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ABOUT THIS SONG During my 15 years as music director at Unity San Luis Obispo, CA I would often get requests from congregants to write a song for them. Usually I accepted. I received such a request from my friend, Janet, who knew someone whose daughter was undergoing a challenging illness. Janet wanted a song about heroes, for some reason. I agreed and began to think about the topic. In our culture it seemed that being a hero meant you were someone in the public eye. The word hero was thrown around to movie stars, musicians, sports figures, people in the helping professions, the armed services, astronauts, etc. It kind of seemed that the meaning of hero had been misplaced. I also realized that when someone is raised to hero status then the next thing would be that the tabloids would look for dirt. Before you knew it, the hero was tarnished and toppled. Curious, to be sure... So I diverted my focus to the daily lives of you and me. For me there were times when the last thing I wanted to do was to crawl out of bed in the morning. It took an effort above and beyond to motivate myself to face what I knew was before me. Now, here we go. It is the common folk who often are the most heroic, showing up to the particular daily travails and monsters and demands...you know what I mean. I had my slant on the song and just needed the feel. I put it in G and for that is the throat key and this was about speaking out into the world,rediscovering the inner resources of strength and courage and action. the 6/8 feel is the stuff these songs are made of...In this life shall come moments of challenge, when the shapes and the forms tumble down"...Later I realized I had borrowed heavily from the Billy Joel classic, Piano Man...oh, well, Thank you, Billy. I love to sing this song. It is powerful and stirring and filled with classic imagery. Use it to rise up and face your challenges, whatever they may be. |
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SONG LYRICS: I AM A HERO In this life shall come Moments of challenge When the shapes and the forms Tumble down When the ego will writhe with Resistance As the darkness does dance All around When the child will reach out For assistance From a God who seems So far away Though everything’s blurred A connection is heard A spark is ignited a memory stirs From out of the ethers in silence From within the heart’s Ceaseless void A rider comes over the mountains Emblazoned in power and joy And the fog opens up like The Red Sea A sweet song sweeps over the land With rider and horse fast approaching I remember like a hero I can Oh, set me upon raging rivers Hang me out over the ledge Turn out the lights if you must But I tell you This warrior shall dance on the edge Nothing shall keep me from center Fear shall be my greatest friend I’ll rise from the ashes Of the choices I’ve laid And protect the king till the end For I Am a hero, again and again So I call upon all of you heroes Whose spirit and deeds fill our lives Inanna, Amelia and Rachel Ulysses and Martin and John Jamie and Mikey and Peter Alea and Nancy and Ann You and me Gandhi and Biko Come gather and join as we stand ©1996.Music for Every Soul. All Rights Reserved. |
05 I Am A Hero
