Red Fly the Banners, O, or Trotsky's Lament 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.
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Lyrics
Like many folk songs, Red Fly the Banners, O has multiple versions; all are cumulative in form. The Stalinist version builds to a 14th and final verse as follows:
I'll sing you fourteen, O! Fourteen for the IQ of the average Trot, Thirteen for the holes in Trotsky's head, Twelve for the hours on the Kremlin clock, Eleven for the Moscow Dynamos, Ten for the days that shook the world, Nine for the days of the General Strike, Eight for the hours of the working day, Seven for the stars on the Connolly's flag, Six for the Tolpuddle Martyrs, Five for the years of the Five-Year Plan And four for the four years taken! Three, three, the Rights of Man, 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! Four for the Heroes of the Cause! 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.