The Battle of Kobane

Adaptation of a song by David Riondino

Dm
Safe up on the hill, the soldiers watch the battle
A
A black banner is rising in the center of the town
Gm
The city is a loss, say the politicians
A Dm
But before the morning comes, the flag is torn down
Gm
Standing guard along the border, the soldiers watch the battle.
Dm
The fascists knives are hunting for the throats of the comrades
A
Bombs re-draw the streets, to that same eternal city-
Gm A D
Sarajevo, Warsaw, and Stalingrad.

And higher than the fire, the stars watch the battle
The rebels burn the banner, and let their colors fly
The fascists will be back again, before the day is over
And the bombs of an ally, like lightning burns the sky
The press up on the hill photographs the battle.
The reporter reads conversion in the shadow of a knife
And the Caliphate station brags over their slaughter
And every life gets easier, to take another life

The daughters from the city are marching to the battle.
Some march to liberation, and others to the grave
The rage of the avenger, the laughter of the fascist
When he rapes the defenseless, and makes a girl a slave
And somewhere there are angels who stand and watch the battle
Who see the devil manifested in the name of God
The smoke of death is rising with the calling of the prayers
But the angels do not come; guerillas send another squad

The women from the mountains track the hired soldiers
Who kill for a prophet, who try to take their prey alive
And all the burning homes driving clickbait for the watchers
Porn for the spectacle; a horror to survive
And the wind from the mountains is a friend that walks beside you
With a rifle on her shoulder, on a road smashed by shells
The girl from Kobanê looks back for a moment,
and keeps marching down into hell

The fires from the hill roll down into the battle
Against the slave traders and against the caliphate
The choking snake of empire, the jackals of the fascists
And vampires hidden behind every state
Walking to the front line, the girl from Kobane
No words for the watchers as she passes by
Freedom was a word, but now it is a breath
That you win by refusing to die