First
the passing of the law,
then the beating on the door
Echoed
by the heart that beats in fear
No
time to think,
no time to run,
no use to flee the pointing gun
The
tolling of the bell is in your ear
See
the fire and the light
of still more fires in the night
Until
the night is burning you alive
Then
comes a voice out of the flame,
calling you as if by name
Whispering
the words - Thou Shalt Survive
A
prayer towards the heavens grows, to find the ears of God are closed
To
find there’s only blackness in the sky
No
hope to rise above despair, no purpose in another prayer
That
dies like men impaled upon barbed wire
So
loud the lashing of the whips, like thunder of the apocalypse
No
chance that any man could hear the cries
Yet
seeping out among the smoke, a voice half-stammering half-choked
Mouths
the holy words, Thou Shalt Survive
You
stand forsaken, angry now, till something makes you cry aloud
To
act or speak the vengeance of the dead
You
call out, No man has the right to set these fires in the night
To
raise the axe or crown above his head
You
reach out and remove the crown, you take the axe and cut him down
You
say, I murder in the name of life
Now
tyrants rot upon the graves, their names now added to the names
Of
those who first cried out, Thou Shalt Survive
Then
let the fire take up my song, and sing it for the broken ones
For
those who have no homes or have no names
Better
be a refugee, better no identity
Than
bear upon your backs the tongues of flame
Whether
you fight in name of truth, or eye for eye and tooth for tooth
Beware
the fire mirrored in your eyes
No
plan of God can be your plan, nor that of any other man
The
one commandment reads, Thou Shalt Survive
When
all the rivers turn to flood, and all the deserts turn to blood
And
all the forlorn hopes have turned to doubts
When
every promise proves empty, leaving inhumanity
To
drink the well of truth that’s gone to drought
When
only smoke and dust are left, when all men who might hear are deaf
Upon
the tombs these words are still inscribed
Carved
in spools of burning fire, wrapped in tresses of barbed wire
The
epitaph that reads, Thou Shalt Survive
When
all has turned to broken bones, and dust to dust, and stone to stone
And
ash is heaped on ash - Thou Shalt Survive
When
smell of death meets stench of fire, & corpses rot upon their pyres
And
hunger tears your soul - Thou Shalt Survive
When
all the open gates are locked, when all the open roads are blocked
When
every will to live in you has died
When
every dream has turned to glass, and future shatters like the past
Yet
still the dead cry out - Thou Shalt Survive
You can find David Prashker at:
If
you would like to include "Thou Shalt Survive" in your repertoire,
either for paid public performance or to record for commercial
purposes, or if you would like to re-use the recordings attached to this
blog-page for commercial purposes, contact
argaman@theargamanpress.com.
Use of this song, and/or these recordings, for
non-commercial purposes, is not simply permitted but invited.
Words and music by David Prashker
Copyright © 2014 David Prashker
All rights reserved
The Argaman Press
