Saturday, May 05, 2007

The Progressive Politics of Mahalia Jackson



Today I thought that I might blog a little bit about Mahalia Jackson. Mahalia Jackson was one of the most popular figures of the 20th Century and it is amazing how quickly the public memory of her is being erased. At one point, during the Depression Era, in a poll taken amongst school children across the United States, Mahalia Jackson recieved more name recognition as someone they admired than Franklin Roosevelt. Her impact was tremendous. While there are many today who still play her gospel recoords, and even more gospel, R&B, and Soul singers who have been influenced by Mahalia,I seldom here anything in the mainstream concerning her progressive politics. Mahalia was a beautiful soul and like most Black people of a certain time and era, believed in right, and didn't believe in playing in white people's evil, with the belief that one should be upright and godfearing.

She was quite good friends with Studs Terkel, the historian and social critic. At one point, Mahalia asked Studs to be the host for her CBS radio show. As a matter of fact, she made it a stipulation that Studs be asked to host the show if she was to do it. So, CBS brought in Studs Terkel and the show begins. At one point, well into the run of the show, CBS headquarters sent down a loyalty oath(one of those relics of the McCarthy era that most employers demanded employees sign, pledging their loyalty to the United States) and demanded that Studs sign it. He refused and CBS threatened to fire him. Mahalia intervened saying, "If you fire Studs Terkel then you find yourself another Mahalia Jackson." And that was that and CBS had nothing else to say and the show went on, with Studs Terkel. Mahalia also sang at the March on Washington in 1963 as well as at Dr. King's Funeral in 1968. She is widely considered one of the best singers of the 20th Century and the best gospel singer of all time. She was a great soul.

Friday, May 04, 2007

Be Real Black For Me

Roberta Flack and Donnie Hathaway
(Donnie)
Our Time, short and precious
your lips warm and luscious
you don't have to wear false charms
cause when I wrap you in my hungry arms
Be real black for me
be real black for me

(Roberta)
Your hair soft and crinkly
your body strong and stately
you don't have to search anymore
cause I got your love at home
Be real black for me
be real black for me

(Together)
In my head I'm only half together
If I loose you I'd be ruined forever
darling take my hand and hold me
hold me
hold me
hold me
hold me

(together, alternately)
You know how much I need you
to have you,really feel you

(together)
you don't have to change a thing
No one knows the love you bring
Be real black for me
be real black for me
Be real black for me
be real black for me
Be real black for me
be real black for me
Be real black for me
be real black for me
Be real black for me
be real black for me

Youth Activist Arrested in Newark--From The New Black Panther Party

THE NEW BLACK PANTHER PARTY
THE NATIONAL MINISTRY OF CULTURE
P.O. BOX 25332
NEWARK, NEW JERSEY 07101
201-602-0780

April 30, 2007

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NEW PANTHERS CONDEMN ARREST OF NEWARK YOUTH LEADER

On Thursday, April 26th, Marques Lewis, outspoken anti-violence youth advocate, was arrested by Rutgers University Campus police, the Party has learned.

Apparently, Lewis, a student at Arts High School and founder of Da Youth, a local organization working to stem the horrific tide of street violence in the city of Newark, was home from a downtown meeting, across Rutgers University’s Newark campus when he was accosted.

It appears that Campus police were in the throes of a “sweep” for a Black male who had just robbed somebody on campus when Lewis was walking through. According to Bashir Akinyele, the Party’s local chief of staff, Campus police threw Lewis on the ground, put him handcuffs and put a gun to head.

“This young brother was really shaken up,” Akinyele said.
Lewis was then turned over to Essex County authorities and charged with “conspiracy to commit robbery.” He is facing up to $100,000 bail and jail time. He is expected to be arraigned today. The New Black Panther Party and the People's Organization for Progress secured an attorney for Lewis and are preparing for any other actions necessary.

“This is as outrageous as it gets,” exclaimed an angry Zayid Muhammad, the Party’s National Minister of Culture, who is also a Rutgers Newark alumni. “We went through this years ago when I was on campus.”
“Here is a kid who just survived being shot himself in an armed robbery just three weeks ago and who has himself been robbed at gunpoint twice just within the last year, who has been breaking his neck trying to bring community and official elements together to check the madness of this violence and he gets victimized all over again in the worst way,” Muhammad continued.

