John Cale – Mercenaries (Ready For War) (1980)

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Sabotage/Live was recorded live at CBGB’s, New York in June 1979. Reissued on CD by A&M Canada without bonus tracks and reissued again in the UK a decade later with the following bonus tracks: “Memphis”, “Chicken Shit” and “Hedda Gabler” were released as an EP called Animal Justice in August 1977. “Rosegarden Funeral of Sores” was released as the B-side of the “Mercenaries (Ready For War)” single in 1980; it was later covered by Bauhaus.



john-cale-mercenaries-ready-for-war-irs

Mercenaries are usless, disunited, unfaithful
They have nothing more to keep them in a battle
Other than a meager wage
Which is just about enough to make them wanna kill for you
But never enough to make them wanna die for ya

I’m just another soldier boy
I’m just another soldier boy
Looking for work
Looking for work
Looking for work

My rifle is my friend
My rifle is my friend
I clean my rifle everyday
I clean my rifle everyday
That’s why my rifle is my friend

Ready for war, ready for war
Ready for war, ready for war
Ready for war, ready for war
Ready for war, ready for war

Did some work in Zaire, the jolly old Belgian Congo
Went back to Geneva to get paid
Back there in Geneva, that’s were the money grows
That’s were the money grows, that’s were the money flows

They didn’t wanna pay me
They didn’t wanna pay me, but they did
Try to separate me from my money
is try to separate me from my life

Ready for war, ready for war
Ready for war, ready for war
Ready for war, ready for war
Ready for war, ready for war

Let’s go to Moscow, let’s go to Moscow
Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go to Moscow
Fight a backdoor to the Kremlin
Push it down and walk on in

5000 feet and closing
Target visibility one nine
4000 feet and closing
Target visibility two six
3000 feet and closing
Target visibility seven nine
2000 feet and closing
Visibility one ten
1000 feet and closing
Visibility seven four
500 feet and closing
Target visibility zero!

Ready for war, ready for war
You better be ready for war
Ready for war, ready for war
Are you ready for war
Ready for war, ready for war

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