CLEANSE YOUR HEART WITH WATERS

Roger Waters, the co-founder and primary songwriter of the legendary rock band Pink Floyd, has written and recorded two important new songs, "To Kill The Child" and "Leaving Beirut". You can hear streaming versions of the songs on Waters website, www.roger-waters.com. The songs have the fervor of the classic Waters and powerful lyrics. I am particularly impressed with the strong lyrics, which were written as Waters' response to invasion of Iraq by the coalition force.

He asks:
Are these the people that we should bomb
Are we so sure they mean us harm
Is this our pleasure, punishment or crime

He warns:
Every time a smart bomb does its sums and gets it wrong
Someone else's child dies and equities in defense rise
America, America, please hear us when we call
You got hip-hop, be-bop, hustle and bustle
You got freedom of speech
You got great beaches, wilderness and malls
Don't let the might, the Christian right, fuck it all up
For you and the rest of the world

He accuses:
Our dads had helped them win the war
When we all knew what we were fighting for
But now an Englishman abroad is just a US stooge
Not in my name, Tony, you great war leader you
Terror is still terror, whosoever gets to frame the rules
History's not written by the vanquished or the damned
Now we are Genghis Khan, Lucretia Borghia, Son of Sam

He ponders:
How strange to choose to take a life
How strange to choose to kill a child
Hoover, Blaupunkt, Nissan Jeep
Nike, Addidas, Lacoste and cheaper brands
Cadillac, Amtrak, gasoline, diesel
Our standard of living, could this be a reason
That we would choose to kill the child

And he poses the ultimate question:
Is it anger or envy, profit or loss
That we would choose to kill the child?