(Verse 1 – Intro & Lenin's Warning) Taking a trip in a time machine Out for a bit of a lark, Leon Trotsky’s ghost Was talking to Engels and Marx. They didn't like communism, but they liked Lenin's dream, “Watch out for Uncle Joe!”—that was the key. And Trotsky had a private word for his old friend: He told him to watch out for Uncle Joe, And there was a certain something else That he really, really, really needed to know… (Pre-Chorus) “Lay off the hair cream,” Trotsky cried, “If you don’t want to perish!” Lenin frowned, “What an insult to the workers, a symbol of the crown!” “Try wearing a wig!” (Verse 2 – Cromwell & Lambert’s Regret) Then across the centuries, the ghost of Leon went, To an ex-Lord Protector who failed to cement His father’s fragile throne. Richard Cromwell sat scared, As General Lambert paced, a future despair. Lambert had high ambitions, but saw his options cancelled, His last hope of the Republic easily dismantled. Trotsky grabbed Lambert and whispered a name: The real enemy won't meet you, he's just playing a game. (Pre-Chorus) Trotsky hissed: “Beware of General Monck! He’s marching south from Scotland, he’s not here for a lark!” Lambert gasped, “Such a military betrayal!” He then heard more: “You should go have a pint with Charles Stuart!” (The King) Lambert sighed, “The Monarchy—that ultimate insult to war!” (Verse 3 – China & The Purge) Trotsky zipped to the future, to a victim of the Purge, Poor Nikolai Bukharin, who felt the ideological scourge. Bukharin’s message was sharp, though his own neck felt the blow, To Zhou Enlai, the young Communist ally, he needed him to know, That the Generalissimo’s promises of union were frail, That a sudden knife-turn would surely prevail. (Pre-Chorus) Bukharin whispered: “Don't trust the Generalissimo! He'll purge you before you finish the Northern Expedition!” Then Trotsky offered the ultimate insult to the proletarian cause: “Take up ballroom dancing lessons at the Shanghai Grand Hotel!” Zhou Enlai choked, “That decadent bourgeois pause!” (Verse 4 – Napoleon’s Dynasty) The final great blunder, the Emperor's tragic flaw, To ditch the Republic and swear by dynastic law. Trotsky sought Robespierre, consumed by his own zeal, Whose ghost knew what it meant for an ideal to turn real. Robespierre had fought the kings, but watched a new one rise, Now he gave the ultimate warning about a Habsburg prize. (Pre-Chorus) Robespierre cried: “Napoleon, watch the Habsburgs! They'll give you a crown and a wife, but ruin your line!” Then Trotsky gave Napoleon a truly ghastly directive: “Go visit the tomb of Louis XVI and ask for tips on diplomacy!” Napoleon roared, “The Revolution betrayed!” He felt the shock collective. (Outro) So the memory never fades, and the warning is clear, That power corrupts, though you fight for the pure. And the price of a future—the past you must shun, Or you’ll find that your life's work is tragically undone!
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