Idi Amin's House
7/22/2003
by T. Flannery copyright 2003

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia -- Former Ugandan leader Idi Amin is in a deteriorating condition in a Saudi hospital three days after slipping into a coma, medical officials say. Amin, whose 1971 to 1979 regime was one of the bloodiest in African history, was admitted to hospital in the Red Sea city of Jeddah on Friday suffering from high blood pressure. Now aged 80 and a convert to Islam, Amin has spent the past decade living with his four wives in Saudi Arabia. The Saudi authorities granted him asylum and a government stipend. According to the CIA World Factbook during his eight years in power Amin's "dictatorial regime" was "responsible for the deaths of some 300,000 opponents." Human rights groups say that figure is much higher, arguing that as many as 500,000 people were killed or simply disappeared under his rule. Reports at the time said huge numbers of bodies were dumped into the Nile River after it became impossible to dig graves fast enough.

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Idi Amin lives next door
I saw him cutting his grass
he was wearing all his medals
overflow pinned to his ass
I waved and he smiled at me
he's got some nice white teeth
the kind of neighbor you like
at the dark end of the street

He'd bought lemonade from my daughter
when she opened up her stand
raffle tickets from my son
to raise money for the school band
shoveled us out when the snows came
around here winters can be rough
would never accept any money
always said he had enough

He was flying the Ugandan flag
driven in with a metal spike
but there's only 6 people in the US
who know what the flag looks like
so we thought maybe he was French
or a Shriner on the lam
turns out he's a mass murderer
and we all said..."well I'll be damned"
I'll be damned
I'll be damned

break:
But now the word is out
it seems he's very sick my friend
and when they put his house on the market
God knows who may move in

Now the PTA is up in arms
and the council have gathered 'round
and are trying to pass a law
banning dictators from our town
but not dictators per se
just those with a taste for killing
the warm hearted ones are still allowed
if their pocket books are willing

(break)

Oh the party never ended
and the beer and wine if flowed
what a man did for fun years back
ain't my business don't you know
but the neighborhood was safe
ain't no crackheads roaming 'round
they must have known old Idi
was watching over this town

But now my kids they miss him so
but I'll tell you things are hard
since they found old Idi's 18th wife
buried in our yard
the cops have endless questions
but when it's quiet we all smile
and say "that big SOB was a great neighbor"
endless stories we compile

(verse 1)
 

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