My Music Highway Project

Saturday, October 07, 2006
Featuring "Deep Thought"

I do not recall how I came across Eli's blog... all I know is that when I began to read him I was very intrigued. I was either agreeing with every word he wrote or disagreeing with every word. When I leave comments on his blog... disagreeing or agreeing he always has gracious come backs... explaining his views. His blog is mostly political and ethical... I do enjoy a good read that makes me think... and believe me Eli makes me think.

So.... PLEASE Welcome to "My Music Highway Project" Eli From Deep Thought....

1) What song has truly inspired/touched you? and 2) How did it inspire/touch/ or change you?

A lot of songs have made a difference in my life. If I had to pick one, it would be 'If I had a Hammer' by Peter, Paul and Mary. It's a song about making a difference in the world, and standing up for what you believe in-- especially it's a song about doing, and not just talking about it.

Other songs that have made a difference in my philosophy include "Blowin' in the wind" (also Peter, Paul and Mary); "Abraham, Martin and John"(written by Dick Holler and performed by various artists, Dion being the first); "The Grave" written by Don McLean and "Favorite Son" by the Credence Clearwater Revival. And here is the country song on the list-- "Mama Tried," by Merle Haggard. Irony is, I no longer have copies of any of them since they are too old for CD's to be made and I lost my tape collection when our house got flooded the year we lived in Texas (and no, 'I thought happiness was Lubbock, Texas in my rear view mirror' isn't on my list, but I sure can relate).

In fact, I'm too young to have had to worry about Vietnam, but I have a definite hint (more than a hint) of that era in my veins, with a desire to do things, not just watch (so that, for example, today I am a county party vice chair). I've never been content to just talk about things (though obviously I do a lot of that too). Recently, for example, a club that I'm part of hosted a debate for congressional candidates (link to the post on that here)

And it started with three or four of us sitting around a table and deciding to just do it. That's how a lot of things start. I'd love to fix all the injustices in the world. So maybe I can't do that, but where I see one, I can try.

If I Had a Hammer

If I had a hammer,
Id hammer in the morning
Id hammer in the evening,
All over this land

Id hammer out danger,
Id hammer out a warning,
Id hammer out love between my brothers and my sisters,
All over this land.

If I had a bell,
Id ring it in the morning,
Id ring it in the evening,
All over this land

Id ring out danger,
Id ring out a warning
Id ring out love between my brothers and my sisters,
All over this land.

If I had a song,
Id sing it in the morning,
Id sing it in the evening,
All over this land

Id sing out danger,
Id sing out a warning
Id sing out love between my brothers and my sisters,
All over this land.

Well I got a hammer,
And I got a bell,
And I got a song to sing, all over this land.

Its the hammer of justice,
Its the bell of freedom,
Its the song about love between my brothers and my sisters,
All over this land.

Its the hammer of justice,
Its the bell of freedom,
Its the song about love between my brothers and my sisters,
All over this land.

3) What is one thing you wish for the future generations?

Future generations? Isaiah 2:4:

And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

More than anything else, I would love to see that day with my own eyes. Don't expect to, but would love to.

4) What is one "Project"/ "Charity" that is dear to your heart?

charity: Smiles For Diversity (you have to pull up 'contact' to get the contact info). Despite their mission, their main focus remains 'lost boys,' specifically the hundreds of young men and teenage boys who have been driven out of the polygamist community of Colorado City/Hildale (post I wrote about that is here).

Even out here in the rural west, the problem of these young men is largely lost in the background as most of the focus is on the girls who are forced into sexual slavery, but these teenage boys who are abandoned without any clue of how to survive on the outside (many have never even seen a television) need a lot of help too, and it's been going on for decades.

The recent arrest of Warren Jeffs (blogged on here) hopefully means that this nightmare of child abuse in all possible ways will end soon, but with thousands of cult members (most of whom are so kept in the dark by their leaders that they don't even know that Jeffs has been arrested) it is still far from certain how it will end.
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Thank you Eli for your contribution... I remember singing "If I Had a Hammer" as a child with my mother when she played her Peter, Paul and Mary records... some happy memories of my mother. Your charity is a wonderful charity... alot of sexual child abuse is mainly focused on young girls... but it happens to boys as well and we need to remember that.

...and the music plays on!

Posted by Shayna :: 4:05 AM ::

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