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ballad of zhanaozen

from The Minor Key Club by laura rafetseder

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lyrics

1) Zhanaozen o Zhanaozen /
my thoughts they go out to Zhanaozen
they lie with the oil workers' struggle there /
and their families' troubling grief
2) They had been on strike for more than 8 months /
for decent conditions and higher pay
for trade union rights and nationalisation /
so they could control the wealth of their creation
3) The profit making sharks could not tolerate this /
nor could the president's powerful clique
scared they might lose and scared they might fall /
they were prepared to go to all lengths
4) A unions' rep and another one's daughter /
were ruthlessly murdered and others were tortured
union men had to leave their homes /
so they could be safe from the goverment's thugs
5) on the 16th of december a rally was held /
to underline the oil workers case
as the regime planned to celebrate /
20 years of their capitalist rule
6) the regime went on to demonstrate /
what they understood by freedom of speech
or what democracy means to them /
compared to the profits they're so eager to make
7) Nazarbayev's men went into the demonstration /
to provoke and to escalate tension
the riot police reacted with guns /
with hundreds wounded and dozens shot dead
8) The only thing made public bout the incident then /
was a statement by the Kazakh regime
saying 'what is the fuss, there's just 17 dead /
and then put the blame on the oil working men
9) They shot into an innocent crowd /
of those who survived many were charged
for alleged provocation /
of a massacre they hadn't caused
10) So I wonder what happened to those unaccounted for dead /
whose families still wait for them to come back
whose deaths had never been recognised /
and whose lives might never be mourned
11) Its only been lately that rumours grew loud /
of unnamed tombstones and graves in the yards
they grew by the numbers of quite a few /
i wonder if they'll ever be named
12) Another rigged election was held /
Nazarbayev's still head of the state
the oil workers still fighting for their rights /
and the system still out against them
13) A system thats rotten, a system thats cruel /
that calculates lives for the money of few
the regime must not get away with its lies /
and the system must be overcome
14) Zhanaozen oh Zhanaozen /
please shout out the story as loud as you can
the workers' names might soon be forgotten /
but we shall never forget

credits

from The Minor Key Club, track released October 21, 2012
words & music: laura rafetseder

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Laura Rafetseder Vienna, Austria

Singer/Songwriter Laura Rafetseder has made herself a name among the Vienna Singer/Songwriter Scene with her band Laura & the Comrats and their debut album Creating Memories. In 2012 she released her first solo album The Minor Key Club, and in autumn 2016 second album Swimmers in the Arctic Sea. ... more

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