1. Rwanda - The Rise and Fall by Lorne Clarke copyright 2004 Crouching in a muddy pool in a ditch beside the road Covered with blood and drenched in sweat Though she is chilled right to the bone She holds her hand across her baby's mouth There's a roadblock at the village edge And they're going house to house And she can see the firelight reflected by the blades As they rise and fall and fall and rise And rise ---- to fall again The butchered, bloody corpses of her family fill the road Where half-mad snarling dogs Are tearing flesh from off their bones Blood runs from a gash above her ear Left for dead with her baby girl And paralyzed by fear And she can see the firelight reflected by the blades As they rise and fall and fall and rise And rise ---- to fall again Silently she watches the militia search for prey Flames rise up from her neighborıs house As they stand outside and wait And when three small children run outside Two are shot and one is stopped By a blade between the eyes And she can see the firelight reflected by the blades As they rise and fall and fall and rise And rise ---- to fall again Then Romeo is calling It's the middle of the night The barometer is falling He wants to do what's right To try to stop the killing To seize the guns and blades He's ready and he's willing But Iqbal Riza says... "I will pass this on to Koffi But there are things that you don't know Belgium is unwilling America just says, "No" And the French have their own interests There's no need to interfere This is just a tribal skirmish At least that much is clear But he can see the firelight reflected by the blades As they rise and fall and fall and rise And rise ---- to fall again And when he asks for reinforcements He's told there are none to be had There's all that trouble in the Balkans Where things are really bad So we've redefined your mandate Now you're just there to observe Maintain communications Till we give you the word But he can see the firelight reflected by the blades As they rise and fall and fall and rise And rise ---- to fall again 2. Rwandan Eyes by Tom Flannery copyright 2004 I'd like to look through his eyes to see what he can see I'd like to talk with his tongue the words he learned to speak I'd like control of the arm that drew the machete high and to get inside the ears that ignored my children's cry I'd like to watch the sun go down and no longer be afraid I'd like to see true justice and not a guilt ridden charade I'd like to speak to so many that are no longer here I'd like to know what a smile means but even that's not clear I'd like to see Rwandan Eyes again I'd like to see Rwandan Eyes again I'd like to tell someone my story but just where to begin? will you judge it from the inside or from the color of my skin will you write of ethnic hatreds that same old western song or the fact that we were one people until your masters came along I'd like to see Rwandan Eyes again I'd like to see Rwandan Eyes again 3. Paul Kagame Blues by Tom Flannery copyright 2003 They say the love of one's country is a terrible thing when laced with a hatred that the devil might bring and so you're forced into fighting killing others who try to use the blood of others like it's money to buy Your name is Kagame Rwanda is your home a commander of troops in the field so you must stand alone do you cry when the lights go and you're alone in your bed or do you dream only to get inside your enemy's head I got the blues I got the Paul Kagame blues There were young girls in your country Tutsi and Hutu..aged 12 they were lined up at gunpoint against the wall and told to separate themselves yet they refused to move said "we're Rwandan's that's all we'll say" and so all were slaughtered under the broad light of day I got the blues I got the Paul Kagame blues I come from the west and I've learned what I can about the rape of your country from many different hands and I've come to know others but to know you from within you would have to allow me to slip in your skin I got the blues I got the Paul Kagame blues 4. Romeo Dallaire by Tom Flannery copyright 2004 When I lay down I can hear the guns the grenades and the screams but the weariness will wear them down and all that's left is what I dream my wife will try to hold me when I'm shaking in the night and she knows damn well I'm lying when I tell her I'm alright they called me a peacekeeper in my snappy blue beret the mission of a lifetime I heard my insides say Africa lay below me like a woman with a smile a lushness and a beauty with the power to beguile My name is Romeo Dallaire I've seen the devil...this world we share Rwanda is here when I'm not there my name is Romeo Dallaire But when the sky it exploded and the hatred did touch down I reached out for my mandate and found it shredded on the ground through a fax machine and phone line New York they