The first thing is Marques should be released on his own recognizance. Rutgers and the county should move immediately to have all charges dropped against Marques, and the character of that ‘sweep’ needs to immediately be investigated. Newark is full of ‘young black males’ and they are not all criminals. Institutions like Rutgers should be going out of their way trying to recruit a kid like Marques not having their police threatening to shoot him,” he finished.

For more information, please call 201-602-0780 or 973-204-5124.

Thursday, May 03, 2007

Condoleeza Meets with Syrian Government Officials


What a fabulous moment.

L.A. Immigration Rally

The police are comfortable being seen in front of television cameras beating people. This is an interesting reshifting and one that should be noted. What should we expect in the future? Needless to say, what they did in L.A. is an abomination.

Wednesday, May 02, 2007

11th Radical Progressive Carnival

Welcome to the 11th Radical Progressive Carnival! There are a variety of intellectual offerings to be sampled today. Our first worthy consideration is a very succinct academic essay on modern anarchism written by Richard Adams-Blackburn over at Anarchist Philosophy Blog. Adam smoothly lays out the principles of anarchism and discusses the anarchist take on U.S. Foreign policy, education, and the criminal justice system.

David Gross over at The Picket Line offers us three posts. The first is an updated guide to tax resistance from the National War Tax Resister's Coordinating Committee. Gross urges everyone to use tax resistance as a way of protest against the war and provides this simple guide as to how it can be accomplished. Gross outlines the pamphlet in this post and provides links to the National War Tax Resister's Coordinating Committee website. In the second post, Gross reviews Bill Kaufman's book, Look Homeward, America: In Search of Reactionary Radicals and Front Porch Anarchists. This seems to be an intriguing book that discusses the politics of figures such as Dorothy Day and Eldridge Cleaver. In this book, Kaufman seems to make a connection between anarchism, Jeffersonian democracy,and the traditions of such figures as Mother Jones, Robert La Follette,and John Brown. Kaufman expresses his desire to always vote for the "loser" whether it be Al Sharpton or Ralph Nader. This seems to be an interesting look at American politics and should be an interesting read. Gross' thirdoffering is an interesting analysis of Thoreau's development as a pacifist and the journey he took from a fascination with militarism and violence to his total identification as a pacifist.

Daddy Dialectic's post The Us vs. THe Rest of the Post-Industrial World provides the conclusions of a study done by the Council on Contemporary families, discussing the U.S. rankings in relation to other developed nations in regards to creating family-friendly work policies. Interesting material there; it would be interesting to put this up against other measures of U.S. society such as child poverty,the economic stability of U.S. households, and gender equality in the workplace. Save the Ribble provides us with analysis of the ongoing struggle of Riverworks to preserve their urban environment against propoerty developers looking to make profits. This is an interesting read and definitely an issue worth watching as it develops over at Save the Ribble.

Mad Kane offers us two limericks, "Truth on the Lam," and "Bellicose Bush." The first relates to Orrin Hatch's shady involvement in the firing of the U.S Attorneys General and the smear campaign that he conducted against U.S. Attorney, Carol Lam. The second sums up Bush's modus operandi as being "If you can't solve a problem, make it bigger." She has a wicked sense of humor. Great stuff.

The Largest Minority gives us Youtube footage of the March 17th anti-war march in L.A. Interesting account of the march and a new concept to me, phone blogging. Lastly, Humantide tells us of the German Trade Unionist call for massive mobilization against the G^ summit. This seems to be a manifesto, signed by various signatories. Also provided is an itinerary of planned events which I shall include here:

Action timetable against g8
Thuesday, 1st of May:
Revolutionary 1st of May Manifestations in different cities.

from 26th of May:
Convergence Center in Hamburg, eventually in Berlin too

Beginning of June:
"Block Germany", Decentralized Blockades all over Germany

Friday, 1st of June:
Opening of the Mediacenter in Rostock
Occupation of the "Bombodrom"
Camp und start of the caravan to Heiligendamm

Saturday, 2nd June:
Mass demonstration in the city of Rostock, near Central Railway Station
Start of the Camp against G8
Internationalist Conference in Rostock

Sunday, 3th of June:
Actionday in Rostock,
Internationalist Conference in Rostock

Mondy, 4th of June:
Actionday against War and Rascism
Camp against G8

Thuesday, 5th of June:
Actionday agsainst war / eventually blockade of the airport in Rostock-Laage
Start of the Counter-Summit in Rostock
Camp against G8

Wednesday, 6th of June:
1st Day of the G8-Summit, Blockade-Day in different Areas
Counter-Summit in Rostock
Camp against G8

Thursday, 7th of June:
G8-Summit, 2nd day in Heiligendamm
Counter-Summit in Rostock
Camp against G8
Blockade-Actions / March from different small local cities to Heiligendamm
End Manifestation

Friday, 8th of June:
G8-Summit, 3rd Day
End of the Camp against G8

This edition's contributions, with its wide range of topics, should be rich fodder for blog readers. I hope you enjoy!

