From the recording By Breath
The Navy’s Project ELF (extremely low frequency) transmitter, located in the Chequamegon National Forest south of Clam Lake, WI sends signals to deeply submerged Trident and fast-attack submarines and is described by the Navy as the “cocked trigger” for sea-launched nuclear war. In 2000, activists Bonnie Urfer and Michael Sprong engaged in the “Silence Trident” direct action to disarm Project ELF. Using bow saws, they cut three
of the 4,000 cedar poles that hold 28 miles of antenna lines. In 1996 Donna Howard and Tom Hastings engaged in a similar action, cutting down three poles at the same site with a Swede saw. They contend their act of civil disobedience is in obedience to international law which has outlawed the use of first-
strike nuclear weapons, of which ELF is a component. More than 550 anti-war activists have been arrested at the Project ELF site since the end of the Cold War.
Lyrics
Keepin' the Peace
Down in New Mexico we were trav’lin’ along/ Stopped in Los Alamos, didn’t stay long/But we wanted to see the scene of the crime/ Where they made the A-bomb and then created a shrine, singin’
"Alleluia! We’re keeping the peace/We are the stewards of security/Alleluia! Put your minds at ease/We will protect your life and liberty"
Not too far from my own back door/ Is a trigger that would signal up a nuclear war/It travels down to the ground, across the sea/ And up from the water comes a nuclear submarine, singin’ (refrain)
Walkin’ through the woods with an old Swede saw/ Are some people who decided to uphold the law
They said, “Keepin’ the peace is a whole lot bigger”/ And they cut down the pole of that nuclear trigger, singin’
"Alleluia, alleluia! We are here to keep the peace/ Alleluia, alleluia! We'll sit back and rest at ease/When every woman, every child, Every man, every creature of the wild/Every river, every rock, every foreign land isn’t under the gun…of your security plan"/Alleluia, alleluia! We are here to keep the peace