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This song's been a long time comin', but the gestation period was well worth the wait, at least for me. The tune's inspired by real-life events that took place in September of 2006 when Pope Benedict XVI made statements about Islam which sparked violence around the globe. He quoted a 14th Century Christian emperor as saying the Prophet Muhammad brought the world only evil and inhuman things. Muslims protested and rioted, Christian mobs in Indonesia set fire to Muslim homes. Christian villagers in Africa were hung. The catalyst for the song was when I read the news that a 65-year old Italian nun, Sister Leonella, and her bodyguard, were shot dead in Somalia, allegedly connected with strong criticism by a radical Somali cleric about the Pope's comments on Islam.
This broke my heart - what did Sister Leonella do to deserve getting shot three times in the back? WHY must people's belief in their respective Gods result in violence and hatred against one another? It doesn't make sense to me, and maybe it never will. The song just spilled out of me. Believe as you will - but zealots are a blight upon our global society, IMHO.
For the longest time, this song existed only as a bare demo, with just the drum loops and dulcimer tracks, and it stood up pretty well. But I wanted a bass part and didn't want to go the comp bass route, so I began seeking players and eventually crossed paths with I. Spike, who really nailed this sucker to the wall. His funky, in-the-pocket performance was exactly what I was looking for (shades of Tony Levin) and it burned anew within the song so I retracked the vocals, added some organ and here it is.
My poor widdle G4 single processor is really not handling these huge projects so well anymore, so I sort of bailed out of this one early. Any comments and critiques are, of course, extremely welcomed and appreciated.
while another one gets the blade
one is hung from a tree in the village
a victim of the crusade
it was an early morning raid
wasted lives, ill-gotten gain
religion causing so much pain
I'm just sayin'
CHORUS
what we have in common
is the fallen world we live in
can't you see?
one piece of the puzzle
as we struggle
to get around all this hostility
how can the righteous assassinate
these casualties of faith?
Christian mobs burning homes of the Muslims
Indonesia is ablaze
In Africa, Muslim takes a gun, shoots a nun
which the extremists loudly praise
it never ceases to amaze
it could very well be you or me
falling prey to zealotry
I'm just sayin'
CHORUS
what we have in common
is the fallen world we live in
can't you see?
one piece of the puzzle
as we struggle
to get around all this hostility
using a prayer to intimidate
these casualties of faith
BRIDGE
what in the world can we do to stop the killing?
how many murders must we grieve?
every side sees the other as the villain
their righteousness is stained with blood
slaying in the name of God
CHORUS
what we have in common
is the fallen world we live in
can't you see?
one piece of the puzzle
as we struggle
to get around all this hostility
by looking away, we participate
in these casualties of faith
Copyright © 2006 J.O.B. Entertainment Inc.
This is a good exposé of the contradictions in human psyche behavior. Very nice musical production delivering excellent lyrics. I hope this song gets a lot of earplay.