Click here to watch video.
Driving through downtown Beirut, one can still see the hotels scarred by rockets and gunfire, evidence of the brutal 15-year civil war that ended in 1990. Could it happen again? Recent reports have discussed the worsening sectarian fighting in Northern Lebanon–the worst since the civil war ended–exacerbated by the deepening conflict in neighboring Syria and inflamed sectarian tensions.
It’s easy to feel helpless and frustrated when conditions appear to be worsening in a faraway place, and it seems little can be done by individuals.
This song, composed and performed for Euphrates by a musician we greatly admire, Randall Williams, provides a different take on the war in Lebanon, and war in general. We can all do our part by ending the conflict inside each of us, and our own communities–whether the conflicts be personal, or political.
We know you’ll enjoy the song. Randall plays with such passion and his songs have deep, thoughtful meanings that convey a message beyond just the words.
Listen here, and enjoy the lyrics below, as well.
War-torn and broken, and so far away -
you don’t feel the shells through a TV screen, or see a mother’s pain.
It’s the same old killing field, since before there were bombs -
I do it to you because you do it to me: Hammurabi made this war.
Why can’t they stop the fighting – call the soldiers off -
Let the innocent prisoners go free?
So many children dying, so many
homes destroyed.
Where the justice, where the peace?
It’s easy to ask why – but it’s hard to look inside –
through
the rubble and the dust.
´Cause we all have Lebanon inside of us.
Half a world away, or halfway down the street,
us and them is just how
we see.
That gated community could be Austin or Beirut -
they’re both the same to me.
It’s easy to ask why – but it’s hard to look inside –
through
the rubble and the dust.
´Cause we all have Lebanon inside of us.
Why don’t we say we’re sorry to the ones we love the most?
Stand down
our sentries with their guns?
Break the walls around our hearts, speak
no more barbed wire.
Stand close when fear tells us to run.
It’s easy to ask why – but it’s hard to look inside –
through
the rubble and the dust.
´Cause we all have Lebanon inside of us.
- COMMENTS:
- 0