Seventeen Little Children
Carl Klang Lyrics


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Just in case you don’t remember
Let me jog your memory
In a church they called the Waco compound
Back in April ‘93
Seventeen Little Children
All so helpless and so small
Died a senseless death of gas and flames
How many names can you recall?
Seventeen Little Children
Don’t it make you wonder why?
Seventeen Little Children
How could they deserve to die?
Maybe we should stop and ask ourselves
Have we become so blind
Will Seventeen Little Children
Finally open up your mind?
How did you sleep last night Bill Clinton?
Tell me did you feel their pain?
As Seventeen Little Children
Cried out and perished in the flames!
Attorney General Janet Reno
I accept your offer to resign
How can you stand for law and order now
When you won’t answer to your crimes?
Seventeen Little Children
All so helpless and so small
Seventeen Little Children
How many names can you recall?
Maybe we should stop and ask ourselves
Have we become so blind?
Will Seventeen Little Children
Finally open up your mind?
I’ve heard it said "The Branch Davidians"
Only got what they deserved
Yet no one seems to know
What laws were broken
What was in the warrant
They never served?
Yesterday I sold my TV set
Stopped my subscription to the Times
To me it’s plain to see the media
Was an accomplice to these crimes!
Seventeen Little Children
Don’t it make you wonder why?
Seventeen Little Children
How did they deserve to die?
Maybe we should stop and ask ourselves
Have we become so blind?
Will Seventeen Little Children




Finally open up your mind?
Open up your mind!

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Carl Klang's song "Seventeen Little Children" serves as a call to reflect on the tragedy at the Waco compound in April 1993. Klang tries to remind the listener of the events that took place at Waco, where the FBI laid a siege on a religious cult compound and resulted in the deaths of 76 people including 17 children. The song questions the reasons why this tragedy occurred and challenges those in power who were responsible for the incident, calling out Bill Clinton, the Attorney General Janet Reno, and the media for their involvement and culpability. The repeated refrain of "Seventeen Little Children," emphasizes the tragedy of the situation and the innocence of the victims.


Klang criticizes the mainstream media as being an accomplice to the tragedy, highlighting the media's role in shaping public opinion and creating a narrative that portrayed the Branch Davidians as lawbreaking extremists. The song is a plea for people to question their own assumptions about the situation and to demand accountability from those responsible. The lyrics suggest that the listener should examine their own complicity in the events that led to the tragedy and to be more critical of the media and government.


Overall, "Seventeen Little Children" is a powerful song that highlights the tragedy at Waco and encourages the listener to confront their own biases and assumptions about the incident. Klang's lyrics are a reminder that the victims of the tragedy were innocent children and that those responsible should be held accountable.


Line by Line Meaning

Just in case you don’t remember
Let me remind you of a tragedy that occurred


Let me jog your memory
Let me refresh your awareness


In a church they called the Waco compound
Referring to the Waco, Texas religious community as a church


Back in April ‘93
In April of 1993 there was an event


Seventeen Little Children
A reference to 17 young people who died


All so helpless and so small
They were defenseless and youthful


Died a senseless death of gas and flames
Their demise occurred in a violent and unjustifiable manner involving fire and fumes


How many names can you recall?
Can you remember any of the individuals who perished?


Don’t it make you wonder why?
Are you not moved to question the circumstances surrounding this event?


How could they deserve to die?
What justification could there possibly be to cause the death of these young people?


Maybe we should stop and ask ourselves
Perhaps it is time to reflect on our thoughts and actions


Have we become so blind
Are we as a society failing to see the truth?


Will Seventeen Little Children
Could the tragedy of these young people serve as a catalyst for change?


Finally open up your mind?
Will you consider altering your perspective?


How did you sleep last night Bill Clinton?
Addressing the former president, did you have a restful night knowing what occurred?


Tell me did you feel their pain?
Were you able to identify with the suffering these young people experienced?


Cried out and perished in the flames!
Their voices were heard as they met their end in the fire!


Attorney General Janet Reno
Addressing the former attorney general who was involved in the incident


I accept your offer to resign
Resignation is not enough given the severity of the events?


How can you stand for law and order now
How can you continue to represent lawful conduct after this occurrence?


When you won’t answer to your crimes?
Unanswered questions call into question the legal propriety of the event?


I’ve heard it said "The Branch Davidians"
An expression of hearing others suggest the religious group was at fault?


Only got what they deserved
Implies that they were deserving of such a terrible fate


Yet no one seems to know
The lack of information surrounding the situation is concerning


What laws were broken
It is unclear what legal violations gave rise to the actions taken


What was in the warrant
The warrant used to justify the event remains unknown


They never served?
The warrant was never actually delivered to the intended party?


