Hi Everybody,

I'm posting the lyrics to an anti-war song that I finished tonight. I started working on it during the Gulf War and felt compelled to give it another go tonight. So, here it is, so new that it has no title yet. I'll take suggestions.

Lyrics: Sharyn Dimmick (all rights reserved)
Tune: Stephen Foster ("Old Uncle Ned")

1)        There is an old story of right and of wrong
        That we heard long ago, long ago,
        And when the war drums beat the soldiers march on
        Because that is the story they know.

2)        Some are leaving the love in their own true love's eye.
        Some are leaving their children at home.
        Some are leaving forever and going to die
        For the beat of that old hollow drum.

Cho.        Then lay down the bayonet and gun,
        Silence the bugle and the drum,
        For we've no more heart to act this way:
        Just see what our warfare has done.

3)        If your homeland is riddled with craters and graves,
        Sown with landmines and bombs from the sky,
        Full of widows and orphans and wounded and dead
        Do you want anybody to die?

Cho.

4)        There's another old story our history yields,
        Let us listen as never before:
        Let us beat swords to plowshares and lay down our shields --
        Let us not study war anymore.

Final Cho.

That's it. Perhaps some helpful person could post the Uncle Ned tune (I have no way of creating a Midi). Feel free to sing it, take it to rallies, etc. Just remember to credit me with the lyrics and Stephen Foster with the tune. Namaste.

Sharyn