Draw The Line
Draw The Line
"We'll get up and go to work just like everything is fine."
The news back in the ‘80s was full of things that needed to be changed when I wrote this song for my ‘Draw The Line’ album. Our first daughter Megan was three, and having her in my life changed my vision of the world. Now, forty-five years later, we see that all those things that needed changing back then, … still need changing today.
My old friend Utah Phillips used to say,
“Pe-ter, … if voting would change things, they’d make it illegal!” ~ And I’d say,
“U-ter, … now that I’ve got a kid, I’ll do whatever it takes to make the world a better place for her and all the other kids! Just like you do!”
DRAW THE LINE
Papers on the floor (C-Em-Am)
Crayons circled ‘round her (Fmj7)
My daughter shapes (D9-D7)
An intricate design (G-G7)
And she orders me to sit (C-Em-Am)
Handing me the blue one (Fmj7)
She says “Help me Daddy, (C-Em-Am-Am7)
Help me draw the line!” (F-G-C)
Cho: Draw the line, draw the line, (C-Am, F)
We have to help each other draw the line (D7,G-G7)
Draw the line, draw the line (Am-F)
We have to help each other draw the line! (G-G7-C)
(Em-Am-Fmj7)
The news is on T.V.
She’s asleep upon my lap
Tears jump down my cheeks
Like counting sheep, like counting crimes
And the worst crime of them all
Will be tomorrow morning
We’ll get up and go to work
Just like everything is fine!
We’ll ignore atomic waste (Am)
Maybe it will go away (Em)
And the chemicals we eat ( F-D7)
Don’t taste so bad (G-G7)
Our bombs will keep us safe,
And our air smells really great
And the old folks in those homes
Have no reason to be sad
Chorus
My girl could save the whales
If there’s any left to save
She’d wonder why the jails
Are overflowing with the poor
She’d see eighty-nine percent
Of our Senators are men
And that ego, greed, and money
Are the causes of our wars!
The moon shines like her face,
I can’t look her in the eye
The owl screams “Whoo –
Leaves this legacy behind!?”
Somehow we’ve got to stop,
And start a better world
Oh, help me child, please,
Help me draw the line!
Chorus
And the worst crime of them all,
Will be tomorrow morning
We’ll get up and go to work
Just like everything is fine!
Written by Peter Alsop, ©Copyright 1980, Moose School Music (BMI)
This song is really a plea for us to ‘take action’. Using the word ‘unprecedented’ is problematic, because most of the issues in this song were ‘precedented’ back in the ‘80s. They’re still unresolved. I think the people who ‘stormed the Capitol’ wanted to take some action, but didn’t know what to do. Obeying a ‘leader who lies to us’ is not a wise choice. I know we can’t use violence to set up a peaceful world, because that will only happen through peaceful means or it will not last. Can we lead ourselves? Is that what this next election is about? And how much support is there for non-violent courses of action that might actually make a difference in how we come out of this turmoil together?
Not feeling sure about how to proceed is part of our human dilemma. When we feel ‘stuck’, it’s actually a very spiritual place to be. We know we can’t keep on doing what we’ve been doing, but because we don’t know exactly what to do next, we’re in a state of being hyper-alert, with our eyes wide open for any possible clues about what we need to do next. That kind of uncertainty is uncomfortable and painful, but it’s exactly that pain that helps us be resolute and persistent enough, to struggle until we find the solutions we need. I write songs with ideas that encourage others to take action, hoping to bring about a world where we can live without having to be afraid of each other.
And it’s not going to work to draw ‘One Big Line’ in the sand. Our lives are intricately interconnected, so one big line won’t do it. However, we can draw little lines every day; set boundaries as we need to, so we don’t have our core values whittled away. We need safe, loving people around to support us in these efforts.
We have the United Nations and other giant ‘townhall-like’ councils where we can sit and listen to each other right now. Problem is the US and the other ‘super-powers’ don’t really want to hear from countries who don’t already agree with them. So, we must speak up! We can use our ingenuity and intelligence to come up with actions that will work for us. We can pressure our elected representatives to address our needed changes or we can vote them out of office.
I’ve been preparing myself to help birth a new nation, made up of all our inhabitants; where we care for and help each other; share information and resources with each other. I believe it can happen, but it needs the willpower and work of each individual to commit to being more kind and caring in the ways we treat each other. We need to listen, organize, and support women and girls, AND our boys and young men; to love ourselves enough to take better care of ourselves and our bodies, our health and those in our care.
Hug your children and loved ones. Say something uplifting and nice to them ... and don’t forget to includes the funny person in your mirror. Stay safe. Take action. Vote!
“The worst crime of them all, will be tomorrow morning,
We’ll get up and go to work Just like everything is fine.”