Red fly the banners o
Encyclopedia
Red Fly the Banners, O is a British and Irish folk song expressing (often tongue-in-cheek) Marxist-Leninist political views. It is based on, and sung to the tune of, the traditional English ballad Green Grow the Rushes, O
Green Grow the Rushes, O
Green Grow The Rushes, Ho , is a folk song popular across the English-speaking world. It is sometimes sung as a Christmas carol...

.

Lyrics

Like many folk songs, Red Fly the Banners, O has multiple versions; all are cumulative in form. One version builds to a 14th and final verse as follows:
I'll sing you fourteen, O!
Red fly the banners, O!
What is your fourteen, O?
Fourteen for the IQ
Intelligence quotient
An intelligence quotient, or IQ, is a score derived from one of several different standardized tests designed to assess intelligence. When modern IQ tests are constructed, the mean score within an age group is set to 100 and the standard deviation to 15...

 of the average Trot,
Thirteen for the holes in Trotsky's head,
Twelve for the hours on the Kremlin
Moscow Kremlin
The Moscow Kremlin , sometimes referred to as simply The Kremlin, is a historic fortified complex at the heart of Moscow, overlooking the Moskva River , Saint Basil's Cathedral and Red Square and the Alexander Garden...

 clock,
Eleven for the Moscow Dynamos
FC Dynamo Moscow
Dynamo Moscow is a Russian football club based in Moscow, currently playing in the Russian Premier League. Dynamo's traditional kit colours are blue and white...

,
Ten for the days that shook the world
October Revolution
The October Revolution , also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution , Red October, the October Uprising or the Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution of 1917...

,
Nine for the days of the General Strike
1926 United Kingdom general strike
The 1926 general strike in the United Kingdom was a general strike that lasted nine days, from 4 May 1926 to 13 May 1926. It was called by the general council of the Trades Union Congress in an unsuccessful attempt to force the British government to act to prevent wage reduction and worsening...

,
Eight for the hours of the working day,
Seven for the stars on the Connolly's flag,
Six for the Tolpuddle Martyrs
Tolpuddle Martyrs
The Tolpuddle Martyrs were a group of 19th century Dorset agricultural labourers who were arrested for and convicted of swearing a secret oath as members of the Friendly Society of Agricultural Labourers. The rules of the society show it was clearly structured as a friendly society and operated as...

,
Five for the years of the Five-Year Plan
And four for the four years taken!
Three, three, the Rights of Man
Rights of Man
Rights of Man , a book by Thomas Paine, posits that popular political revolution is permissible when a government does not safeguard its people, their natural rights, and their national interests. Using these points as a base it defends the French Revolution against Edmund Burke's attack in...

,
Two, two, the workers' arms, toiling for his living, O,
One is workers' unity and evermore shall be so!

Fourth verse

Because of the dependence of "four years" on "five years", the 4th verse must use a different "Four for ...". One version is:
I'll sing you four, O!
Red fly the banners, O!
What is your four, O?
Four for the Heroes of the Cause!
Marx
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...

! Engels
Friedrich Engels
Friedrich Engels was a German industrialist, social scientist, author, political theorist, philosopher, and father of Marxist theory, alongside Karl Marx. In 1845 he published The Condition of the Working Class in England, based on personal observations and research...

! Lenin
Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and communist politician who led the October Revolution of 1917. As leader of the Bolsheviks, he headed the Soviet state during its initial years , as it fought to establish control of Russia in the Russian Civil War and worked to create a...

! Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...

!
Three, three ...


Trotskyite version:

I'll sing you four, o,
Red fly the banners, o.
What is your four, o?
Four for the four great teachers.
[Marx, Engels, Lenin and Trotsky]

The full Trotskyist version - the version most commonly heard from the mid 1960s onward - was
Ten for the days that shook the world
And nine for the works of Lenin
Eight for the hours of a working day
Seven for the days of a five day week
And six for the Tolpuddle Martyrs
Five for the years of a five year plan
And four for the International*
Three, three, the Rights of Man
Two, two, the worker's hands
Working for a living - O
One is workers' Unity
And evermore shall be so.

  • The Fourth International of Trotskyist parties
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