Stand Firm
[AKA 'CIVIL-DEFENCE CHA-CHA']
Satirising government advice on how to survive a nuclear attack, the song has its genesis in a remark made by Minister, Henry Brooke: "Let us pray night and morning that this dreadful thing never happens, but if it does, we must stand firm." Leon takes as his material the Civil Defence instructions in booklets such as The Hydrogen Bomb and What To Do If The Bomb Drops, which contained ludicrous tips on how to deal with a nuclear war, such as putting one's fingers in the ears to deaden the noise of the explosions. (Its original title was "Civil-defence Cha-Cha".)
It was first published in Tribune and then released on the 1964 LP, Vote For Us, where it is preceded by the satirical spoken piece, "To Deter or Not to Deter", also written by Leon. The juxtaposition is interesting, since the prose contains elements also present in the song, including "we must stand firm", and images of no-gooders limping around Trafalgar Square. Presumably the song was written first, although it could conceivably have been the other way around. (Interestingly, the spoken piece also contains the phrase "No cause for alarm" at its conclusion, the name of another of Leon's songs.)
The song was revived in the early Thatcher era, when the nuclear issue became pressing again, with the publication of more (essentially unchanged) government instruction on how to prepare for holocaust in the infamous Protect and Survive.
It was first published in Tribune and then released on the 1964 LP, Vote For Us, where it is preceded by the satirical spoken piece, "To Deter or Not to Deter", also written by Leon. The juxtaposition is interesting, since the prose contains elements also present in the song, including "we must stand firm", and images of no-gooders limping around Trafalgar Square. Presumably the song was written first, although it could conceivably have been the other way around. (Interestingly, the spoken piece also contains the phrase "No cause for alarm" at its conclusion, the name of another of Leon's songs.)
The song was revived in the early Thatcher era, when the nuclear issue became pressing again, with the publication of more (essentially unchanged) government instruction on how to prepare for holocaust in the infamous Protect and Survive.
"The instructions in this song, culled from the Civil Defence Handbook, entitled 'The Hydrogen Bomb', should, in the event of a nuclear war, prove invaluable." - LR (Songs For City Squares and Sceptical Circles (songbook), 1966)
Recordings
Version 1 (1964) Live recording
Version 2 (1981) Live recording with lengthy spoken introduction. This recording omits verse 3
- Vote For Us
- The Best of British Folk Music A various-artists compilation released on Transatlantic Records
- The World Turned Upside Down
- Chronicling The Times
Version 2 (1981) Live recording with lengthy spoken introduction. This recording omits verse 3
Sheet music
- Songs For City Squares And Sceptical Circles p11
- Look Here p25
- Bringing the News from Nowhere p80. This version omits verse 3, so matching the live recording of 1981