cut and ran saying "as long as you don't draw your gun you can do what you can" I could stack all of the bodies along the side of the UN and they'd cover all the windows where you pledged "never again" Rwanda's heart is broken and my soul is cut in two one side still the peacemaker what will the other do? My name is Romeo Dallaire I've seen the devil...this world we share Rwanda is here when I'm not there my name is Romeo Dallaire It's been 10 years of forgetting 10 years to wonder why 10 years of revision 10 years to justify 10 years for the children to find their way back home 10 years and my own head still won't leave me alone 5. Isn't That a Shame? by Lorne Clarke copyright 2004 Weatherman's callin' for rain tonight Isn't that a shame? Baseball season has just begun I got tickets for the game He says there's a storm in Africa Some place I can't name Rivers choked with bodies and and blood Now isn't that a shame? Shame, shame, shame, shame, shame Boss says I gotta work overtime Isn't that a shame? Now all my plans for having fun Are just going down the drain While listening to the radio On my coffee break I heard them whisper genocide Isn't that a shame? Shame, shame, shame, shame, shame The newspaper's filled with trouble and woe Isn't that a shame? How do you expect me to put the fires out When the whole world is in flames? besides I got problems here at home enough to drive me insane I wish you well but you're on your own Isn't that a shame? Shame, shame, shame, shame, shame 6. I'm Coming Home by Tom Flannery copyright 2003 It's been 9 long years but now I'm coming home they told me I could leave said I was free to die alone I do what I'm told I've always been this way tell me to turn my head I'll surely look the other way I could deny the killing for some that's still the plan but I again have to live with those who've seen blood on my hands they asked me for the names of those who died at my feet but I can't recall the faces so the names I can't repeat I'm coming home home to what I left behind and that should weigh heavy on an un-repentant mind They may seek to kill me but revenge is a subtle whore I killed some for their light skin or the glasses that they wore and now the court has told me it's over go on home I've got all I own in my 2 hands and a wish to be left alone I'm coming home home to my own kind you said never again do you mean it this time? you say you're not capable of the things that I have done but it's hard to stop a moving train once it has begun swept up like the sand that's carried away by the ocean waves it's my job to stay alive and it's the Lord's job to save I'm coming home with a bible and a prayer and the hope that when I close my eyes I won't see you there It's been 9 long years but now I'm coming home they told me I could leave said I was free to die alone I do what I'm told I've always been this way tell me to turn my head I'll surely look the other way 7. Confession by Tom Flannery copyright 2004 Bless me father they say I've sinned but it seems we've been touched from above given powers by your hand with the strength enough to bury love some must die so others can live so if our land must be purged clean after all we've done in your name surely you can forget the things you've seen today we stand accused by those whom we know you've forsaken long ago your judgment is merciful and true but tell me does it have to be so slow? Bless me father they say I've sinned but I'm still here and they're all gone your will be done and all that stuff so you tell me now what we've done wrong? 8. Bikindi by Tom Flannery copyright 2004 What if I used this song to hate would you still dance around the room? sweeping away the dirt as though your feet were like a broom what if I used this song as a call to arms on the airwaves here and now would you pick up the knife or the gun if I told you how? What if I used this song to hide behind the words I say if I said "after all, it's just a song" would you look the other way? what if I used this song to excuse the things that I've been told from the day that I was born until the day that I grew old Bikindi is my name Bikindi is my name love will prevail over hatred only the killing will remain What if I used this song to burn your house down to the ground and where your children once looked to the sky they now stare at the ground what if I used this song to kill would you pay for my third car? maybe you just feel like dancing or would just love to be a star Bikindi is my name Bikindi is my name love will prevail over hatred only the killing will remain 9. Madame Agathe by Lorne Clarke copyright 2004 Hercules is racing for the border A blur of camouflage upon the trees The midwife of the stillborn new-world-order Bound for to sanctuary 'neath the Fleur de Lis As the balefires of Kigali fade behind her Her thoughts