So Here's the Deal

I just tried out several of the other different templates/colors for Juliusspeaks. None of them seemed to work so I came back to Black;-) If you think it needs a change, let me know what you think and how to do it.

Anti-Veto Rally at Purdue

There was a great turnout for the last minute anti-veto rally here in West Lafayette. There were about thirty people out with signs and children. You can tell that there is life in the peace movement when there are children present. This is a strong movement, considering where we are. Activism has increased considerable since I came here to Purdue and it is interesting and joyous to see. The Catholic, Pax Christi group is really adamant and gung ho now. They are really on the move. Great things visible here now. We shall see what else happens.

There Are Places I Remember

Bette Midler

There are places I remember all my life,
Though some have changed
Some forever, not for better
Some have gone and some remain.
All these places have their moments
Of lovers and friends I still can recall
Some are dead and some are living
In my life I loved them all.

And with all these friends and lovers
There is no one compares with you
And these mem'ries lose their meaning
When I think of love as something new
And I know I'll never lose affection
For people and things that went before
I know I'll often stop and think about them.
In my life I loved you more.

And I know I'll never lose affection
For people and things that went before
I know I'll often stop and think about them.
In my life I loved you more
In my life I loved you more
Not really news, but the Bush administration is trying to manipulate the war and how it is being percieved. Take a look at CNN.com's front page.
Quarry stones live oak
deforestation on a louisiana plantation
courtyards once fit to walk through
tall stately trees and the olive green to match my dress
now gone
cut down
eroded beauty
frustration of the land
nowhere to find the spark
Juvenal is gone

Tuesday, May 01, 2007

Movie Idea!

I came up with this idea for a movie a couple of days ago. Everyone is doing remakes now and I think there should be a remake of Myra Breckenridge. This time, no Raquel Welch. Johnny Depp should play Myra.
I so love Sandra Bernhard!

Poetry

I love scented flowers walks through gardens wit hthe sun on my face. I love bright, beautiful azaleas popping up at me in my aunts yard and clinging roses on the bush, thorns protectively at their side. Love is a rose, love is beauty and love is a walk through a garden on a summer day.

A Sleepin' Bee

Barbra/ Diahann Carroll

When a bee lies sleepin'
In the palm o' your hand
You're bewitch'd and deep in love's
Long look'd after land
Where you'll see a sun-up sky
With the mornin' new
And where the days go laughin' by
As love comes a-calling on you
Sleep on, bee, don't waken,
Can't believe what just passed
He's mine for the takin'
I am happy at last.
Maybe I dreams, but he seems
Sweet golden as a crown,
A sleepin' bee done told me
I will walk with my feet off the ground
When my one true love I has found
Sleep on, bee, don't waken,
Can not believe what just passed
He's mine for the takin'
I am happy at last...
Maybe I dreams, but he seems
Golden as a crown,
A sleepin' bee told me
I will walk with my feet off the ground
When my one true love
I has found...
There is an owl that sits atop an electrical post here. Interesting to see. Definitely nature over industry.

This From HungryBlues: Gonzales Flees Harvard




Gonzales Embarrassed at Harvard Reunions
While I was at Harvard Law School on Friday, the reunion was underway, but who knew what was in store…

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
APRIL 28, 2007

CONTACT: DEBORAH POPOWSKI, NATE ELA
HLS ADVOCATES FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
Cell Phones: (646) 831-8255, (646) 245-8792
Emails: dpopowski [at] law [dot] harvard [dot] edu, nela [at] law [dot] harvard [dot] edu

GONZALES EMBARRASSED AT HARVARD REUNION

Attorney General Surprise Visit at 25th Reunion Met by Student Protests

Cambridge, Mass. - Alberto Gonzales was confronted by student protesters and forced to leave through a back door on Saturday during a visit to Harvard Law School for his 25th reunion. After two weeks clinging to save his job and defending allegations that he fired eight U.S. Attorneys for political reasons, what might have been a relaxed day of reminiscing with old classmates became instead yet another reminder that both his job and his reputation are in serious jeopardy.

