Geography
The earth is a place on which England is found,
And you find it however you twirl the globe round;
For the spots are all red and the rest is all grey,
And that is the meaning of Empire Day.
Gibraltar's a rock that you see very plain,
And attached to its base is the district of Spain.
And the island of Malta is marked further on,
Where some natives were known as the Knights of St. John.
Then Cyprus, and east to the Suez Canal,
That was conquered by Dizzy and Rothschild his pal
With the Sword of the Lord in the old English way:
And that is the meaning of Empire Day.
Our principal imports come far as Cape Horn;
For necessities, cocoa; for luxuries, corn;
Thus Brahmins are born for the rice-field, and thus,
The Gods made the Greeks to grow currants for us;
Of earth's other tributes are plenty to choose,
Tobacco and petrol and Jazzing and Jews:
The Jazzing will pass but the Jews they will stay;
And that is the meaning of Empire Day.
Our principle exports, all labelled and packed,
At the ends of the earth are delivered intact:
Our soap or our salmon can travel in tins
Between the two poles and as like as two pins;
So that Lancashire merchants whenever they like
Can water the beer of a man in Klondike
Or poison the meat of a man in Bombay;
And that is the meaning of Empire Day.
The day of St. George is a musty affair
Which Russians and Greeks are permitted to share;
The day of Trafalgar is Spanish in name
And the Spaniards refuse to pronounce it the same;
But the day of the Empire from Canada came
With Morden and Borden and Beaverbrook's fame
And saintly seraphical souls such as they:
And that is the meaning of Empire Day.
poem by G.K. Chesterton from Songs of Education
Submitted by Veronica Serbanoiu
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Related quotes
Songs of Education
I. HISTORY
Form 991785, Sub-Section D
The Roman threw us a road, a road,
And sighed and strolled away:
The Saxon gave us a raid, a raid,
A raid that came to stay;
The Dane went west, but the Dane confessed
That he went a bit too far;
And we all became, by another name,
The Imperial race we are.
The Imperial race, the inscrutable race,
The invincible race we are.
Though Sussex hills are bare, are bare,
And Sussex weald is wide,
From Chichester to Chester
Men saw the Norman ride;
He threw his sword in the air and sang
To a sort of a light guitar;
It was all the same, for we all became
The identical nobs we are.
The identical nobs, individual nobs,
Unmistakable nobs we are.
The people lived on the land, the land,
They pottered about and prayed;
They built a cathedral here and there
Or went on a small crusade:
Till the bones of Becket were bundled out
For the fun of a fat White Czar,
And we all became, in spoil and flame,
The intelligent lot we are.
The intelligent lot, the intuitive lot,
The infallible lot we are.
O Warwick woods are green, are green,
But Warwick trees can fall:
And Birmingham grew so big, so big,
And Stratford stayed so small.
Till the hooter howled to the morning lark
That sang to the morning star:
And we all became, in freedom's name,
The fortunate chaps we are.
The fortunate chaps, felicitous chaps,
The fairy-like chaps we are.
The people, they left the land, the land,
But they went on working hard:
And the village green that had got mislaid
Turned up in the squire's back-yard:
But twenty men of us all got work
On a bit of his motor car;
And we all became, with the world's acclaim,
The marvellous mugs we are:
The marvellous mugs, miraculous mugs,
The mystical mugs we are.
II. GEOGRAPHY
Form 17955301, Sub-Section Z
The earth is a place on which England is found,
And you find it however you twirl the globe round;
For the spots are all red and the rest is all grey,
And that is the meaning of Empire Day.
Gibraltar's a rock that you see very plain,
And attached to its base is the district of Spain.
And the island of Malta is marked further on,
Where some natives were known as the Knights of St. John.
Then Cyprus, and east to the Suez Canal,
That was conquered by Dizzy and Rothschild his pal
With the Sword of the Lord in the old English way:
And that is the meaning of Empire Day.
Our principal imports come far as Cape Horn;
For necessities, cocoa; for luxuries, corn;
Thus Brahmins are born for the rice-field, and thus,
The Gods made the Greeks to grow currants for us;
Of earth's other tributes are plenty to choose,
Tobacco and petrol and Jazzing and Jews:
The Jazzing will pass but the Jews they will stay;
And that is the meaning of Empire Day.