have turned to Paris in the spring But she leaves behind a legacy of slaughter A gift to honor Leopold the King The first rains of the season are descending Roadblocks have completely shut the streets Corpses stacked in windows never-ending The air is thick with the stench of rotting meat Although the best laid plans are often shattered Madame Agathe has not abandoned hope She bows her head and prays on things that matter Thanking God - and Mitterand - and the Pope At the airport she accepts a sheaf of flowers A limousine and forty thousand Francs A gesture from the ones who sit in power Pockets bulging with the cash from Rwanda's banks When the people we abandoned call for justice Will we find our cowardice too much to bear Can we be surprised that they no longer trust us When Agathe still walks the streets - and no one cares 10. Joseline by Tom Flannery copyright 2004 She was 17 years drinking the water from the rain cupped in her hands it wasn't mixed with the blood on her land unlike her tears Joseline Joseline No more a child For 2 months she lived on the run they were checking noses ears and fingers to see if she was one death all the while Joseline Joseline Joseline when she came home no one left, she was all alone she had watched from the hills the grizzly ballet performed by faces she'd known all her days Now she's 25 carrying three little children round and round searching out those who still hear the sounds still alive Joseline Joseline a woman now not allowed to earn money or to go to school now that everyone's dead she breaks that rule tell me how Joseline Joseline Joseline what do you say when people look at you a certain way and all the little girls follow here and there with eyes so wide and souls so bare 11. Requiem for Butare by Lorne Clarke copyright 2004 First among the tell-tale signs of madness Is an unreasoning compulsion to believe In miracles and faith That love will find a way That in the end the truth will set you free So each night while the stars hang in the blackness A billion frightened voices beg for peace Knealing mongst the graves Of Paupers, Kings and Slaves The definition of eternity And when no answers fall from heavenıs vastness We convince ourselves that we lack purity That weıre unworthy and unclean Thatıs why God remains unseen Why we stand alone in our time of need Yet if we look, thereıs a glimmer midst the ashes A whisper of the way that things might be The laughter of a child A young bride's happy smile The golden glow of sunrise o'er the sea 12. Talkin' First Day Working at the UN Blues by Tom Flannery copyright 2004 Got a job at the UN the pay's pretty good nice place in a ritzy neighborhood the year was 1994 I'd finally found what I was looking for I think Abraham Lincoln said that or maybe it was Bono I'm not sure I just saw Bono in the hallway here outside my door Peace Keeping missions that's where I worked had a phone and a fax and a filing clerk nobody there looked like me they all talked kinda funny from what I could see they told me I talked funny too but I didn't believe 'em 'cause I'm an American after all We had some guys from Rwanda on the ground sounded like a nice enough little town had an African map hanging on the wall but I couldn't find the place...map's too small gotta make them borders bigger....either that or make the name smaller Faxes started piling up ugly things they'd say I went to my boss he said "son it's your first day it's always like that 'round here lets knock off early and I'll buy you a beer" I asked him about Rwanda and he said gorillas lived there ...make a good movie but the lady dies at the end...hope I didn't spoil it for you There was a guy named Romeo Dallaire kept screaming that folks were dying there he needed guns and more of them helmut heads so we sent him some pens and some staples instead hey, he said he needed them too and they're cheaper can only do so much you know I guess now I'm part of the bureaucracy after all I went to college got myself a degree if you need me leave a message or stay on the line but just remember that I always knock off at 5 so I'll get back to you later 13. Christmas in Kigali by Tom Flannery copyright 2002 It's Christmas in Kigali the children gather 'round red on green is beautiful when it's laid out on the ground they sing thanks and praises to the Lord because He loves them still it's time to forget what they can see still waiting in the hills It's Christmas in Kigali Washington sends their best and France sends presents for the kids with hopes for eternal rest to those who could not be be here to see the joyful scene when the party is in full swing you can't hear people scream a silent night is filled with fright there's celebration in Kigali tonight It's Christmas in Kigali holiest time of year when the clouds they part and sun beams down to dry the