Commoners Choir sing a Christmas song of festive hope, seasonal joy, and communal action against pig-ignorant authority. A song based on the loveable story of the 'Santa Claus Army' members of the radical Danish Solvognen theatre group (“The Sun Chariot,” an allusion to Norse mythology).
During the 1970s, the collective performed many large-scale actions
intended to make bourgeois Danish society “act itself out as theater.”
In the the lead-up to Christmas 1974 they paraded through the city of Copenhagen, singing
carols, handing out sweets and hot chocolate, and asking everyone what
they wanted for Christmas. After spending a few days cementing the good
image of Santa Claus, their generosity became increasingly radical.
Among other things, the Santas climbed a barbed wire fence surrounding
the recently shutte red General Motors assembly plant with the purpose
of giving jobs back to “their rightful owners.” The week-long
performance reached its crescendo inside one of Copenhagen’s biggest
department stores, the Magasin, when the Santas started handing out presents to
customers directly off the shelves. The Santas said: “Merry Christmas! Today, no-one has to pay.” They
justified their actions, saying they were returning gifts to the workers
who had made them.
The shoppers were thrilled, thanking the Santas and wishing them
well. Children stared, amazed. Then the police came. Magasin officials
grabbed at the white Santa beards, trying to pull them off the actors’
faces, as police handcuffed the Santas and hauled them out of the store.
The children cried. The actors were thrilled because all the roles were
performed accordingly – the generous and good Santas, representing hope
at Christmas, were being arrested and hauled away by the police against
the will of the people.
The performance exposed the radical implications of the myth of Santa
Claus’ boundless generosity, demonstrating that true generosity is
impossible within the narrow terms of capitalist society.
Solvognen’s spectacles were powerful, among other
reasons because they appropriated images from popular culture and
ascribed these images a new meaning: Father Christmas handing out gifts
to children became a critique of hypocrisy in consumerist society. The
well-known imagery drew the audience quickly into the performances and,
further, equipped them with a key to interpret what was going on
A debate raged in Copenhagen newspapers for weeks following the
arrest of the Santas. It focused on the treatment of the Santas during
the arrest, as well as the freedom of speech and democracy. The
political theatre of Solvognen was successful: it got people talking
about the issues of the day through humour and spectacle, not to mention
Christmas cheer.
Most of Solvognen’s actions were surprise performances for unsuspecting
audiences in unlikely public spaces. Through performances that were
playful, bold and easy to understand, Solvognen managed to spread its
political ideas beyond the circle of true believers: most Danes knew
about Solvognen and its activities. Legend has it that people even
started seeing them when they weren’t there: at a public viewing of an
American F-16 jet fighter, three real security guards were arrested on
suspicion of being members of Solvognen!
The film above was premiered as part of Mark Thomas' Christmas Show.
If you enjoy this video and are able to contribute to helping people eat over the winter period, please follow this link:
https://www.trusselltrust.org/
The Santa Clause Army - Commoners Choir
Intro
SANTA 1: Have you been good this year?
SANTA 2: Radically good?
Verse 1
The year that no-one wished for
Is drawing to a close
The year when all our ho ho ho’s
Turned into oh oh ohs –
This time of fear and misery
Of loss and excess death
Of blood and sweat and many tears
It isn’t over yet
Chorus
So we dance and we sing
Bringing cheer to the neighbourhood
And we do, oh we do
Acts of radical good
And we sing and we dance
We’re a modern-day Robin Hood
And we do, oh we do
Acts of radical good
Verse 2
This year has been a big one
For ostentatious gifts
A badly-broken Track & Trace
And faulty drive-through tests
A privatised economy
A holly jolly spend
As contracts in their millions
Are gifted to their friends
Chorus
Verse 3(Child solo)
Hark the herald populists
Despots in disguise
U-turn after U-turn
From men who aren’t that wise
They weaken and fragment us
They shit on all our dreams
Confusing and dividing us
Hear the angels scream –
Aaaaagh!
Chorus
Interlude
SANTA 1: Joy to the world? We’ll see what we can do.
SANTA 2: Goodwill to all! Not just for the few.
SANTA 1: We know who's been bad and we know who's been good – we come with a message of peace.
SANTA 2: We're the Santa Claus Army, we always have the last laugh – and we know which chimneys to miss!
SANTA: And to be clear: we do not support fizzy drinks companies, nor do we ever
ride on their transportation.
SANTA 2: All together now –
BOTH SANTAS: ho ho ho!
Verse 4
For the givers and the carers
And those who were born in barns
Gather round
We'll turn that crown
Upside down
The elite have taken over
It’s time for us to act
Steal from the rich
Give to the poor
We're taking Christmas back
Chorus repeat to fade with clapping, laughing, ho-ho-ho-inghhhhh