Yesterday I sold my TV set
Deciding to no longer contribute to the news cycle?


Stopped my subscription to the Times
Another gesture to disengage from the media landscape?


To me it’s plain to see the media
Belief that the media had a role in the occurrence in some way?


Was an accomplice to these crimes!
The media, to some extent, played a role in the tragic events


Open up your mind!
Invoking the listener to see past their previously held beliefs and call for change.




Contributed by Mateo P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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Comments from YouTube:

@deyksy3067

I remember when Karl wrote this song. I shared it with everyone I knew at the time (via cassettes), and had the opportunity to see him perform it live twice. It was actually, we now know, 28 children who died in that horrible blaze. Janet Reno later owned up to her part in this genocide, but the Feds never did - they still defend their actions on the official ATF, FBI and AG website versions of the story, which also contradict released investigation results from the mid to late 90's by the same departments (which magically are not found online today, but I have a good memory). With modern government overreach by police now rampant, where home invasion, theft and unwarranted searches and seizures are now the norm across the country, this song serves as a stark reminder of how it all started to be accepted by the public: just demonize the victims as an excuse for tyranny against them, and everyone else is okay with it. If the victim was a "bad" person, then it is ok that the government violated their Constitutional freedoms or took their lives. "They should have cooperated" is the mantra we now hear from the defenders of tyranny. Sadly, with this criteria, every single one of us can be a target, and our neighbors will just be happy it is not them being targeted - yet.

@Devin_Milford

30th anniversary

@blackwell2001

It's messed up that Carl Klang's song has barely 200 views.
Ain't USA great, Devin Milford?

@pellaxestorba4836

​@@blackwell2001
Jesus is coming back to set the Paranoid Ones straight right when they think they have conquered the world with their fleshly messiah as dictator in old Jerusalem...
... the city that murders all the prophets sent to her.

Heaven is real.
Cannot be seen with physical eyes which are mortally bound by the limits of time.
Because Heaven is Eternal.
The things which are eternal are only seen with eternal eyes,
spiritual eyes,
within a spiritual body which can only ever be born of the SPIRITUAL Holy Spirit of God.

@arashahsani

R6 Siege is made in the memory of this government sponsored massacre

@dougadamwired2

Thank you VERY MUCH for this Song. I remember when Carl 1st recorded & sang it It still brings tears to my eyes. I was watching TV Live when the Fires started. Please PLEASE PLEASE do not take what i write next WRONGLY. I do not Advocate & Justify ANY loss of Life. NONE !!!. I am just going to state THE FACTS. Janet Reno died in 2016. Before her death, she PUBLICLY stated that she REGRETTED having authorized the Waco Offensive. And she said she took Responsibility for the Loss of life. Not many in Power Ever admit to wrong doing. She also, against her Party, took on President Bill Clinton over his Whitewater Crimes. Again, DO NOT TAKE ME WRONG. I am just stating the facts. God will decide where the Souls end up. Not you or I. Thank you again for posting this song.

@geoffvough6191

Great song the country is broken and ruled by Demons

@blackwell2001

Hey Geoff Vough. Kind of messed up that this song only has under 200 views also. What really did happen that day in Waco, Texas....

@dougadamwired2

I believe the BATF set up the Davidians to catch them in a Firearms violation.

@pellaxestorba4836

​​@@blackwell2001
The future narrative was written at Waco.

Just look at Ukraine and Palestine and all the USA dead children right now today for just a few of the myriad examples in the ongoing holocaust that Karl Marx specifically named and openly wished for in his very own writings.

But thank God YHWH above that His TRUE Son is coming back right when the treacherous NPCs of this world think their ""messiah"" has arrived as king in Jerusalem over all the planet with its robot AI hyper-computer image standing in their rebuilt temple to be worshipped as the fake new world religion that encompasses total economic and mental and spiritual slavery to the Paranoid Ones.

When our SPIRITUAL king returns
Narnia will rejoice
Rats will be caught in the traps they once laid for humans.

But Heaven in a higher dimension is real and all God's true children of peace, reborn of His Holy Spirit will live from there forever going in and out and without physical boundaries but with our home IN...
THE ONLY TRUE JERUSALEM
WHICH IS NEW JERUSALEM

COMING DOWN
FROM GOD
OUT OF HEAVEN
LIKE A BRIDE
PREPARED
FOR HER HUSBAND
❤❤❤❤😅

As prophesied of by the Spirit of Christ to John the Beloved on the Isle of Patmos where he was exiled for his testimony after they had tried and failed to torture him to death with boiling oil for his faith in Jesus the Son of God in 90AD the only disciple who did not meet a violent death at the hands of the enemies of Christ the Prince of Peace.

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