by Dana Lyons

Description: Extended Single Includes:
1. I'd Go Anywhere To Fight For Oil To Lubricate the Red White & Blue (2:54)
2. My Country (6:02)
3. Prayer For This Land (5:44)
4. WTO Disco (3:15)

Review(s): "I'm hopelessly prejudiced when it comes to country music. Recorded in Hicksville, Alabama and played in Miners' Welfare Clubs in small towns in Lanarkshire, everything about country, as far as I'm concerned, is opposed to all that is urban and funky and good. What it certainly doesn't do is irony. And it couldn't be anti-war.

But, apparently I'm very, very wrong. Dana Lyons has had his album, Cows with Guns: the Cow Pie Compilation in the Irish charts for months. It's named after his single that tells the story of a cow revolution. They take on George W and the burger multinationals, led by Cow Tse Tongue. It's clever, witty, and made me laugh out loud more than once.

Now Lyons' single, I'd Go Anywhere to Fight for Oil to Lubricate the Red, White and Blue, is due to be released this side of the Irish Sea. Every anti-war movement needs to have a sense of humour, or else all the death and destruction would send you over the edge.

I'd Go Anywhere to Fight for Oil has that kind of ability to laugh at America that you never expect Americans to have. It makes the real reason for war on Iraq clear - to keep America's huge cars and air conditioning systems running smoothly and cheaply - but it does it with an oompa band accompaniment, which is always a bonus. --Jo Harvie

This has to be in with a chance of the longest title of the year award! Dana Lyons is a self-proclaimed'enviro-mental-ist with definite leanings toward mental (but that's a good thing, of course). A follow-up to his relatively successful Cows With Guns single, this is a satirical track in the style of an army marching/recruiting song. Although it is originally from 1991 and presumably written about the Gulf War it is obviously relevant today. Lyons is against the war with Iraq but this review is not the place to agree or disagree with him. What he has produced is, quite simply, a funny song with a hard-hitting message. The not so subtle suggestion is that the Americans would pick a fight with anyone if it guaranteed their oil supply: If you drive a big V-8, it's time to celebrate. They're gonna fight a war for you, to keep prices cheap so when you drive or when you sleep, you can do it in an air-conditioned room. For driving is your right, so let's get out there and fight, you can read it in the constitution, oh I'd go anywhere to fight for oil, to lubricate the red, white and blue!

There are three other songs on the single - two, more traditional Americana tracks and another satirical offering. The first of the Americana style songs is a strange choice to follow the title track, but My Country, in which Lyons says he'll fight for his country, is nonetheless an excellent example of his songwriting talent. Prayer For This Land is more run of the mill and would be classed as an album filler. The final track is WTO Disco and he's back to the satire. This time it's the World Trade Organisation that gets the edge of his tongue. Set to the music of YMCA, it is good for a chuckle or two if you are one of those people who like a dig at the large conglomerates.

Dana Lyons has his heart in the right place and I'm sure that he'll continue his crusade whether or not this single is a success. --David Blue