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)
Song of the Week - Memorial Day -May 28, 2007 - Kiss the Sun
Moderator: Moderator
- KarenZ
- Site Admin
- Posts: 4446
- Joined: Tue Jun 20, 2006 12:12 pm
- Location: Pennsylvania
- Contact:
Song of the Week - Memorial Day -May 28, 2007 - Kiss the Sun
Last edited by KarenZ on Tue Jun 05, 2007 9:18 am, edited 1 time in total.
"Some people are born to make great art and others are born to appreciate it. It is a kind of talent in itself, to be an audience, whether you are the spectator in the gallery or you are listening to the voice of the world's greatest soprano. Not everyone can be the artist. There have to be those who witness the art, who love and appreciate what they have been privileged to see." -- Ann Patchett in Bel Canto.
- Sue Ellen
- Posts: 572
- Joined: Tue Jun 20, 2006 3:09 pm
- Location: maryland
This is such a great song. It is so great that discussion of it right now alludes my meager vocabulary.
"...I implore you, I entreat you, I challenge you to speak with conviction, to say what you believe, in a manner that bespeaks the determination with which you believe it, because contrary to the wisdom of the bumper sticker, it is not enough these days to "question" authority, you have to speak with it, too."
Taylor Mali, "Like, You Know?"
Taylor Mali, "Like, You Know?"
-
- Posts: 357
- Joined: Tue Jun 20, 2006 4:59 pm
- Location: Boothbay, Maine
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.
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.
-wendy
- Sue Ellen
- Posts: 572
- Joined: Tue Jun 20, 2006 3:09 pm
- Location: maryland
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.
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.
"...I implore you, I entreat you, I challenge you to speak with conviction, to say what you believe, in a manner that bespeaks the determination with which you believe it, because contrary to the wisdom of the bumper sticker, it is not enough these days to "question" authority, you have to speak with it, too."
Taylor Mali, "Like, You Know?"
Taylor Mali, "Like, You Know?"
Return to “Breakin' Through the Radio”
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 95 guests