Black 47 Rocks Hard Against U.S. Iraq War

L arry Kirwan despises George W. Bush’s war policy. “Our troops have been betrayed by a bunch of grasping politicians who have cast them into this morally indefensible, vanity war….. For rock musicians, this war may well be a last chance to redeem our particular art form and grant it some needed relevance and credibility,” Kirwan declares in the final pages of his just-published musical autobiography, Green Suede Shoes (Thunder’s Mouth Press, 2005). Kirwan and his band Black 47 have also just released their antiwar song “Downtown Baghdad Blues.” 

Black 47, also known as the House Band of New York City for their 15-year career of playing up to 120 shows a year, have challenged fans to stay with them as they confront the U.S. regime’s policies in their shows, turning each performance into a protest rally. “Yeah, we do ‘Downtown Baghdad Blues’ live every night now, and it splits the audience. Causes quite a stir,” Kirwan matter-of-factly stated in a late March interview. 

In his book, the Wexford-born Black 47 leader explains the song’s context, and his band’s fierce antiwar stance: “Black 47 has always had a considerable body of its fans in the armed services; we support them wholeheartedly, yet question why they have been sent halfway around the world to get trapped in this quagmire. And we refuse to be browbeaten into silence by chicken hawks and armchair patriots who cry treason at the first sign of dissent.” 

Black 47 takes its name from the awful year 1847, when a brutal government policy killed thousands of Irish people; survivors cursed those rulers and fought back any way they could. Kirwan recounts in Green Suede Shoes how he long ago vowed never to witness injustice in silence. Black 47’s stance today is unflinching: “We’ve spoken out against this travesty from the beginning, and suffered the loss of many a fan and friend as a consequence. That’s as it should be.  The purpose of a band like ours is to speak its mind, regardless. Iraq is the defining issue of our time.” 

Black 47 is perhaps the U.S.’s most raucous working class band and its packed shows are wild, dancing affairs. “Take it to the streets if you’re looking for redemption,” they roar in one of their signature songs. Larry Kirwan’s rock n’ roll faith takes fire as he raises his fist onstage, and in Green Suede Shoes he is serious about solidarity: “Music and the right songs, if played with conviction, can still galvanize large and small audiences and propel them toward activism. What a need the United States has for a broader-based opposition to this disastrous war in Iraq.”