Our principle exports, all labelled and packed,
At the ends of the earth are delivered intact:
Our soap or our salmon can travel in tins
Between the two poles and as like as two pins;
So that Lancashire merchants whenever they like
Can water the beer of a man in Klondike
Or poison the meat of a man in Bombay;
And that is the meaning of Empire Day.
The day of St. George is a musty affair
Which Russians and Greeks are permitted to share;
The day of Trafalgar is Spanish in name
And the Spaniards refuse to pronounce it the same;
But the day of the Empire from Canada came
With Morden and Borden and Beaverbrook's fame
And saintly seraphical souls such as they:
And that is the meaning of Empire Day.
V. THE HIGHER MATHEMATICS
Form 339125, Sub-Section M
Twice one is two,
Twice two is four,
But twice two is ninety-six if you know the way to score.
Half of two is one,
Half of four is two,
But half of four is forty per cent. if your name is Montagu:
For everything else is on the square
If done by the best quadratics;
And nothing is low in High Finance
Or the Higher Mathematics.
A straight line is straight
And a square mile is flat:
But you learn in trigonometrics a trick worth two of that.
Two straight lines
Can't enclose a Space,
But they can enclose a Corner to support the Chosen Race:
For you never know what Dynamics do
With the lower truths of Statics;
And half of two is a touring car
In the Higher Mathematics.
There is a place apart
Beyond the solar ray,
Where parallel straight lines can meet in an unofficial way.
There is a room that holds
The examiner or his clerks,
Where you can square the circle or the man that gives the marks.
Where you hide in the cellar and then look down
On the poets that live in the attics;
For the whole of the house is upside down
In the Higher Mathematics.
poem by Gilbert Keith Chesterton
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All comparisons between America's current place in the world and anything legitimately called an empire in the past reveal ignorance and confusion about any reasonable meaning of the concept empire, especially the comparison with the Roman Empire.
quote by Donald Kagan
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The foundation of empire is art and science. Remove them or degrade them, and the empire is no more. Empire follows art and not vice versa as Englishmen suppose.
quote by William Blake
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Vast Empire And Fallen Throne.
A vast empire surrounds us
But we stand with the fallen throne and
Confounded and crestfallen we are.
Our empire of amasses; not of accumulations!
Our empire of ownership; not of master-hood!
Our empire of intelligence; not of erudition!
The throne lies down with its jewels gone,
It lies at our feet and none can pick it up.
We feel on our skull the shame of past.
Our throne of civilisation; not of progress!
Our throne of peace; not of harmony!
Our throne of diamonds; not of copper
The empire will swell and explode next
And our throne will lie buried ever.
The empire will thereafter turn into a planet of its own
And go on the orbit of might and moss and
Our throne will join the fossils down deep!
The ides of the present remain told aloud!
poem by M.d Dinesh Nair
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Leading You Astray
Bad people,
Power cuts!
Aspire,
Inspire,
Milk and honey,
Sugar and tea,
Survival of the fittest! !
Strength,
Change, challenge!
And, it took place in her room twice.
The 4th Empire was the Roman Empire!
The 4th Beast was the Roman Empire! !
Drones, thrones, stone;
Like the great sword with eyes all over it,
but, your uncontrolled lust is leading you astray.
poem by Edward Kofi Louis
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Political Advisors Interpret Omen
Babylonian Empire
Egyptian Empire
Athenian Empire
Roman Empire
British Empire
American Empire
League of Nations
United Nations
World Governments
none endures
leadership abuses
splinter parties
when citizen rights
citizen freedoms
are political games
praises gods of gold
silver brass military iron
wood precious stone
'read the writing on the wall'
portent doom inevitable decline
political advisors interpret omen
bodiless hands
flaring brands
seize oil lands
MENE MENE TEKEL PERES
count days profits weigh abuses
divide ill gained spoils nations
arrogance blasphemy has rewards
measure accountability of names
God has numbered the very days
of all kingdoms governments
brings all things to their ends
found wanting weighed scales
divided are kingdoms empires
war conquest given to victors
Medes Persians.... power inherits
poem by Terence George Craddock
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Time Displaced Empires Conflict Expire
Byzantium Byzantine Empire survives;
to be time displaced Islam at greatest extent?
Arab Empire this region controlled 75%.
Europe dark Middle Ages slowly recovers;
Renaissance rebirth of 12th century leads
after centuries to European new aspirations?
