Literary Criticism

"Song of the Tear-gassed Man"

I love it! I love it!

This tear gas sanctifies my corrupted soul.

Oh! The divine odor of it, the excitement

better than demos or rock and roll.

Get a load of it, brother, while it's free,

You may never get another chance;

this is the right stuff, the real Mccoy,

pure, imported chemicals from France.

We may not have money in the bank,

no food on the table, no seat on the Love bus, 

but we have secret marshals and policemen

and most of all, we have a lot if tear gas.

Get a load of it, brother, while it's free

 You may never get another chance;

this is the right stuff, the real Mccoy,

pure, imported chemicals from France.

We may not have houses and running water.

the taxmen may be running after us,

but we have floods, garbage, Amendment 6

and most of all, we have a lot of tear gas.

Get a load of it, brother, while it's free

 You may never get another chance;

this is the right stuff, the real Mccoy,

pure, imported chemicals from France.

Don't save your tears, brother, they are meant

to be shed, you cannot turn them into cash,

but if you join me in this martial festival

you'll get a taste of refreshing tear gas.

Get a load of it, brother, while it's free

 You may never get another chance;

this is the right stuff, the real Mccoy,

pure, imported chemicals from France.

~~Song of the Tear-gassed Man was written by Cirilo F. Bautista. He is a poet, fictionist and an essayist and was active in students policies and cultural activities during his students days. This song falls under the Marxism wherein Marxism is an economic and socio-political worldview that contains within it a political ideology for how to change and improve society by implementing socialism.

  This song is more on socio-political worldview because the author describes here his experience regarding the tear-gas issue which is very famous when it comes to rally. People who are not in favor to the government or the people who wants to fight their freedom and rights as a students, member of the country, as a man always do anything just express it to the ones concern. Political view in away that tear gas is usually used during war or of dispersing rioters and mobs. It is irritating to the eyes and blinds them temporarily with tears. During the martial law era, tear gas was often used on the anti-administration rallyists.

   I also noticed that there's rhyming in every 2nd and 4th line of every stanza of the song.