mean?
Caption contest…
De Brun ” thats the lovely arse i be licking”
“You know, I think I can see a United Ireland in there”.
“There cometh one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose.”
Mark 1:7
Paul Keilty: If you could stop this little bout of petulance and stop being evasive of the real issue, you could explain your use of the term PSF. It says a lot about your political masters!
It’s this lot:
http://www.sinnfein.org/index2.html
So – what do *your* political masters call the Shinners?
Reader,
That’s an odd website. Who put it up?
This is the Sinn Féin website.
Who Care?
Rusty,
The Workers’ Party used Something Inside So Strong for De Rossa’s first successful European Election campaign. The Irish Times took great delight in pointing this out when it was used by De Brun for her successful Euro election campaign 15-odd years later. Maybe it’s the song that wins it?
Gerry … Always Look on the Bright Side of Lies…!