Adron - "Alliance" (Robert Wyatt)

A COVID/quarantine/isolation production from various collaborating bedrooms and other home environments.

This song was originally written and performed by Robert Wyatt, possibly my most admired artist in any medium, released in 1985 on the album "Old Rottenhat."

The lyrics are prescient and incisive, and though I had always presumed that Robert was too pure to ever be coverable, this song seized me and demanded special attention and a fresh spotlight. I offer this on the morning of the 2020 presidential election, with great anxiety, and my most fervent hopes that regardless of the outcome, we will not go back to sleep.

The lyrics:

There is a kind of compromise you are master of
Your endless gentle nudging left us polarized
It's hard to talk to enemies – we are enemies
What we had in common makes it even worse
You're proud of being middle class (meaning upper class)
You say you're self sufficient (but you don't dig your own coal)
I think that what you're frightened of more than anything
Is knowing you need workers more than they need you
"A herd of independent minds" Chomsky got it right
You're jogging into battle waving old school ties

----

All my love and gratitude in the world to Mr. Wyatt.

Produced by Adron
Vocals, guitar, keyboards by Adron
Drums and percussion by Colin Agnew
Mixed by John Hendicott
Recorded and engineered in Adron's bedroom by Adron, and in Colin Agnew's living room by Colin Agnew in April, 2020