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CHANGING OF THE GUARD

from FOREST FULL OF WOLVES (2018) by Bill Mallonee

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Spoiler alert: This is a protest song. A good one. And it rocks.
Sometimes, God enabling us, we awaken to the corruption, incompetency & greed that dwells in our highest offices and defines our lives as a society and as a nation.

Commanders in Chiefs often feel the need to exert an influence via the war machine. War machines; sure they've been around for a spell.
It's just me, but in modern times? Come on. I'm not convinced they've ever "solved" anything that restrictions, embargoes & good old fashioned dialogue/negotiation couldn't have solved...with less bloodshed; (Yes, naysayers, Hitler had to go.)

At least maybe we can agreed that War and the machine and what it takes to run them, are an expensive endeavor?
Here's the thing I have to consider:
WHAT are we really placing our faith in?

War & Power are, I think, are good examples.
War machines rob from the poor. They misplace resources that could be better put to use, healing, educating and nurturing....and (god-forbid!) building bridges of charity, trust and goodwill with out international neighbors.

We often act as if out "blessed-ness" was gotten by our own hands.
I think that's a form of arrogance & pride, a confusion of nationalism with faith.

Wars typically benefit the rich. (See scholar Howard Zinn's seminal work" "A People's History of the United States," Thomas Merton's "New Seeds of Contemplation," John Howard Yoder's "The Politics of Jesus," and Charles Beard's "An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution")
And (again) wars rarely make lasting changes. There is always someone else to pick up the torch and carry on the cause of the fallen & supposed "vanquished."
I suggest that there are other ways of winning hearts. dialogue and compromise are never "off-the-table." But in the zeitgeist of a culture nurtured on fear, reprisal and vigilantes justice, constructive, informed dialogue seems to be a last-ditch effort.

War & conflict, these days is often cloaked in flags, prayers and "our-way-of-life" rhetoric. Perhaps it has always been that way.
The fact is this, folks: It's always the poor that end up shedding the blood. "Dulce et Decorum Est..." by Wilfred Owen is a sobering poem.

The betrayal of trust is never a small thing; nor is it one we should look upon lightly and brush off as if "that's just the way things are."
We are capable of better things. We deserve Peace and the fruits it fosters.

When the system and it's "leadership" fails us, or fails to exercise it's peace-keeping options to the fullest? Then we ought to expose it's failures, "bear witness" to the deeper truths that never change...and demand real integrity from our leaders.

Enjoy Peace,
Bill

lyrics

CHANGING OF THE GUARD words & music: bill mallonee c.BMI 2017
There's a mid-night cannonball outta Bakersfield
ther'll be some boxcars to slumber on
the fire in soul ought to be enough to stare down the cold
But, maybe not this changing of the guard

I guess it's been a few months now
since Goodness took it pretty hard
since greed & fear gained the upper hand
what with all this changing of the guard

You fought for freedom under the flag
had some good friends die in your arms
you came home and did yourself some thinking
about all this changing of the guard...

now the devil plays for your allegiance
hiding behind stars & stripes
he speaks his piece through the lips of the elite
appears as an angel of light

me? i grabbed a guitar & a notebook or two;
there's was too much talk about Law & God
and i became a phantom w/ some conjuring 'neath the moon
what with all this changing of the guard

There were voices on the streets last night
Commotion out in the front yard
there's fresh chalk lines on the pavement at dawn
comes with all this changing of the guard
changing of the guard
what with all of this changing of the guard

credits

from FOREST FULL OF WOLVES (2018), released January 27, 2018

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Bill Mallonee

Bill Mallonee is an Americana artist w/ 80 plus albums over a 30 year career. Voted by Paste Music Magazine #65 in their "Top 100 Living Songwriters" poll. He was the
founding member of Vigilantes of Love. He has worked with Mark Heard, Buddy Miller, Emmylou Harris, & Peter Buck from REM.
His most recent work, "Lead On, Kindly Light" is a 23song double Cd released Feb 2020. ... more

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