Naval prowess of growing European powers?
Forced flexes muscles Ottoman Empire confronts
halts further rapid Ottoman Empire expansions?
European Catholic maritime states;
a coalition of southern Mediterranean
a Holy League fleet in 1571assembles?
Illustrious members were the Papal States;
Habsburg states of Spain Sicily Naples;
Republic of Venice Republic of Genoa mobilizes;
Grand Duchy of Tuscany the Duchies
of Savoy Parma Urbino pledged prepares;
Knights of Malta all will fight Ottomans?
50,000 infantry 200 galleys 100 other ships;
4,500 cavalry adequate artillery too late...
too late assembled defense Holy League fleet?
Venetian defenders of island Cyprus;
in July 1570 were attacked by Ottomans
invaded by conquering Ottoman forces?
Too late to aid Cyprus prevent island's;
capture by conquest Islamic Ottomans
Holy League waited too long perhaps?
Who failed to assemble which powerful allies?
Holy Roman Empire their truce with Istanbul kept?
France honoured anti-Spanish alliance with Ottomans?
Mighty Portugal could spare no forces;
in ongoing maritime confrontations...
was heavily engaged with rival Ottomans;
in both the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean;
proud Portugal had Reconquista fought...
539 years its Moroccan campaign now fights.
poem by Terence George Craddock
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Empire Of My Mind
Well, there is trouble in my mind
There is dark
Theres dark, and there is light.
I lay our hands over my eyes
As I look deep
Through valleys deep and wide
Across the border line
For the empire in my mind
You are the reason I dont sleep
You are the light
Thats breaking through the leaves
You know how hard I try
To believe
I have something good inside
Over barricades I climb
For the empire in my mind.
I have no love somewhere in time
Ive been lifted up
Ive looked honor in the eyes
I have no reason; I have no rhyme
I cannot deny
Theres a darkness thats inside
I am guilty by design
And now I realize
The temptations made me blind
To the empire in my mind
There is no order
There is chaos
And there is crime
There is no one home tonight
In the empire in my mind
There is no distance that I dont see
I do have a will
No limit to my reach
I wish I would; I wish I might
See a line tonight
Separating wrong from right
Some are only born to try
And maybe thats the reason why
I am afraid someday Ill find
There is no empire in my mind
There is trouble in my life
There is trouble in my life
song performed by by Wallflowers
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Destroying an Empire to win a war is no victory. And ending a battle to save an Empire is no defeat.
So we make this big loan, most of it comes back to the United States, the country is left with the debt plus lots of interest, and they basically become our servants, our slaves. It's an empire. There's no two ways about it. It's a huge empire. It's been extremely successful.
quote by John Perkins
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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It is a cliche these days to observe that the United States now possesses a global empire - different from Britain's and Rome's but an empire nonetheless.
quote by Robert D. Kaplan
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Everything Has Meaning
the floor give meaning to the ceiling
the shore to the sea
the moon to the night sky
the sun to the earth
and man in between and woman
around the arms of man
and the dog amidst them
there is meaning to everything
and to everyone, and the important conclusion is inevitable
there is meaning in you.
decorate this meaning with a smile.
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
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There Is A Legend Told
Once upon a time in a land of wishes,
Wishes that took ages to manifest,
Yet certainly coming true,
Supremacy, an empire emerged,
The King and Queen did stand,
So noble and highly honoured,
So marubic in her seat of honour,
Her highness viewed by the maltitude,
His majesty greatly honoured beyond,
Yes beyond the beyond of the beyond,
Such was the kingdom,
Such was their love like a kingdom
The vow to guard, and also to guide,
To distinguish a potatoe from an egg,
To separate a kiss from sex,
For love was the kingdom,
And sex became war unto them,
The priceless bravery of a kingdom,
To never seek out war,
But certainly to be ready for it,
Someone did show us,
Certainly how it looked like
It was beyond the thoughts of cowards,
A kingdom fighting a cause,
To defend their appluase,
Was it a plausible perfidy we saw,
Or maybe an indecent disire he had
For to love is like building an empire,
For to commit is like to stand still,
And for sex is like engaging in war,
So shall the empire never seek war,
Certainly, but, be prepared for it
The meanings hidden were unveiled,
The empire's parables were explained,
The poets did saw it coming,
Some fell and few stood still,
The legend of the empire
poem by Gaylord Munemo
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Writing On The Wall
" "abusive use power
is tide endemic
to the entire world"
rulers kings councils
from time immemorial
abused privilege power
in name of divine
right to usurp rule
in name of religion
twisted to cause personal
in name of deity human
desire to be god worshipped"
"Babylonian Empire
Egyptian Empire
Athenian Empire
Roman Empire
British Empire
American Empire
League of Nations
United Nations
World Governments
none endures
leadership abuses
splinter parties
when citizen rights
citizen freedoms
are political games
praises gods of gold
silver brass military iron
wood precious stone
'read the writing on the wall'
portent doom inevitable decline
political advisors interpret omen
bodiless hands
flaring brands
seize oil lands
MENE MENE TEKEL PERES
count days profits weigh abuses
divide ill gained spoils nations
arrogance blasphemy has rewards
measure accountability of names
God has numbered the very days
of all kingdoms governments
brings all things to their ends
found wanting weighed scales
divided are kingdoms empires
war conquest given to victors
Medes Persians.... power inherits"
poem by Terence George Craddock
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Hands All Round
First pledge our Queen this solemn night,
Then drink to England, every guest;
That man’s the best Cosmopolite
Who loves his native country best.
