Good Books (Lonnie Glass singing)

This is as much a song about the divisiveness of religion as it is the tragedy of war. Let's face it, the majority of wars have a religious component. And I'm just reporting back history, so cast the first stone inward, my deadly righteous pilgrims. The Good Books engender a lot of dirty looks, that's all.

Another co-write with my Canadian collaborator Lonnie Glass who performs it here. A studious version of this song appeared in the Spring 2006 issue of Mindfire here:

http://www.mindfirerenew.com/issue6spring2006/0206-music.html


Good Books (L. Glass/N. Ball)

From the pictures they keep flashing,
you can see the censor's work
there's no blood around any edges
and nobody's getting hurt
'Cept the boy outside the drugstore,
well he left his legs behind
in a war no map owns up to
in a place no one can find

Bring your good books to the table
lay your weapons by the chair
we've all been blessed
with words of kindness
that we are dying to compare

Well the gods they called a meeting
'cause the earth was getting too loud
but before the sky could open
someone set fire to the clouds

That great mountain is a mystery
with its many paths to climb
but all the stories end in misery
and the verses, they don't rhyme.

Bring your good books to the table
lay your weapons by the chair
we've all been blessed
with words of kindness
that we are dying to compare

All the coffins come to Dover
but the cameraman's been fired
'cause the sight of all that dying
makes the generals look like liars
Only tales of fame and glory
ever reach the light of day
as for all the kids that took a bullet
well, all good soldiers fade away

Copyright 2006, Norman Ball and Lonnie Glass

Category:

Music

Tags:

• anti-war
• song
• Leonard
• Cohen
• Bob
• Dylan
• Iraq
• War
• Peace
• Lonnie
• Glass
• Norman
• Ball

[greyamw]

Very well written and performed. Check out a song I wrote about an American soldier who survives Vietnam, only to lose his son in Iraq. When you open the video, you can view the lyrics by clicking on "about this video" to the right of the screen.