The Dead Kennedys were always an amusing and outrageous band. From the pointed humor of their lyrics and their raucous shows to Jello Biafra’s semi-serious run for mayor of San Francisco and the allegedly obscene H.R. Giger poster distributed with the Frankchrist album, the DKs were always worth some attention, even when their music was inconsistent.
With all the talk about whether John Kerry did or did not spend Christmas in 1968 in Cambodia (his campaign admits he didn’t), it just seems appropriate to post the DKs 1980 classic “Holiday in Cambodia.” (Thanks to a reader for the suggestion, as it hadn’t yet crossed my mind.) I won’t pretend for a moment that I share the Dead Kennedys’ politics but I’ve hardly made that the basis for my musical tastes (or lyric selections). In any event, here it is.
So you been to school for a year or two
And you know you’ve seen it all
In daddy’s car, thinkin’ you’ll go far
Back east your type don’t crawl
Play ethnincky jazz to parade you snazzy
On your five grand stereo
Braggin’ that you know how the n*****s feel the cold
And the slum’s got so much soul
It’s time to taste what you most fear
Right Guard will not help you here
Brace yourself, my dear…
It’s a holiday in Cambodia
It’s tough, kid, but it’s life
It’s a holiday in Cambodia
Don’t forget to pack a wife
You’re a star-belly sneech, you suck like a leech
You want everyone to act like you
Kiss ass while you bitch so you can get rich
While your boss gets richer off you
Well you’ll work harder with a gun in your back
For a bowl of rice a day
Slave for soldiers `til you starve
Then your head is skewered on a stake
Now you can go where people are one
Now you go where they get things done
What you need, my son…
Is a holiday in Cambodia
Where people dress in black
A holiday in Cambodia
Where you’ll kiss ass or crack
Pol Pot, Pol Pot, Pol Pot, Pol Pot, ….
And it’s a holiday in Cambodia
Where you’ll do what you’re told
A holiday in Cambodia
Where the slums got so much soul
Update:Earlier this month Michele Catalano presented her own take on this song and Senator Kerry
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