> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.tom-shaw.uk/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Every Body Knows - URL: https://www.tom-shaw.uk/every-body-knows/ - Published: 2024-06-03T08:01:43.000Z - Updated: 2024-06-03T08:01:43.000Z - Description: A Rewrite of Leonard Cohen's "Everybody Knows" - Author: Tom Shaw - Tags: Poems, #substack, #substack-type-newsletter, #substack-access-everyone, #Import 2026-10-24 12:50 Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedEvery body knows the guns were loaded Every body knows the crosshairs locked Every body knows the war ain’t over Every body knows that peace is blocked Every body knows the fight was fixed But they still had to try save their kids That's how it goes Every body knows Every body knows their knees have bullets Every body knows the Iron Dome. Every body’s got that lonely feeling Like their fathers when you took their homes. Every body asking for forgiveness Every body knows they’ll be in Heaven Where a meadow grows Every body knows Every body knows you shot the babies Every body knows you make sure to Every body knows it ain’t about faith But media won’t tell the truth Every body knows you’ve been discreet For there were politicians you just had to meet To buy their clothes And every body knows Every body knows Every body knows That's how it goes Every body knows Every body knows Every body knows That's how it goes Every body knows Every body knows it’s now or never Every body knows the end is due Every body knows you’ll fire forever And the line of Netanyahu Every body knows you’ve all gone rotten Sleepy Joe still funds the rockets Though his people oppose And every body knows Every body knows there’s justice coming Every body knows it’s moving fast Every body knows the guilty men and women Will be put behind the bars at last Every body knows that when it’s time You’ll be weighed against the bombs you dropped That will disclose What every body knows And every body knows you’ve been trouble Every body knows you’re losing grip From the bloody corpses in the West Bank To the beaches of the Gaza Strip Every body knows it’s coming apart Take one last look at the children’s hearts Before your blows That every body knows Every body knows Every body knows That's how it goes Every body knows Every body knows Every body knows That's how it goes Every body knows ###### Every Body Knows - A Rewrite of Leonard Cohen’s “Everybody Knows”, by Tom Shaw --- This piece was my submission to for [Norman Finkelstein](https://open.substack.com/users/2405919) and [Christine Bovill](https://www.christinebovill.com/?ref=tom-shaw.uk)’s contest for a rewrite of Leonard Cohen’s “Everybody Knows” to address the ongoing atrocities occurring in Palestine. At the time of writing this piece [I was unaware that Leonard Cohen was a supporter of the Zionist and other anti-human ideas](https://delingpole.substack.com/p/everybody-knows-leonard-cohen-was) \- and for me, it makes it even more fitting that his words are “re-written” to address a counter to the narrative he supported. Christine’s final version combined lyrics from my own piece with a few other submissions. I did link the video below, however it seems that it has currently been privated. I will keep it embedded in case it becomes public again. It’s curious that many of the figures involved in my process of developing critical thought and forming my own views of the world, including the likes of Douglas Murray, Jordan Peterson and others rising to prominence through their critique on “woke” culture, have chosen to side with the Netanyahu regime in some way. For so many who pride themselves on their pursuit of truth, it seems hard to reconcile this with their support for a regime that is killing swathes of innocent civilians in Palestine. It’s why I can strongly appreciate figures like [Maajid Nawaz](https://open.substack.com/users/71206657), [Catherine Austin-Fitts](https://home.solari.com/netanyahus-mass-atrocity-machinery-what-will-you-do/?ref=tom-shaw.uk), Neil Oliver, Jerm Warfare, [Patrick Henningsen ](https://open.substack.com/users/5267403), Nick Hudson and Candace Owens (amongst many others!) who have all been transcending any one political ideology of late and demonstrating that there can be a common thread between criticising medical tyranny, the tyranny of so-called “progressive” policies, and the warmongering of a global technocratic cabal. I do suspect some of the promotion of pro-Palestinian sentiments by well-known figures happens to inflate tensions between the “left” and “right” (Bob Vylan is a great example of this) - or to capitalise on anti-genocide sentiments and covertly funnel more money to continue the conflict under the guise of “aid” (the Together for Palestine music concert is another great example). [BOB VYLAN: ZIONIST PLANT?Anyone else getting a bit bored of this