The Attorney General was on campus, unannounced to students, to deliver a lunchtime speech. But word quickly spread that a suspicious motorcade had been spotted by the campus center, and by the time Gonzales and his fellow classmates assembled on the law library steps for their class photo, a group of current students were there to greet him, having donned black hoods and orange jumpsuits. As the photographer told the class of 1982 to smile and say “cheese,” the students yelled out that saying “torture,” “resign” or “I don’t recall” might be more appropriate.

The Attorney General’s visit to his alma mater coincided with the third anniversary of the release of photos depicting the torture of detainees at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, and came the day after a German federal prosecutor dismissed a case alleging that Gonzales was responsible for approving the policies that resulted in those abuses. These facts were not lost on Deborah Popowski, a second-year law student who had just finished organizing a nationwide student sit-in urging Congress to pass pending legislation that would restore detainees’ rights to habeas corpus. “When I heard he was on campus, I was stuffing envelopes with letters to Congress in an office two floors above. I dropped everything. Gonzales needs to know that after approving poorly-reasoned memos that distort the rule of law and justify torture, he is simply not welcome here.”

At a time when many in the nation are calling for Gonzales to resign, one third-year student managed to communicate the mood of his own alma mater directly to Gonzales. While the Attorney General’s security detail kept protestors at bay and the photographer prepared the class photo, she slipped though the law library’s front doors and approached Gonzales from behind. “On behalf of many other Harvard Law students,” she said, “I’d like to tell you that we are ashamed to have you as an alumnus of this school. And we’re glad you’re here to be able to tell you that.” Gonzales thanked the student and offered to shake her hand, but was refused. After the class photo was taken, several of the Attorney General’s classmates clapped and approached the protesting students to thank them for their efforts.

Following the group photo, Gonzales ducked into the library to take a stroll around the main reading room, which, on the weekend before final exams, was full of students going over their notes. When the protestors caught up with Gonzales, the cavernous reading room, ordinarily a place of hushed whispers, echoed with chants of “shame” and “resign.” Gonzales was quickly whisked down a back staircase, out a basement emergency exit and into a waiting SUV. As the motorcade pulled off from in front of historic Austin Hall, Thomas Becker, a second-year law student, stood in an orange jumpsuit and black hood, waving goodbye. When the cars were out of sight, Becker pulled off his hood, smiled, and said “good riddance.”



Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, second row from top, center, poses with members of the Harvard Law School class of 1982 as law student protester Thomas Becker looks on.



Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, holding number 588, poses with classmates from the Harvard Law School class of 1982 as law student protester Thomas Becker looks on.



Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, Harvard Law class of 1982 and holding number 588, poses for a reunion photo as Thomas Becker, a second-year law student, looks on.

God Bless Hugo Chavez and God Bless Venezuela!

Chavez, marking the occassion on International Worker's Day, has just nationalized the last of the oil industries in Venezuela! God Bless the Venezuelan people!

Happy International Workers Day!

New Day

Patti Labelle

Seems my life is finally coming together

Feel so good, don't think I've ever been better

It's clear to me my future will bring

The peace I've been longing for is mine forever more

It's a new day

Open my eyes and my path is clearer

( New Day )

Pushing ahead till my goal gets nearer

( New Day )

Spread my wings

I'm doin' things my way

It's a new day

Wasn't sure where I should begin

Couldn't tell my beginning from the end

For every door that closed a window opened

Been 'round the world and back again, it starts from within, yes

It's a new day (A new day)

Open my eyes and my path is clearer

( New Day )

Pushing ahead till my goal gets nearer

( New Day )

Spread my wings

I'm doin' things my way

It's a new day

I'm excited for the things ahead of me

I decided I can make it on my own

Embrace the good and bad and let go of the past

I'm loving what's inside of me, yes, yes

It's a new day

Open my eyes and my path is clearer (Open my eyes, yeah, yes)

( New Day )

Pushing ahead till my goal gets nearer (Pushing ahead)

( New Day )

Spread my wings

(I'm spreading my wings, yes)

It's a new day (Oh...oh...oh...oh...oh...oh...)

