Listen to the Music

I brought Judy Collins to work with me today. I heard this song again, for the first time this Christmas season. And between the cream cheese and the burgers and the omelets and the fries, I was touched once again by her words…and  my eyes filled with the tears that come every time I hear this song. I am haunted by it…

The children of Sarajevo may now be living in peace. But what about the children of Baghdad? Or Darfur? Or the next place on the planet where human beings contrive to exert power over other human beings by visiting death and destruction upon the innocent? In those places, death may not scream out of the sky as it did in Sarajevo… Maybe it waits around the corner in a mini-van piloted by a suicide bomber. Or it storms out of the cover of darkness in the person of Janjaweed "militia", carrying guns and torches, and unzipping their pants…

The cyber-gods have denied me the ability to provide a link to this song. Can’t find it anywhere on the internet. But it’s in my heart and my mind. And if you find it and listen to it, it will be in yours, too. And you will cry with me.

Blood in all the streets
Running like a flood
There's nowhere to hide, nowhere I can go
I reach out my hand
touching death itself
Just another holy day in Sarajevo

I can hear my heart
pounding like a clock
Hiding from the planes and from the bombing
Fire from the sky
burning down my life
There is no more love, no more longing

But when I close my eyes
I dream of peace
I dream of flowers on the hill
I dream I see my mother smiling
When I close my eyes I dream of peace

Once I had a home
Once my life was good
Once my mother sang to me and held me
Then the fire came
falling from the sky
There is no one left who can protect me

War's a wicked bird that never comes to rest
Feeding on the dreams of all the children
War's an evil bird flying in the dark
Every holy promise has been broken

But when I close my eyes
I dream of peace
I dream of flowers on the hill
I dream I see my mother smiling
When I close my eyes I dream of peace

Can't you stop the war
Bring it to a close
You are tall and strong and I am just a child.
Can't we live in peace
Stop the flowing blood
Make a blessed world where I can be a child...

When you close your eyes
Do you dream of peace?
Do you dream of flowers on the hill?
Do you dream you see your mother smiling?
When you close your eyes do you dream of peace?

Song for Sarajevo (Revised 9/97)Words by Judy CollinsMusic by Judy Collins
Universal Music Corp. (ASCAP)/ The Wildflowers Company (ASCAP)(Administered by Universal Music Corp.)