Song of the Week - Memorial Day -May 28, 2007 - Kiss the Sun

[KarenZ]

Folks,

On this Memorial Day, I thought Kiss the Sun - A Song for Pat Tillman would be a good one to talk about. Since I already posted a few comments regarding Memorial Day in the Say Something forum, for now I will keep quiet and let you all chime in with comments.

KarenZ

Kiss the Sun - A Song for Pat Tillman
When I was nineteen,
I joined up with the reserves
And I fought on weekends
paid my college tuition
But out in the killing fields,
you come to question all you learn
is peace the truth
a universal truth
or some man made superstition

(chorus)
I dreamt I ran through Kansas wheatfields
slept in the shadows,
where the Rockies kiss the sun, they kiss the sun
I dreamt I could hear freedom's sweep
in Martin Luther King's speeches (Lenny Bruce, Woody Guthrie)
Wasn't he reaching for the promise of America?

I heard Pat Tillman died
in the hills of Afghanistan
He came for justice
not for greed, not for ego
His truth came through the fog
like the hometeam's marching band
Are you a warrior, or a savior,
or the great American hero?
(chorus)

My wife, she's writing
the war's on CNN
"It looks pretty bad from here..."
"You should see it from my end -"
I'm just a sentinel
Just a sentinel
Fighting an oilman's war
And I need to know, I need to know
Is that what Pat Tillman died for?
(chorus)

[Sue Ellen]

This is such a great song. It is so great that discussion of it right now alludes my meager vocabulary.

[wendy]

Another winning song from the voice and pen of Mr Ellis Paul...
The first time I heard it was in Ellis's back yard, as a matter of fact, on the infamous River Road in Edgecomb.
It struck me then that this was a wonderful, subtle, anti-war song. It surprises me now that more people haven't picked up on it... perhaps it's too subtle? I rather like the fact that you have to THINK about it to catch the allusions and conflicts.

[Sue Ellen]

What did Pat Tillman die for? News this week again and further raises questions about this young man's death, begging whether his death was an accident or murder:

Baltimore Sun Article, 28 July 2007

These continuing questions increase the internal conflict I experience about this issue. On the one hand, I have a deep need to support the young men and women who have been placed on the ground and in a horrible situation because of the nature of our country's military philosophy. I am particularly cognizant of cousins, friends, neighbors who are in Iraq and Afghanistan. They have been placed in a terrible position, and I have a basic understanding of "troop morale," and I am loathe to say anything that would isolate them. I want them all to come home safely and to be able to embrace the "normalcy" of what their service affords the rest of us: the joy of the birth of your second child, seeing your daughter take second place in the butterfly at the all-city swim meet, drinking coffee with your wife over the Sunday paper.

On the other hand, I am deeply offended by cover-ups and lies that demean and denigrate the democratic process and supress the population's ability to make an adequate critique of our government and political process. If indeed Pat Tillman was intentionally murdered, we, as citizens, who vote for and support our elected officials, require honesty to inform our electoral decisions. It is our constitutional right and duty to voice and support our beliefs about the direction and personality of this country.

And, beyond all these issues, is the obligation to Pat Tillman's family, their right to know what happened to their son, to fully grieve, to see justice served, and perhaps to find some peace in a world without him.