It's a new day

Open my eyes and my path is clearer (Oh, a new day)

( New Day )

Pushing ahead till my goal gets nearer (I'm doin' things my way)

( New Day )

Spread my wings

I'm doin' things my way, yeah

{It's a new day}

I decided long ago

I can make it on my own

Gonna be alright, yeah

Gonna be alright, uh-huh, yeah, yeah

It's a new day

It's a new day

Open my eyes and my path is clearer

It's a new day

Pushing ahead till my goal gets nearer

It's a new day

Spread my wings

I'm spreading my wings, I'm gonna do things

{It's a new day}

Monday, April 30, 2007

THis is a Brilliant Interview with Alice Walker

What I Found Out in a Magazine

Timothy McVeigh was gay and had been harrassed by the military concerning it.

Killing Me Softly

Roberta Flack

Strumming my pain with his fingers,
Singing my life with his words,
Killing me softly with his song,
Killing me softly with his song,
Telling my whole life with his words,
Killing me softly with his song ...

I heard he sang a good song, I heard he had a style.
And so I came to see him to listen for a while.
And there he was this young boy, a stranger to my eyes.

Strumming my pain with his fingers,
Singing my life with his words,
Killing me softly with his song,
Killing me softly with his song,
Telling my whole life with his words,
Killing me softly with his song ...

I felt all flushed with fever, embarrassed by the crowd,
I felt he found my letters and read each one out loud.
I prayed that he would finish but he just kept right on ...

Strumming my pain with his fingers,
Singing my life with his words,
Killing me softly with his song,
Killing me softly with his song,
Telling my whole life with his words,
Killing me softly with his song ...

He sang as if he knew me in all my dark despair.
And then he looked right through me as if I wasn't there.
But he just came to singing, singing clear and strong.

Strumming my pain with his fingers,
Singing my life with his words,
Killing me softly with his song,
Killing me softly with his song,
Telling my whole life with his words,
Killing me softly with his song ...

He was strumming, oh, he was singing my song.
Killing me softly with his song,
Killing me softly with his song,
Telling my whole life with his words,
Killing me softly with his song ...
With his song ...

LaSpecula

I am now writing for LaSpecula.com

Keeping Academics Out of Cuba

Keeping academics out of Cuba

by Wayne Smith
Baltimore Sun
April 30, 2007

The Bush administration's restrictions on academic travel to Cuba
are so harsh that they have brought such travel virtually to a halt.
Now, about 450 professors and academics from colleges and
universities across the nation have banded together to take the
federal government to court and challenge their legality.

The stated purpose of these restrictions was to deny hard
currency to Cuban government coffers. But visiting professors
and students are not exactly known as big spenders. The pittance
they might have left behind would have had little impact on a
Cuban economy registering strong growth rates.

Most of the restrictions are simply inexplicable. One says that
courses in Cuba can be taught only by full-time, permanent
members of the faculty. I have taught every semester at the
Johns Hopkins University for 24 years and am the director of the
Cuba Exchange Program. But because I am an adjunct professor,
the new regulations ban me from teaching courses in Cuba - even
were it possible to organize such courses.

How does that deny hard currency to Cuba? Did I, and other
adjunct professors who may have been involved, have such
reputations as high rollers that U.S. officials believed keeping us
off the island was a good way to bring down the Cuban economy?
Absurd. So what was the purpose?

Of course, there are no more courses for me to teach in Cuba,
even if I wanted to be a full-time member of the faculty. From
1997 until we were prevented from doing so in June 2004, Johns
Hopkins had taken to Cuba 15 to 20 students for three weeks
every January to focus on some aspect of Cuban society, history
or culture. These courses were very popular with our students,
especially because they neatly fit between semesters and did not
interfere with graduation schedules.

But the new regulations require that the courses be no less than
10 weeks. That would mean spending an extra semester
registered at Hopkins and would bar on-time graduation. Our
students prefer to graduate, and so, for all practical purposes,
Hopkins courses in Cuba have been brought to a halt - as have
courses in Cuba organized by most other colleges and
universities.

Another provision of the new restrictions is that in order to register
for a course given in Cuba, students must be full-time degree
candidates at the college or university offering the course. This
goes against the traditional practice of allowing students from
other institutions to participate in such courses and ended
academic consortia that allowed colleges and universities to send
students to one another's Cuba programs, thereby greatly
reducing the costs and making them accessible to more students.

Why were these restrictions put in place? The first reason put
forward by the Treasury Department was "to eliminate a practice
[of abusing academic licenses] that was undermining the
embargo's purpose of isolating the dictatorship economically."

