Ewan Maccoll – Legal Illegal chords

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Ewan MacColl & Peggy Seeger - Legal Illegal


D A DEvery time you pick up a newspaper
G D A7Every time you turn on the TV
G D G DYou can bet your old boots that at some point you'll see
A G A7A high ranking copper or else an MP
D A G DCalling on all who are British and free
A7 DTo stand up and defend law and order
It's illegal to rip off a payroll It's illegal to hold up a train But it's legal to rip off a million or two That comes from the labour that other folks do To plunder the many on behalf of the few Is a thing that is perfectly legal It's illegal to kill off a landlord Or to trespass upon his estate But to charge a high rent for a slum is OK To condemn 2 adults and 3 children to stay In a hovel that's rotten with damp and decay Is a thing that is perfectly legal If your job turns you into a zombie Then it's legal to feel some despair But don't be aggressive that is if you're smart And for Christ's sake don't upset the old apple cart Remember the boss has your interests at heart And it grieves him to see you unhappy If you fashion a bomb in your kitchen You're guilty of breaking the law But a bloody great nuclear plant is OK Though plutonium processing hastens the day When this tiny little isle may be blasted away Nonetheless it is perfectly legal It's illegal if you are a Gypsy To camp by the side of the road But it's proper and right for the rich and the great To live in a mansion or own an estate That was got from the people by pillage and rape That's what they call a tradition It's illegal to carve up your missus Or put poison in your old man's tea But poison the rivers, the seas and the skies And poison the mind of a nation with lies If it's done in the interest of free enterprise Then it's proper and perfectly legal It's legal to join a trade union And to picket is one of your rights But don't be offensive when scabs cross the line Be nice to the coppers and keep this in mind To picket effectively that is a crime Worse than if you had murdered your mother
D A DIt's legal to sing on the telly
G D A7But they make bloody sure that you don't
G D G DIf you sing about racists and fascists and creeps
A G A7And thieves in high places that live off the weak
D A G DAnd those who are selling us right up the creek
DThe twisters, the takers, the conmen, the fakers
A7 DThe whole bloody gang of exploiters!
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