Watching TV
We were watching TVWatching TVWe were watching TVWatching TV
In Tiananmen SquareLost my baby thereMy yellow roseIn her bloodstained clothesShe was a short order pastry chefIn a Dim Sum dive on the Yangtze tidewayShe had shiny hairShe was the daughter of an engineerWon't you shed a tearFor my yellow roseMy yellow roseIn her bloodstained clothesShe had perfect breastsShe had high hopesShe had almond eyesShe had yellow thighsShe was a student of philosophyWon't you grieve with meFor my yellow roseShed a tearFor her bloodstained clothesShe had shiny hairShe had perfect breastsShe had high hopesShe had almond eyesShe had yellow thighsShe was the daughter of an engineerSo get out your pistolsGet out your stonesGet out your knivesCut them to the boneThey are the lackeys of the grocer's machineThey built the dark satanic millsThat manufacture hell on earthThey bought the front row seats on CalvaryThey are irrelevant to me
And I grieve for my sister
We were watching TVWatching TVWe were watching TVWatching TV
She wore a white bandanna that saidFreedom nowShe thought the Great Wall of ChinaWould come tumbling downShe was a studentHer father was an engineerWon't you shed a tearFor my yellow roseMy yellow roseIn her bloodstained clothesHer grandpa fought old Chiang Kai-shekThat no-good, low-down dirty ratWho used to order his troopsTo fire on the women and childrenImagine that; imagine thatAnd in the spring of '48Mao Tse-tung got quite irateAnd he kicked that old dictator ChiangOut of the state of ChinaChiang Kai-shek came down in FormosaAnd they armed the island of QuemoyAnd the shells were flying across the China SeaAnd they turned Formosa into a shoe factoryCalled Taiwan
And she is different from Cro-Magnon manShe's different from Anne BoleynShe is different from the RosenbergsAnd from the unknown JewShe's different from the unknown NicaraguanHalf superstar, half victimShe's a picture star, conceptually newAnd she is different from the DodoAnd from the KankabonoShe's different from the AztecAnd from the CherokeeShe's everybody's sisterShe's symbolic of our failureShe's the one in fifty millionWho can help us to be freeBecause she died on TV