But the Treasury Department could point to no abuses. No
academic travel licenses had been revoked. No academic group
had been accused of violating the rules.

One suspects that such "abuses" were nothing more than
inventions of the Treasury Department to give fictitious
justification to its new restrictions on academic travel.

The second reason for the policy put forward by Treasury officials
is even more surreal. It was intended "to promote civil society by
continuing to foster free exchange of ideas between American
students and professors and members of Cuban society."

Can they be serious? They must have known that the new
restrictions would have the opposite effect.

The Supreme Court in various cases has held that an academic
institution may, without interference from the government, decide
which courses could be taught, how they would be taught, who
could take them and who could teach them. The restrictions
handed down in 2004 violate all of these.

That is why the Emergency Coalition to Defend Educational
Travel, of which I am the chairman, has challenged the legality of
these measures. It has just presented its brief to the U.S. District
Court for the District of Columbia, pointing out that the restrictions
on academic travel initiated in 2004 can only be seen as an
assault by the executive branch on the constitutionally protected
rights of U.S. citizens. It is an assault that must be turned back.

Something I Found Out

Timothy McVeigh was gay.

An Administration's Epic Collapse From Time Magazine

War to the World

by Code Pink

War to the world! Don Rumsfeld declares;Let's go to war for oil!
Arms dealers and oil companies
Will make our foreign policies
And we'll be safe and free!
And we'll be safe and free!
And women and children will all be safe and free!

We rule the world! With bombs and tanks;
So let the war hawks sing!
We'll target all the hospitals
And mosques and pesky journalists

And lie on CNN
And lie on CNN
And NBC and ABC and C-N-N!

War to the world! The empire reigns;
You're with us or against!!
We're good and you are ee-vil
We're good and you are ee-vil
So we'll blow you away
So we'll blow you away
So Merry Christmas, and have a nice day!

Where Have All the Leaders Gone? By Lee Iacoca

This is a powerful condemnation of Bush and critique of this administration by Lee Iacoca.

Its Time to Impeach Bush, Cheney, and Co

Sunday, April 29, 2007

Feelin' Good

Nina Simone

Birds flying high you know how I feel
Sun in the sky you know how I feel
Reeds driftin on by you know how I feel

(refrain:)
Its a new dawn
Its a new day
Its a new life
For me
And Im feeling good

Fish in the sea you know how I feel
River running free you know how I feel
Blossom in the tree you know how I feel

(refrain)

Dragonfly out in the sun you know what I mean, dont you know
Butterflies all havin fun you know what I mean
Sleep in peace when day is done
Thats what I mean

And this old world is a new world
And a bold world
For me

Stars when you shine you know how I feel
Scent of the pine you know how I feel
Oh freedom is mine
And I know how I feel

A Piece of Sky

Yentl/ Barbra

Tell me where
Where is it written
What it is Im meant to be?
That I cant dare...

It all began the day I found
That from my window
I could only see
A piece of sky.
I stepped outside and looked around,
I never dreamed it was so wide
Or even half as high.

The time had come
(papa, can you hear me? )
To try my wings
(papa, are you near me? )
And even thought it seemed at any moment I could fall,
I felt the most
(papa, can you see me? )
Amazing things,
(can you understand me? )
The things you cant imagine
If youve never flown at all.

Though its safer to stay on the ground,
Sometimes where danger lies
There the sweetest of pleasures are found.
No matter where I go-
Therell be memries that tug at my sleeve
But there will also be
More to question yet more to believe.

(oh tell me where-
Where is the someone who will turn to look at me
And want to sahre
My evry sweet-imagined possibility? )

The more I live - the more I learn.
The more I learn - the more I realize
The less I know.
Each step I take-
(papa, Ive a voice now!)
Each page I turn-
(papa, Ive a choice now!)
Each mile I travel only means
The more I have to go.
Whats wrong with wanting more?
If you can fly - then soar!
With all there is - why settle for
Just a piece of sky?

Papa, I can hear you...
Papa, I can see you...
Papa, I can feel you...
Papa, watch me fly!

No Matter What Happens

Barbra/ Yentl

Look at how she looks at me,
I can never look at her that way...
Full of all the feelings and the soft
Unspoken words that lovers say...
In all the words, in all the books
I wish there were a way to say that
What she’s taught me
Isn’t written anywhere
And I'm supposed to be the one
Who’s wise...
One thing is certain,
I can never be what she
Expects of me...

