I'm afraid this song may seem kind of tame in the face of the Israeli slaughter in Gaza, but please feel free to share, publish or use how you see fit. Thank you.
Danny & Julia
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I may have sent this around already, but I thought I'd send it out again, especially in light of the recent air attacks. Here's hoping for a somber and reflective holiday to all who celebrate, and a call to action to all who look for peace, hope and renewal at year's end.
Love, Danny & Julia
Feel free to share, post, publish & distribute
for song audio click:
http://www.redress.cc/cms-files/bethlehem.wavText is below...
O Bethlehem - A Christmas Carol for the 21st Century
by Daniel Patrick Welch
O Bethlehem O Bethlehem
The stars look down on thee
As Nazareth reaps grief and death
From mountain, plain and sea
O Bethlehem a world bedecked
In season’s peace and joy
Will still sit by as children die
And walls your heart destroy
O Bethlehem O Bethlehem
The prophets surely frown
A land in pain, a land in chains
As Abraham looks down
O Bethlehem your children sleep
In fear of tanks and guns
Do Moses, Christ, Mohammed weep
As we betray their sons?
O Bethlehem we seek that day
When Christmas bells ring true
When liberty and dignity
Belong at last to you
Can Bethlehem forgive a world
So callous and profane
And bring to pass a world at last
Where peace and justice reign© 2007 Daniel Patrick Welch. Reprint permission granted with credit and link to
http://danielpwelch.com. Writer, singer, linguist and activist Daniel Patrick Welch lives and writes in Salem, Massachusetts, with his wife, Julia Nambalirwa-Lugudde. Together they run The Greenhouse School (
http://www.greenhouseschool.org). Translations of articles are available in up to 25 languages. Links to the website are appreciated at danielpwelch.com.
