“Hadji Girl.”

[ADDED 21.00 BST: This post has been updated. The BBC story has now been stealth edited to be less misleading and the identity of the singer, who is a US marine, has emerged.]

Commenter Barker John alerted me to this post from LGF.

The BBC story concerned is by Adam Brookes and is called ‘Kill Iraqis marine song’ probe and misplaced quote marks are the least of its problems. It describes a video of a man, apparently a US marine, singing a song about Iraq.

The BBC story is worded to give the impression that the song is about US marines gleefully killing Iraqis, including children.

…apparently shows a serving marine singing about killing Iraqi civilians.

And

Posted on the YouTube website, the video shows a man in uniform strumming a guitar while singing about killing Iraqis, as others laugh and cheer.

And

The lyrics caught on video refer to the shooting of Iraqi civilians, especially children.

These are weasel words. The lyrics do refer to “the shooting” of a child – but by her own father and brother, not by the narrator. The narrator’s first reaction to seeing an Iraqi girl is to fall in love with her. She takes him home to see her family. It turns out to be an ambush.

You can watch and listen for yourself if you follow the link to the LGF post. (Not work safe or suitable for children due to swearing and general tastelessness.)

I cut and pasted the version of the lyrics given by Rayra, making a few changes where I heard things differently or ambiguously.

I was out in the sands of Iraq

And we were under attack

And I, well, I didn’t know where to go.

And the first thing that I could see was

Everybody’s favorite Burger [or Burqua?] King

So I threw open the door and I hit the floor.

Then suddenly to my surprise

I looked up and I saw her eyes

And I knew it was love at first sight.

And she said…

Durka Durka Mohammed Jihad

Sherpa Sherpa Bak Allah [This cartoon Arabic is taken from the film “Team America”.]

Hadji girl I can’t understand what you’re saying.

And she said…

Durka Durka Mohammed Jihad

Sherpa Sherpa Bak Allah

Hadji girl I love you anyway.

Then she said that she wanted me to see.

She wanted me to go meet her family

But I, well, I couldn’t figure out how to say no.

‘Cause I don’t speak Arabic.

So, she took me down an old dirt trail.

And she pulled up to a side shanty

And she threw open the door and I hit the floor.

Cause her brother and her father shouted… [Some LGF commenters thought “shouted” was “shot her”. I heard “shouted.”]

Durka Durka Mohammed Jihad

Sherpa Sherpa Bak Allah

They pulled out their AKs so I could see

And they said…

Durka Durka Mohammed Jihad

Sherpa Sherpa Bak Allah

So I grabbed her little sister and pulled her in front of me.

[This line is timed to be the punch line and one can hear laughter]

As the bullets began to fly

The blood sprayed from between her eyes

And then I laughed maniacally

Then I hid behind the TV

And I locked and loaded my M-16

And I blew those little fuckers to eternity.

And I said…

Durka Durka Mohammed Jihad

Sherpa Sherpa Bak Allah

They should have known they were fucking with a Marine.

This song is insensitive and in poor taste. Soldiers’ songs often are. Twenty years ago two popular songs in the British Army were “Bestiality is Best, Boys” and (to the tune of Camptown Races) “Napalm Burns on a Baby’s Back, Doodah, Doodah.”

In the song, the narrator is described as using the little sister as a human shield in an attempt to stop himself from being shot in ambush. Not exactly in accordance with the highest military tradition, but softened by the fact that that line is obviously meant to surprise by its very ingloriousness. It is the punch line of a black joke.

(AFTERTHOUGHT: The BBC loves to describe its own comedies as “edgy”, meaning “close to the edge of what is permissible” rather than “irritable.”)

Had the BBC been content to report this straight, there would have been a minor story along the same lines as those we have seen about “lads’ culture” or “canteen culture” in the British armed services and police. It could have reported the embarrassment of various Pentagon spokesmen and I’d have said, fair cop. But the BBC, so careful to report the sayings of Jihadists in a sensitive manner, could not resist the chance to selectively quote in such a way as to cause maximum resentment among Muslims.

Another example of bias: the “Bullets began to fly” lines from the lyrics are quoted in the main story and also featured in a quote box. The same quote box has a helpful link to another story called Haditha: Massacre and cover-up? This story has a pair of graphics illustrating two incompatible accounts of the alleged massacre at Haditha. One is labelled “Haditha deaths: US troops’ version” and the other labelled “Haditha deaths: eyewitnesses’ version.” Dunno about you, but I thought this was begging the question.

UPDATE: Hat tip to Mike: the BBC story has now been stealth edited to read “The lyrics caught on video refer to the shooting of Iraqi civilians, especially children, by insurgents and then how a marine responds, opening fire himself.” As is usual with the BBC, the “last updated” field has not been altered.

UPDATE II: DFH provides before and after screenshots of the BBC story and Biodegradable links to an interview with the Marine who made up the song.