Paolo Bolzoni, an Italian in The Netherlands, set this poem to music to explain the condition of Brexitosis which still infects some Britons. We are gradually awakening from our slumbers and will soon get to a point of Rejoining the EU.
BRITONS
Transposition of “Italiani”, by Cochi e Renato, 2007
Cochi e Renato are a legend of Milanese cabaret.
© Paolo Bolzoni, 3 September 2023
Ce n’est qu’un début, continuons le combat!
Nous voulons réintégrer l’Union Européenne!
There is a window to Britain
Where you can listen to gossips
Where you can watch the tears
Where you can hear the curses
There is a window to Britain
And if you open it
You’ll see the despair
Can’t you understand why?
It’s the Britons who shout
It’s the Britons who cry
It’s the Britons who curse
This Cabinet of Fools
It’s the Britons who leave
And who’ll never come back
It’s the Britons who are angry
Don’t you get it?
They have a Cabinet who lie
And people who listen to them
While they laugh at the poor chaps
Who believe in their crap
It’s the Britons who suffer
It’s the Britons who fight
To rejoin the EU
And they’ll never give up
Oh, Jesus, look down here
Bless whoever you want
But, we’re all Britons
Don’t bless only the Conservatives
Oh Jesus, oh Jesus
Forgive me if I call for you
Oh, Jesus, come down here
We can’t take it any more
It’s the Britons who boo
It’s the Britons who sink
Their trials and tribulations
In a bitter pool of ale
It’s the Britons who watch
The small boats sinking in the Channel
It’s the Cabinet who know
And still don’t give a damn
It’s Rishi who loves
Talking cricket with Modi
It’s Cruella who hates
And has one obsession
It’s the Britons who are sick
It’s the Britons who are disabled
It’s the nurses who strike
It’s the teachers who are lost
It’s the Britons who watch
The news that report all this
And those who present it
And those who comment on it
Those who can’t stand it
Those who fall asleep
And those who get angry
And smash the TV
“Excuse me, Sir Larry, please?”
“What’s up?”
“Is Rishi there?”
“No, he’s in a meeting”
“Meeting with whom?”
“Alone, in the toilette”
“Will he have it for long?”
“Eh … he is on a conference call”
“Um… I’ll be back later”
“No! Rishi has two more meetings later
And two more conference calls”
“Excuse me, but… does Rishi …. all day?”
It’s the Britons who cherish
The good times long gone
Those who get married
To get a cheap council flat
Those who have nothing
And who lost their job
Those who can’t understand
When they see Londongrad
“Look, Rishi, excuse me…”
“Stop bothering me! Stop!
Go to hell, commoner!”