NaPoWriMo 7 - Poem #9
"WE GOTTA GET OUTA THIS PLACE, IF IT'S THE LAST THING WE EVER DO".....
"We gotta get outa this place, if it's the last think we ever do"...
"I wanna hold your haaannnnd..."
"Good Golly Miss Molly"
Where did they go, the years,
the Sugar Sugar Shack crowd?
Just when I think I've come to grips
with the passing of time,
I'm reminded of those days
when all was new and changing,
and there was WAR...
Who were they?
WE pinned our goals on a calendar,
college, travel, service, a job -
some went to 'Nam
WE were teens who gathered,
caught amid protest songs;
not idle, but dying for our country
Boomers were tested and passed -
we were the voice for a generation
Each generation since has been tested,
has had it's turbulence,
but where are the demonstrations
now?
"A Change is Gonna Come" -
Sam Cooke was born way before his time
Some 'fortunate sons'of privilege
never sent to war,
found greener pastures (Creedence Clearwater)
We "Got up, Stood up for our Rights" (Bob Marley);
we did not give up the fight,
our brothers marched'
Hattie Carroll paid a high price
for no reason (Bob Dylan)
"Power to the People" was sung (The Beatles)
song of the "Revolution",
The beat was carried on by others
who felt one ought not be judged
by the color of their skin
or where they came from
Frank Zappa sang "There was Trouble Every Day"
in 1966, "this ain't no picnic!"
Activism against "The Establishment"
was what was "Goin' On"-
perhaps the best song by Marvin Gaye;
asking what happened to his friends,
Abraham, Martin, and Bobby, John
Blood shed for dreams
of freedom for everyone.
Moms Mabley was color blind -
"We's all human beings"she cried
John Lennon moved the focus
from music to lyrics -
Locked into our memory also
are Crosby Stills and Nash with their
song about Kent State
The Iraq War brought other protest songs
to the foreground
Even as soldiers are arriving home
from Afghanistan there are still
"Lives in the Balance" (Jackson Browne)
and Neil Young now pumps Congress
for "No More Lies", jobs and healthcare
for veterans who fought on dessert sand -
and tell them to see the world
as we do, but nothing can change
the sacrifices, staggering costs,
never before experienced
or anticipated
This gives me some hope because
I want to keep my soul of the 50's,60's, 70's -
the music and state of mind,
not the injustice;
part of my essence is locked there in time
and you brought out some good music as well...some powerful tunes from that age...there are still some but def people had reason to sing back then...
ReplyDeleteKatie, like you there are so many times I want things to be like there were. It seemed like life was simpler and there was less hostility. Yep--it's a sign of aging. But what a great way to let it unfold, in the music we remember.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely agree! I have a novel I am trying to get out soon re 1968. Wonderful how you worked lyrics in. K.
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