'It's Their Responsibility' song by Madeleina Kay. Music video filmed and edited by Jeff Kew at the March for Rejoin II.
I wrote the song 'It's Their Responsibility' to express my frustration at the lack of accountability in British politics and the total irresponsibility of British politicians. We filmed the music video at the March for Rejoin II in London on Saturday 23rd September, which was an opportunity to bring the song to life whilst also documenting the protest event. The song has a swing beat to emphasise the optimistic undertone, despite the heavy nature of some of the lyrics and functions as a creative effort to galvanise the pro-EU community in the UK.
Lyrics
There’s not a day that goes by,
That I don’t ask myself why,
And I know you know – it’s not my fault,
And placing blame will not change the result
It was nothing more than a game to them,
And they took their sides on a whim,
The stakes were high, but they have nothing to lose,
With the pretence, we had the right to choose
Chorus
Actions will have consequences
The truth will bring us all to our sense,
Those in power rarely pay the price,
Making decisions, regardless of their lies
When will there be,
A shred of accountability?
When will we see,
Admission of their responsibility?
I still have hope, but it has worn thin,
And I have a dream, but I don’t know where to begin,
So, I turn to friends who understand,
Beckon me forth, and reach out their hand
Those who take a stand, won’t be forgot,
When we come together we cannot be stopped,
Fight for the future, to turn this around,
In the depths of our despair, strength will be found
Placards
To emphasise the message of the song, I decided to created a series of placards which spelt out the title 'It's Their Responsibility', with caricatures of the politicians who were most responsible for Brexit (in my eyes), alongside one of their sloganeering or ridiculous quotes relating to Brexit.
1) David Cameron, "Gamble of the Century"
2) Michael Gove, "Take Back Control"
3) Theresa May, "Brexit Means Brexit"
4) Boris Johnson, "Oven Ready Brexit Deal"
5) Nigel Farage, "Brexit Has Failed"
The aim of these placards was to hold these five political leaders to account for their words and their contribution to decline of the UK. I recruited a group of 4 friends who were willing to hold the placards with me and feature in the music video. However, I realised it was highly likely the group would split up during the march and therefore we would need a placard which worked as a stand-alone message - so I decided to make all 5 placards double-sided with an alternative message which I created with some guidance from my friends. The placards were made with ink pen and watercolour on watercolour paper, stuck to hard board and laminated to protect them (in case it rained). The placards took a while to make but I was generally happy with how they turned out, except for Boris who looked far too thin and his hair was not nearly scruffy enough - I would have re-done the drawing but I ran out of time before the march. A photographer approached me at the march and informed me that I had been "too generous" with my caricatures - which I will bear in mind for next time...
Press Coverage
The placards were pretty successful at getting Press attention, we featured in the Independent, the Hong Kong Standard and The Torygraph (sorry, The Telegraph).
Feedback
The music video has proved divisive on social media. Some comments are documented below...
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