now?![](https://cdn.mymidnight.blog/a14ac55a4f27472c5d894ec1c3c743d2/substack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com/public/images/99cb3838-3375-4683-af58-4877ef93776d_300x300.png)Rise UK](https://riseuk.substack.com/p/bob-vylan-establishment-plant) [Together for Palestine Concert - for Palestine or for "Israel"?Professor David Miller writes on X:![](https://cdn.mymidnight.blog/a14ac55a4f27472c5d894ec1c3c743d2/substack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com/public/images/84acf46c-fde7-4e83-bc39-784b9b392f13_400x400.png)Vanessa Beeley ](https://beeley.substack.com/p/together-for-palestine-concert-for) As ever, the truth is more nuanced than the artificial binary some are led to believe in. All this is to demostrate that finding a path out of the anti-human craziness prevalent in the past few years will require perspectives independent of political ideology. I don’t use any well-known labels to describe my own politics, and I barely even think in political terms any more when considering how I show up in the world. When I can find commonality with anti-war and anti-corporatist sentiments of the “left” ***as well as*** the desire for a small state and for life, liberty and property that libertarians and classical liberals share, along with the appreciation of hierarchies, cultural customs and value of private property that is more characteristic of the “right”, all these labels demonstrate themselves as inadequate and nothing more than a tool of division. ![](https://cdn.mymidnight.blog/a14ac55a4f27472c5d894ec1c3c743d2/substack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com/public/images/ae0d9f8b-e5bf-46b8-b70a-7805d9a9b5e5_1048x754.png) A particularly humorous example of just how meaningless the conventional political labels are can be seen on the Twitter of Max Blumenthal - an excellent critic of various warmongering practises by global technocrats. At one point, The Grayzone’s Wikipedia entry simultaneously described the publication as far-right and far-left due to the publication’s stances on Ukraine and Israel. Ultimately, I believe our lives are a beautiful thing, and that our mission as humanity is to facilitate the flourishing of our lives and our communities. That suffices for me. I do not need elaborate, meaningless political constructs to justify my ideas, and I couldn’t be less interested in arguments over those things just for the sake of it. I’m here to find out how to work together with anyone in the pursuit of highlighting where false belief systems about ourselves - and our societies - are keeping us from realising the true beauty that we are capable of. More and more, it seems as others are settling on a similar path too. Perhaps we will see the emergence of a post-political world, one where we simply connect with the human being within all of us. Wouldn’t that be incredible? If you’d like to share this piece with your circles, feel free to use the image version of the poem below to do so: ![](https://cdn.mymidnight.blog/a14ac55a4f27472c5d894ec1c3c743d2/substack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com/public/images/444bedbe-abf6-4ac7-91fd-186b0edd7f7e_1920x1280.jpg) Thank you for the support that you give. I wouldn’t be able to continue creating works like this and bringing them to you without it. With gratitude, Tom --- ![](https://cdn.mymidnight.blog/a14ac55a4f27472c5d894ec1c3c743d2/substack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com/public/images/38cb9dda-4264-4a53-8160-9694aa24d586_640x640.jpg) [Subscribe](#/portal/signup) --- ## More Like This [Nightmares![](https://cdn.mymidnight.blog/a14ac55a4f27472c5d894ec1c3c743d2/substack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com/public/images/c307d39e-3048-4ec9-b511-12a1a31ba9aa_800x800.png)Tom ShawTom Shaw![](https://cdn.mymidnight.blog/a14ac55a4f27472c5d894ec1c3c743d2/substack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com/public/images/4334dd35-cb9a-460f-9ae8-5238d4c3cbde_2000x2000.png)](https://www.tom-shaw.uk/nightmares/) [It Was No Accident![](https://cdn.mymidnight.blog/a14ac55a4f27472c5d894ec1c3c743d2/substack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com/public/images/c307d39e-3048-4ec9-b511-12a1a31ba9aa_800x800.png)Tom ShawTom Shaw![](https://cdn.mymidnight.blog/a14ac55a4f27472c5d894ec1c3c743d2/substack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com/public/images/0665f06e-2d12-47f1-a1c1-dcbc0ac7d6fc_800x512.jpg)](https://www.tom-shaw.uk/it-was-no-accident/) [Actions Speak Louder Than Words![](https://cdn.mymidnight.blog/a14ac55a4f27472c5d894ec1c3c743d2/substack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com/public/images/c307d39e-3048-4ec9-b511-12a1a31ba9aa_800x800.png)Tom ShawTom Shaw![](https://cdn.mymidnight.blog/a14ac55a4f27472c5d894ec1c3c743d2/substack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com/public/images/d29da1fd-3d11-49df-b09e-6aebf1b683e6_1280x720.png)](https://www.tom-shaw.uk/actions-speak-louder-than-words/)