May freedom’s oak for ever live
With stronger life from day to day;
That man’s the true Conservative
Who lops the moulder’d branch away.
Hands all round!
God the traitor’s hope confound!
To this great cause of Freedom drink, my friends,
And the great name of England, round and round.
To all the loyal hearts who long
To keep our English Empire whole!
To all our noble sons, the strong
New England of the Southern Pole!
To England under Indian skies,
To those dark millions of her realm!
To Canada whom we love and prize,
Whatever statesman hold the helm.
Hands all round!
God the traitor’s hope confound!
To this great name of England drink, my friends,
And all her glorious empire, round and round.
To all our statesmen so they be
True leaders of the land’s desire!
To both our Houses, may they see
Beyond the borough and the shire!
We sail’d wherever ship could sail,
We founded many a mighty state;
Pray God our greatness may not fail
Thro’ craven fears of being great.
Hands all round!
God the traitor’s hope confound!
To this great cause of Freedom drink my friends,
And the great name of England, round and round.
poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson
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Mandates of Their Empire
Do not let language be used against you.
Refuse the rhetoric of mass control.
The system will not reveal what is true,
For honesty emancipates the soul.
Do not debauch your ideas or words.
If you do, you choose to refute meaning.
Why would one desire to be left unheard,
Relying on others intervening?
Do not wait for the world to become fair
When billionaires plan your daily routine.
Renounce the indoctrination, despair,
And injustice of their content machine.
Do whatever you sincerely desire.
Disregard the mandates of their empire.
poem by Tim Stensloff
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Everybodys Crying Mercy
I cant believe the things Ive seen
I wonder bout some things Ive heard
Everybodys crying mercy
When they dont know the meaning of the word
A bad enough situation
Is sure enough getting worse
Everybodys crying justice
Just as long as theres business first
Toe to toe
Touch and go
Give a cheer
Get your souvenier
People running round in circles
Dont know what theyre headed for
Everybodys crying peace on earth
Just as soon as we win this war
Straight ahead
Knock em dead
Pack your kid
Choose your hypocrite
Well you dont have to go to off broadway
To see something played absurd
Everybodys crying mercy
When they dont know the meaning of the word
Nobody knows the meaning of the word
When they dont know the meaning of the word
Nobody knows the meaning of the word
Nobody knows the meaning of the word
song performed by by Elvis Costello
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Moana
Somehow calm as she walks on stage
Her entire empire becomes your taste (x2)
show me
come let me know what you're like (x2)
What's your taste?
I bet she carves your heart when she walks onstage
Her empire slowly becomes your place (x2)
show me...come on
Let me know what you're like (x2)
In your place... your place...
Somehow calm as she walks offstage
An entire empire recall your face...your face...
show me...come
Let me know what you're like (x2)
Your face...your face...
song performed by by Deftones
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Empire Square production finishes in about a month's time, so at the moment, right now, I'm just completely full on Empire Square. There's no time to do anything else. But there's a few things on the back burner, including another Blur album before too long.
quote by Dave Rowntree
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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This agglomeration which was called and which still calls itself the Holy Roman Empire was neither holy, nor Roman, nor an empire.