I’m told you’re different, brother
That you and I are far apart
For your eyes are blue as the sky, brother
Or your hair’s curly and your skin is dark
And you should be bound in chains brother
Of ignorance and of shame –
For you are not the same as me, brother,
For you are not the same.
But it doesn’t matter what you are, brother
They’re way off the mark
For we’re all black in the dark, brother
We’re all black in the dark.
They tell you you’re weak, sister
That you shouldn’t look a man in the eye –
That you should know your place, sister
And watch the world pass you by.
For they are afraid of you, sister
The female essence is your power
If you rose up against them, sister
They would not last out the hour.
They force you into silence, sister
In hijabs made of cloth or of words.
They think your sexuality a sin, sister
And whore it out or shut it in
But we’re all naked in our skin, sister
We’re all naked in our skin.
They tell you that you’re a hero, soldier
That as a hero you live and die –
You must know that they lie to you, soldier
You must know that they lie.
When they give you a medal, soldier
Tell you liberty and peace you defend
They send you to die in their place, soldier
You’re a means to serve their end.
You paint your bayonet with blood, soldier
But time will pass and the steel will rust
And the flag flying so proud, soldier
Will be a scrap of cloth in the dust
The flag you guard with your life, soldier
Will be blowing in the dust.
You tell the people of heaven, Holy Father
You fill them will fears of hell
You turn their heads with words, Holy Father
Faith is all you have to sell.
You give no proof or reason, Holy Father
Except that they must believe
For you’re the one with the line to God direct, Holy Father
And you decree when to joy and to grieve.
But your time is growing short, Holy Father
Not much longer can you pretend
For we know we’re all dead in the end, Holy Father
We know we’re all dead in the end.
Come together, brother and sister
Let’s shed the scales from our eyes
Let’s pull down the blinkers and see for ourselves
Sift the truth from the lies.
When we’re together we’re invincible, brother and sister
The walls will come tumbling down
The light of knowledge come flooding, brother and sister
And nothing will ever keep us down
And nothing will ever keep us down.
For we all have eyes we need to use
Ears with which we must learn to hear
And we’re all brothers and sisters
Wherever we are, far and near.
There are no divisions no borders between us
Just the vital human spark
And we’re all naked in our skin
And we’re all black in the dark.
That you and I are far apart
For your eyes are blue as the sky, brother
Or your hair’s curly and your skin is dark
And you should be bound in chains brother
Of ignorance and of shame –
For you are not the same as me, brother,
For you are not the same.
But it doesn’t matter what you are, brother
They’re way off the mark
For we’re all black in the dark, brother
We’re all black in the dark.
They tell you you’re weak, sister
That you shouldn’t look a man in the eye –
That you should know your place, sister
And watch the world pass you by.
For they are afraid of you, sister
The female essence is your power
If you rose up against them, sister
They would not last out the hour.
They force you into silence, sister
In hijabs made of cloth or of words.
They think your sexuality a sin, sister
And whore it out or shut it in
But we’re all naked in our skin, sister
We’re all naked in our skin.
They tell you that you’re a hero, soldier
That as a hero you live and die –
You must know that they lie to you, soldier
You must know that they lie.
When they give you a medal, soldier
Tell you liberty and peace you defend
They send you to die in their place, soldier
You’re a means to serve their end.
You paint your bayonet with blood, soldier
But time will pass and the steel will rust
And the flag flying so proud, soldier
Will be a scrap of cloth in the dust
The flag you guard with your life, soldier
Will be blowing in the dust.
You tell the people of heaven, Holy Father
You fill them will fears of hell
You turn their heads with words, Holy Father
Faith is all you have to sell.
You give no proof or reason, Holy Father
Except that they must believe
For you’re the one with the line to God direct, Holy Father
And you decree when to joy and to grieve.
But your time is growing short, Holy Father
Not much longer can you pretend
For we know we’re all dead in the end, Holy Father
We know we’re all dead in the end.
Come together, brother and sister
Let’s shed the scales from our eyes
Let’s pull down the blinkers and see for ourselves
Sift the truth from the lies.
When we’re together we’re invincible, brother and sister
The walls will come tumbling down
The light of knowledge come flooding, brother and sister
And nothing will ever keep us down
And nothing will ever keep us down.
For we all have eyes we need to use
Ears with which we must learn to hear
And we’re all brothers and sisters
Wherever we are, far and near.
There are no divisions no borders between us
Just the vital human spark
And we’re all naked in our skin
And we’re all black in the dark.
Copyright B Purkayastha 2012
Bill,
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely beautiful. We are all human beings. we are the same, with the same basic needs and desires. What a beautiful way to say it. Thank you for this, it is a keeper.