Twenty years ago, Dropkick Murphys wrote a mock recruitment song for the CIA that acknowledged the agency\u2019s fondness for overthrowing governments and installing military dictatorships friendly to the US.<\/span><\/p>\n The song, a quasi-hardcore number called \u201cCitizen C.I.A.<\/a>\u201d, included the lyrics: \u201cWe\u2019ll teach them all our secrets and then we\u2019ll walk away\/We\u2019re knee-deep in guerrillas, yeah the party never stops\/United States of America, undercover cop.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The song seems almost quaint today considering what\u2019s happening here at home. The band must agree, because they\u2019ve reworked it into a recruitment song for ICE<\/a>, whose masked agents are currently causing mayhem across the US.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n The reimagined track, titled \u201cCitizen I.C.E.\u201d, is included on a new LP, \u201cNew England Forever,\u201d featuring the Dropkicks on one side and fellow Boston band Haywire on the other. The 12-inch vinyl will be available exclusively at shows on the Dropkicks\u2019 upcoming St. Patrick\u2019s Day tour<\/a>, which concludes with five shows in Boston in March. (Four shows are scheduled at MGM Musical Hall at Fenway, and one will be at the House of Blues.) <\/span><\/p>\n On social media, Dropkick Murphys are previewing the song with a video<\/a> that includes images of the killing in Minneapolis of Renee Nicole Good by ICE agent Jonathan Ross. The pointed lyrics include the lines: \u201cCome celebrate dictatorships\/And bolster the regime\/While abusing helpless immigrants\/A bully\u2019s wet dream\/You\u2019ve joined the traitors\u2019 ranks\/To play the hand of God\/In a scumbag grifter\u2019s kidnapping squad.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The song\u2019s strong anti-ICE sentiment shouldn\u2019t surprise anyone who is familiar with the Dropkicks. The Celtic punk band has been loud and proud in their opposition to the policies of President Donald Trump, participating in several anti-Trump protests <\/a>and speaking out<\/a> against MAGA loyalists.<\/span><\/p>\n In an interview<\/a> with the Globe in November, the band\u2019s frontman, Ken Casey<\/a>, said he\u2019s been alarmed that so few self-proclaimed punk bands <\/a>are speaking up. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re going to get to this moment where some lunatic wants to end our democracy\u2026 and most punk bands have decided to just keep their head down and stay quiet and hope this all blows over because they don\u2019t want to affect their business,\u201d Casey said.<\/span><\/p>\n Mark Shanahan can be reached at mark.shanahan@globe.com<\/a>. Follow him @MarkAShanahan<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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