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Song The Songbird Sings

David Rovics
Language: English


David Rovics

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[November 2003]
Lyrics and music by David Rovics
Testo e musica di David Rovics
Da/From "Songs for Mahmud"
David Rovics' Official Website
11548385 350 350


"In memory of Mahmud al-Qayyed, age 10, killed by Israeli occupation forces for the crime of catching songbirds in the Gaza Strip." -David Rovics.
It was another Friday morning
I was among the olive trees
Out looking for birds to catch
My father, his friends and me
I had my string and net
And a nimble eye
There beside the farmers' fields
Where the songbirds fly

When you're catching birds
The world disappears
And a thousand songs of autumn
Are all that fills your ears
They sing their songs so brightly
At the dawning of the day
They fly back and forth over the fence
Where we must stay away

(Chorus)
You can see the birds beneath the clouds
Watch them spread their wings
You can listen to the wind
And the song the songbird sings

It's so good to come here
So far from all the sound
Of all the shooting and the shouting
And the tanks upon the ground
I just wish I could live here
Within this olive grove
Just me, my friends and family
And a small wood-burning stove

(Chorus)

Last week I caught three sparrows
It was quite a day
Now I'm bound for glory
That's what they say
I hear them talk about me
Shedding tears upon a sack
Inside there lies a child
With four bullets in his back

(Chorus)

Contributed by Riccardo Venturi - 2006/8/5 - 17:49




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