With me mentioning the new songs of war and politics by Neil Young and by Pink with The Indigo Girls I want to share this one too. My friend Steve Scalchlin wrote in his online diary, Living in the Bonusround: “Musical Insurgency” (dated December 18-20, 2004).
In an entry called The World of The Song (opens in new window) he wrote:
I think I might have mentioned a new song called “Holy Dirt.” I wrote on our last cruise on this really great Yamaha grand. On the very last day, I invited these two really cool people, a young couple I might have mentioned before, into the Commodore Club so that I could play it for an audience for the first time to get a response.
When I finished the song, they literally could not move. We had an incredibly intense moment and it led to some heavy conversation because the song has a religio-political point of view about the irony of how when people designate something as “holy” — whether it’s land or an object or a person — other people end up dead. It’s like human nature is prone to worshipping and valuing their possesion of things more than they value life.
A simple thought, maybe. Debatable, maybe. But I think entirely relevant at a time when Holy Wars are going on all around us.
and click here) to watch “Holy Dirt.” on Steve’s blog. (opens in new window)