Malvina Reynolds: Song Lyrics and Poems  



The Birch Society

Notes: words and chorus by Malvina Reynolds, suggested tune for verses "Oh, Susanna"; copyright 1962 by author.


Chorus:
Oh California, you're simply great--
You're a lovely and productive state--
You grow berries, you grow beans,
You grow cantaloupes and greens;
You grow fruit juice by the quart,
You grow every nuts of every sort--
You grow every kind of bush and tree--
And you also grow the Birch Society.

There's a crop of types around our state, you see them here and there
They gather up in bunches, and their clamor fills the air
They're afraid of nearly everything that's for the general good
They holler "Red" if something's said for peace and brotherhood.

They bellow "Revolution" at things they do not like
Like income tax and housing and when workers go on strike
They drive inquiry from the schools, discussion is a sin
The teachers hide their textbooks when the Birch comes marching in.

Everyone is subversive who dares to disagree
And that means everybody but the Birch Society
They flail their charges all around at everything that comes
They're so afraid of violence that now they're throwing bombs.

They're found in Arizona and almost everywhere
But out in California we've got more than our share
The crops we grow are dandy, but one of them's a pest
It's crowding out the freedom of the nation and the West.

Last Chorus:
Oh California, you're simply great--
You're a lovely and productive state--
You grow berries, you grow beans,
You grow cantaloupes and greens;
You grow fruit juice by the quart,
You grow every nuts of every sort
But you better grow a bumper crop of true democracy
And that'll be the finish of the Birch Society.


Malvina Reynolds songbook(s) in which the music to this song appears:
---- [none]

Other place(s) where the music to this song appears:
---- Broadside No. 2 (March 1962)
---- Broadside: Songs of Our Times..., Vol. 2 (New York: Oak Publications, 1968), p. 23

Malvina Reynolds recording(s) on which this song is performed:
---- [none]


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