Drums in the Night
Drums in the Night (Trommeln in der Nacht) is a play by the German playwright Bertolt Brecht. Brecht wrote it between 1919 and 1920, and it received its first theatrical production in 1922. It is in the expressionist style of Ernst Toller and Georg Kaiser. The play—along with Baal and In the Jungle—won the Kleist Prize for 1922 (although it was widely assumed, perhaps because Drums was the only play of the three to have been produced at that point, that the prize had been awarded to Drums alone); the play was performed all over Germany as a result. Brecht later claimed that he had only written it as a source of income.
Drums in the Night is one of Brecht's earliest plays, written before he became a Marxist, but already the importance of class struggle in Brecht's thinking is apparent. According to Lion Feuchtwanger, the play was originally entitled Spartakus.Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg of the Spartacist League—who were instrumental in the 'Spartacist uprising' in Berlin in January 1919—had only recently been abducted, tortured and killed by Freikorps soldiers.
Part 3
[untitled]
Now, you talk about that Bohagus boy. You know him, Billy Bohagus? They
found him last week out behind the barn [dramatic pause] with his math
teacher, his Scout leader, and the local minister, and that boy had the
nerve to say it was part of a biology project. We killed him; had no
other choice.
Part 3
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I saw you naked, you were chasin' a pig
So I led the police to your house and showed 'em where to dig
You thought you could live in peace
But I saw you naked and I called the police
I saw you naked and I saw the terrible things that you did
I saw you naked and you know it made me sick
I saw you naked, you were campin' with scouts
I know they earned some merit badges when the lights went out
How could you touch those children?
I saw you naked, you were holdin' a trout
I saw you naked and I saw the terrible things that you did
I saw you naked and you know it made me sick
Don't you kids try this solo at home
That man is a trained professional
I saw you naked, you were up in a tree
Were you gonna jump on the paper boy? I hadda wait and see
Were you afraid of squirrels? Poison Ivy?
I saw you naked, you were singin' "Born Free"
"Born Free"
I saw you naked and I saw the terrible things that you did
I saw you naked and you know it made me sick