![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
There but for fortune...
I've been thinking lately about why I have such strong left-leaning sentiments, and why I get so annoyed by the unthinking conservatism of others I see around me. And the best explanation I can come up with is this: I have enough imagination and enough empathy to realise how damn lucky I am. I was born at the right time, born in the right place, born to good people, and blessed by knowing so many other good people throughout my lifetime. I don't have a perfect life, but the life I have is a damn good one, and it could easily have been so much worse.
So, a song which has been reminding me of this lately:
"All God's Beggars" by Kavisha Mazzella [1]. Taken from her album "Silver Hook Tango".
This is the song which has been spamming my mental playlist. The lyrics are below the fold.
The beggar at the side of the road
Says "Brother, any spare change?"
You glare straight ahead
"Don't encourage them," you say
And walk up the progress hill
Shall we walk up that progress hill, dear friends
Where rules are all that matter?
Where the heart is colder than winter's snow
We will walk, we will talk together
In the dead of night
There's a knock at the door
The urgent voice tells you to flee
You must find a safe place, your freedom
There's no queue when you run for your life
Alleluia, alleluia!
You must find a safe place, your freedom
There's no queue when you run for your life
On a sinking boat, a woman gave birth
Off the coast of Java
While a Christmas card I gave to my love
Celebrated the birth of another
Alleluia, alleluia!
While a Christmas card I gave to my love
Celebrated the birth of another
On a midnight street a young man roams
His heart and soul full of fright
He screams out in vain his children's names
Who knows where they are tonight?
Alleluia, alleluia!
He screams out in vain his children's names
Who knows where they are tonight?
What is it that we fear so much?
What is it dear Australia?
We are a land full of refugees
And this good land has been our saviour!
Alleluia, alleluia
We are a land full of refugees
And this good land has been our saviour!
Let the children sing this song
And gather by the fire
Let our hands undo the bullies' grip
That puts them behind razor wire
Alleluia, alleluia (x6)
The beggar at the side of the road
Says, "Brother, give me shelter?"
Sit down, wish him well, and share your meal.
After all, aren't we all God's beggars?
Ms Mazzella is a second generation child of immigrants (rather like my own parents... of course, my three immigrant grandparents were all immigrants from England) and she rather neatly skewers the attitude I loathe so much about the notions of so many overly-vocal Australians toward those persons who want to emigrate to this country now. I was born in this country. I'm lucky. Call me superstitious, but I don't want to try and deny anyone else the chance to grab a piece of this luck themselves, because that may kill the luck altogether.
[1]Link leads to sendspace, feel free to grab the song if you want it. If you like it, you might want to consider buying her albums - her website is Kavisha Mazzella.
So, a song which has been reminding me of this lately:
"All God's Beggars" by Kavisha Mazzella [1]. Taken from her album "Silver Hook Tango".
This is the song which has been spamming my mental playlist. The lyrics are below the fold.
The beggar at the side of the road
Says "Brother, any spare change?"
You glare straight ahead
"Don't encourage them," you say
And walk up the progress hill
Shall we walk up that progress hill, dear friends
Where rules are all that matter?
Where the heart is colder than winter's snow
We will walk, we will talk together
In the dead of night
There's a knock at the door
The urgent voice tells you to flee
You must find a safe place, your freedom
There's no queue when you run for your life
Alleluia, alleluia!
You must find a safe place, your freedom
There's no queue when you run for your life
On a sinking boat, a woman gave birth
Off the coast of Java
While a Christmas card I gave to my love
Celebrated the birth of another
Alleluia, alleluia!
While a Christmas card I gave to my love
Celebrated the birth of another
On a midnight street a young man roams
His heart and soul full of fright
He screams out in vain his children's names
Who knows where they are tonight?
Alleluia, alleluia!
He screams out in vain his children's names
Who knows where they are tonight?
What is it that we fear so much?
What is it dear Australia?
We are a land full of refugees
And this good land has been our saviour!
Alleluia, alleluia
We are a land full of refugees
And this good land has been our saviour!
Let the children sing this song
And gather by the fire
Let our hands undo the bullies' grip
That puts them behind razor wire
Alleluia, alleluia (x6)
The beggar at the side of the road
Says, "Brother, give me shelter?"
Sit down, wish him well, and share your meal.
After all, aren't we all God's beggars?
Ms Mazzella is a second generation child of immigrants (rather like my own parents... of course, my three immigrant grandparents were all immigrants from England) and she rather neatly skewers the attitude I loathe so much about the notions of so many overly-vocal Australians toward those persons who want to emigrate to this country now. I was born in this country. I'm lucky. Call me superstitious, but I don't want to try and deny anyone else the chance to grab a piece of this luck themselves, because that may kill the luck altogether.
[1]Link leads to sendspace, feel free to grab the song if you want it. If you like it, you might want to consider buying her albums - her website is Kavisha Mazzella.