I Love These Lyrics

We Shall Be Free

I was reading a post on EP yesterday and saw that someone had quoted a song lyric in a comment. It was just one line, but it was so familiar to me. Try as I might, however, I couldn't place the lyric. All I could come up with was that it was from some old country song my dad used to listen to a lot when I was really little. So I called him. Lol, that's right, I actually made a real old fashioned phone call because he refuses to respond to my text messages!

Anyway, he recognized the song immediately as "Standing Outside the Fire" by a singer named "Garth Brooks." He proceeded to quote the entire song lyric to me from memory and it is an awesome lyric. In fact, I had just decided to post it here as a story when he said, "But you know that wasn't your favorite Garth song, right?"

Huh??? I had a favorite Garth Brooks song? How could that be? I don't even know who the guy is anymore.

Well, in his badly out of tune voice, he started with, "This ain't comin' from no prophet..." and I instantly remembered the entire song and sang along with him right through to the end. It was simply amazing to me how just a couple of words instantly brought back this memory of dancing around the house singing along with my dad when I was four or five years old.

I shared that with him and he went on to explain that I didn't *just* like singing this song. Apparently I asked him questions about the lyrics...."What does it mean crying for a crust of bread dad?" .... "Why would someone die for just saying words dad?" ... and on and on. Being the dad that he has always been, he patiently sat through my questions and explained things like social justice in a way that a five year old could understand.

This topic is particularly relevant to me today because I've been deep in discussion with one of my very best EP friends on the topic of social justice and political philosophies. You see, I'm a free market capitalist .... a libertarian .... practically a freedom loving anarchist; and my friend is an admitted socialist .... a big government social engineer! (Before you get carried away, we have nothing but admiration, affection, and love for each other!)

We both seek a better tomorrow for all people, we just see a different path to that same end. And so, this story and this song are for my very dear (but socialist) friend!! Love ya!! 😉

[media=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZCqozYTkb0]

Garth Brooks - We Shall Be Free

This ain't comin' from no prophet
Just an ordinary man
When I close my eyes I see
The way this world shall be
When we all walk hand in hand

When the last child cries for a crust of bread
When the last man dies for just words that he said
When there's shelter over the poorest head
We shall be free

When the last thing we notice is the color of skin
And the first thing we look for is the beauty within
When the skies and the oceans are clean again
Then we shall be free

We shall be free
We shall be free
Stand straight, walk proud
'Cause we shall be free
When we're free to love anyone we choose
When this world's big enough for all different views
When we all can worship from our own kind of pew
Then we shall be free
We shall be free

We shall be free
Have a little faith
Hold out
'Cause we shall be free

And when money talks for the very last time
And nobody walks a step behind
When there's only one race and that's mankind
Then we shall be free

We shall be free
We shall be free
Stand straight, walk proud, have a little faith, hold out
We shall be free

We shall be free
We shall be free
Stand straight, have a little faith

We shall be free

About me: https://similarworlds.com/sarabee1995/info

This page is a permanent link to the reply below and its nested replies. See all post replies »

Sarahbellas

This is a good post, missySB...the song fits. But...I can't help but share this, since everybody else had such positive comments... I'm not actually a fan of the song. lol

sarabee1995 · 31-35, F

The music or the lyrics??

Sarahbellas

Some parts of both are good. Mostly the lyrics though...I like a few lines, just mostly I want to make changes to both the music and lyrics. Part of me always felt, like their wasn't enough heart and soul into the writing of it. That it was written just as a feel good, song to add to his gigs cause it was appropriate at the time, ya know? Addressing all the "ills" of the world and imagining it will all be honkey-dorey sometime. IDK. The sentiment is nice...but maybe it just always felt a little too "Castles in the sky" to me.

sarabee1995 · 31-35, F

Well, I have no idea what was appropriate at the time...I think it was before I was born. And I'm not a big fan of the music.
But I like the sentiment because it basically says that none of us are free until we're all free. One of our very good friends on here cannot hold her girlfriend's hand because she fears persecution. Another of my EP friends (I don't think you know this one) has huge struggles with money. And a third friend of mine needs to access EP through some kind of illegal secure network because it is censored in her country.
Each of them is thousands of miles from you and I, but I think we all have an obligation to work for greater social justice in the world. Until everyone is free, no one is free.
That's what I get from the lyrics. :-)

Sarahbellas

eep..I just showed my age didn't I?

I like that you see that in the lyrics and that you had a nice moments with your dad over the song. Thank you for sharing what you saw in it...because I didn't really see that in the lyrics...but it makes sense now. And I like that one phrase that you said: none of us are free until we're all free. :) (I didn't get that at all until you mentioned it)

To me, the song tells me that this ordinary guy has a dream, and that it's a dream many share, one that everybody should share (which is why he's singing about it so ya'll hear it now...kind of a thing)...where all oppression and judgement is gone, and then there will be true freedom. But the song also say to walk proud, and stand up straight and have faith in a dream...and to me that bothers me alot. Having a dream is great...but just believing something will come about because you wish and hope really really hard for it...bothers me... It takes alot of hard work to get there...and I think a part of me wishes that this song had something in it to urge people to be better people, rather then just dream of a far off future. What a person does NOW determines what the future will be like for their children, and children's children. Does that make sense?

sarabee1995 · 31-35, F

Yup, that makes perfect sense. There is no "call to action" in the song. I took a persuasive writing class once and sometimes the call to action is the hardest part to write. He states his case about a better future that he saw in his dream, but never asks anyone to help him work towards it. I get what you're saying.
I like the vision and the dream, and I will work toward it, but yes the song would be better if it asked people to do *something*. :-)

Sarahbellas

The song is what it is, and what it was probably designed to be. The mood of the song would change if it was how I imagined how I'd like it to be. What would be better, is if I just sat down and wrote my own song. :D