Red fly the banners o
Red Fly the Banners, O, or Trotsky's Lament is a British and Irish folk song expressing Marxist-Leninist political views. It is based on, and sung to the tune of, the traditional English ballad Green Grow the Rushes, O.
Lyrics
Like many folk songs, Red Fly the Banners, O has multiple versions; all are cumulative in form. The version sung has tended to indicate which particular left grouping the singer adheres to.The Stalinist version builds to a 14th and final verse as follows:
Fourth verse
Because of the dependence of "four years" on "five years", the 4th verse must use a different "Four for...". One version is:Trotskyist version:
The full Trotskyist version - the version most commonly heard from the mid 1960s onward - was
- The Fourth International of Trotskyist parties