I’ve wanted the shadows,
I don’t anymore.
No matter what happens,
I won't anymore
I've run from the sunlight-
Afraid it saw too much.
The moon had the one light
I bathed in-
I walked in.
I held in my feelings
And closed every door.
No matter what happen.
I can't anymore.
There's someone who must hear
The words I've never spoken.
Tonight if he were here
My silence would be broken.
I need him to touch me-
To know the love that's in my heart-
The same heart that tells me
To see myself-
To free myself-
To be myself at last!
For too many mornings
The curtains were drawn.
It's time they were opened
To welcome the dawn.
A voice deep inside
Is getting stronger,
I can't keep it quiet any longer.
No matter what happens,
It can't be the same anymore...
I promise it won't be the same
Anymore!

Tommorow Night

Barbra/ Yentl

Look at me-I must be absolutely crazy!
How did 1 ever let it get this far?
Look at me! I'm getting deeper into trouble.
Am I woman or a man?
Am I a devil or a demon?
Papa was right!
I ask too many questions.
He said a soul can get perplexed-
I can't believe what happens next!
Papa was right!
It seems this little game I play
Becomes more risky every day!
Tomorrow night, tomorrow night...
Under the canopy
I'll stand with her tomorrow night!
And place a ring upon her hand
With her all dressed in white
Tomorrow night
I don’t know how this came about
But I'll be wed without a doubt.
Oh, my God, I've got to get out!
Look at this-The way one lie begets another
Somebody wake me up and say
It’s all a dream!
(Look at this!)
Look how easily I fool them
They may have eyes but they don’t see
They never really look at me
People are blind!
How else would everyone believe me?
It might be interesting to know
Just how much further I can go
Tomorrow night, tomorrow night...
I can’t believe what I’ll presume to be
Tomorrow night,
I'm not the bride but I'm the groom to be
Tomorrow night,
And that's a monumental trick
I'd better think of something quick
(Oh, my God, I'm feeling sick!
I could run away
I could leave without a trace,
Go anywhere or any place
Where no one knows my face.
As a woman or a man?
I don't know just so I can
Run away-run away!
I'd be free-I'd be rid of all of this
But there’s someone I would miss
And being near him is what this is all about!
So running away is out!
Papa dear, you dreamed of dancing
At my wedding;
But something tells me that I'm right
You wouldn't want to dance tonight!
Isn't this a strangely logical solution?
Things may not be as they appear
But the advantages are clear:
He loves her-she loves him
He likes me-I like her
And I've reasons to think she likes me.
She keeps him-he keeps her
I keep things as they were
It's a perfect arrangement for three!
Who'd have ever predicted
The moment would come
When I’d find myself grateful
They’ve kept women dumb!
She's an innocent maiden
But then so am I!
That’s why it's possible I could get by.
Look, I’ve seen the impossible happen before,
So maybe, God willing, it'll happen once more.
For I feel like a train on a perilous track.
With no way to stop and no way to go back.
Like a snowball that’s gathering speed down a hill,
Going faster and faster and faster until...
Tomorrow night, tomorrow night...
Even if someone would pray for me
Tomorrow night,
There's not a prayer
That they could say for me
Tomorrow night,
Tomorrow night, tomorrow night...
Tomorrow night...is now tonight!

Papa Can You Hear Me?

Barbra

Oh God-our heavenly Father.
Oh, God-and my father
Who is also in heaven.
May the light of this
Flickering candle
Illuminate the night the way
Your spirit illuminates my soul.

Papa, can you hear me?
Papa, can you see me?
Papa can you find me in the night?
Papa are you near me?
Papa, can you hear me?
Papa, can you help me not be frightened?
Looking at the skies I seem to see
A million eyes which ones are yours?
Where are you now that yesterday
Has waved goodbye
And closed its doors?
The night is so much darker;
The wind is so much colder;
The world I see is so much bigger
Now that I'm alone.
Papa, please forgive me.
Try to understand me;
Papa, don’t you know I had no choice?
Can you hear me praying,
Anything I'm saying
Even though the night is filled with voices?
I remember everything you taught me
Every book 1've ever read...
Can all the words in all the books
Help me to face what lies ahead?
The trees are so much taller
And I feel so much smaller;
The moon is twice as lonely
And the stars are half as bright...
Papa, how I love you...
Papa, how I need you.
Papa, how I miss you
Kissing me good night...