people's tears and even the ghosts that walk this land are blinded by the love shown in this land of 1000 hills from those who Lord above a silent night is filled with fright there's celebration in Kigali tonight 14. Tell Me How by Tom Flannery copyright 2004 You say "we remember" tell me how? you say "never again" do you mean it now? get off your knees and breathe the air who knows what you'll find down there your eyes still say you do not care tell me how? You can't feel the pain of others tell me why? only tend to your own fields while mine die but the rain that washed my fields away will not spare yours on judgment day still no fear do you betray tell me how? Tell me how your hands remain so clean and so still while mine tremble like a frightened child doing God's will The Lord gives and He takes away is that true? I must question His methods in regards to you I'd rather lose my life today than have my humanity taken away how do you keep the chills at bay tell me how? Tell me how your soul is free to replicate while it can while mine stays dark and buried like a blight upon the land You say "we remember" tell me how? you say "never again" do you mean it now? get off your knees and breathe the air who knows what you'll find down there your eyes still say you do not care tell me how? Tell me how your hands remain so clean and so still while mine tremble like a frightened child doing God's will 15. Do You Ever Wonder? by Tom Flannery copyright 2003 Do you ever wonder about the Lord above with all this wholesale killing Do you wonder why he's detached and not altogether willing to jump into the fray and wipe the stain away do you ever wonder? Do you ever wonder about religion and looking up towards the sky me blowing you up when you don't believe in the same God as I or you can kill me and then He'll see do you ever wonder? Do you ever wonder about the president and what goes through his head when he turns on the TV news and sees another soldier dead maybe he wishes it all away maybe bows his head to pray do you ever wonder? Do you ever wonder about Rwanda and the things that happened there or is the truth of it just too much for a God fearing mind to bear blood still stains the ground the dead still don't make a sound do you ever wonder? Do you ever wonder if there is a God maybe it's all been a lie and there's a whole lotta nothing waiting for us when we lay down to die would that make you feel like you got a bum deal do you ever wonder? 16. Lake Victoria by Tom Flannery copyright 2004 I once thought sins were washed away by the waters of the Lord healing built from rivers and a quiet streaming ford Lake Victoria is in my dreams that day I did declare you can baptize me another way I'll not set foot in there Some look and see reflection on the surface gliding by when the sun it bounces off you and then heads back towards the sky but my mother rests below you carried by Kagera's flow when Victoria will give her up.. well this I do not know Victoria how do you sleep what other secrets do you keep surface gone from blue to brown someday I'll will myself to drown When killers live among you and they look you in the eye when a child grasps an empty hand and then begins to cry when darkness comes and spreads not fear but a welcome from the sight Lake Victoria will disappear at least for the night Victoria how do you sleep what other secrets do you keep surface gone from blue to brown someday I'll will myself to drown I once thought sins were washed away by the waters of the Lord healing built from rivers and a quiet streaming ford Lake Victoria is in my dreams that day I did declare you can baptize me another way I'll not set foot in there 17. How Do We Sleep at Night? by Lorne Clarke copyright 2004 Sometimes I wonder how we sleep at night is it that we only see the world in black and white or deliberately close our eyes and stop our ears to the desperate cries of the children who we blame for their own plight tell me how do we sleep at night how do we sleep at night Why do we insist there's nothing we can do is it that we only see the world in black and blue that in every game there's a losing side and though some folks play with loaded dice we have to play but we don't get to make the rules there must be something we can do something we can do Can you tell me how we can live this way is it that we only see the world in shades of grey or abandon those who need the most to the father son and the holy ghost though we know that no one hears them when they pray tell me how can we live this way how can we live this way Sometimes I wonder how we sleep at night is it that we only see the world in black and white or deliberately close our eyes and stop our ears to the desperate cries of the children who we blame for their own plight tell me how do we sleep at night how do we sleep at night