Tear Down the Wall

I will finally post the three songs I wrote for my final project in my Israel-Palestine class. I will post them along with a video file of the song. I performed all three of them with Janet Irvine and Tim Dixon. This first one is the longest of the three and my favorite as well...

Where do you draw the line

between Israel and Palestine?

When will they decide

what is yours and what is mine?

A line turns into a border.

A request turns into an order.

A border turns into a wall,

then a wall sets off disorder.

Yet the highest wall still standing

is a lack of understanding.

A wall built in one's mind;

a wall that's still expanding.

[Chorus]:

Let's tear down the wall!

Watch it fall, let it fall!

The other side comes into view;

there's nothing in the world so beautiful.

Let's tear down the wall!

Using love as our maul.

Building strong bonds in its place

to reconnect and bring peace to all.

Can there be a peaceful decision

in a clash of hard-nosed religions?

Where do we bend and where do we break?

So use the eyes of forgiving vision.

Can we build an understanding state

on this foundation and pillars of hate?

Jews want security, Arabs want return,

but with this wall, there's still no debate.

A wall's purpose should be to protect,

but instead of approve, it screams "reject!"

Speak with others instead of hiding from them.

A wall blocks all attempts to connect.

[Chorus]

Stop blaming others in this battle range

for its conflicted history of land exchange.

It does no good to focus on the past;

just focus on what we truly can change.

The distinct possibility of peace

is far too good to release.

Everyone can grow to share

and allow this fighting to cease.

[Chorus]

Let's tear down the wall!

Let's tear down this wall!

Let's tear down your wall!

Let's tear down all the walls in the world keeping us from love!

--DW 5/09