[Seth-Trips] Daniel Berrigan's birthday, Wednesday, May 9

[Seth David Schoen]

Seth David Schoen writes:

> 	[w]e took the draft files out,
> 	we burned them in the parking lot:
> 	better the files than the bodies of children.

I remembered this slightly wrong.  So, here are all the lyrics.

Go buy _The Green World_ (but first buy _Mortal City_); it's much
better to hear this than to read it.  (Slightly corrected from the
liner notes by listening to the song and looking at another
transcription on the web.)

God of the poor man, this is how the day began,
Eight codefendants, I, Daniel Berrigan,
And only a layman's batch of napalm,
We pulled the draft files out,
We burned them in the parking lot,
Better the files than the bodies of children.

I had no right, but for the love of you.
I had no right, but for the love of you.

Many roads led here, walked with the suffering,
Tom in Guatemala, Philip in New Orleans,
It's a long road from law to justice.
I went to Vietnam, I went for peace, they dropped their bombs,
Right where my government knew I would be.

I had no right, but for the love of you.
I had no right, but for the love of you.

And all my country saw were priests who broke the law.
First it was a question, then it was a mission,
How to be American, how to be a Christian,
If the law is their cross, and the cross in burning.

Aaaah -- the love of you.
Aaaah -- the love of you.

God of the just, I'll never win a peace prize,
Falling like Jesus, now let the jury rise,
It's all of us versus all that paper.
They took the only way, they know who is on trial today,
Deliver us unto each other I pray --

I had no right but for the love of you.
And every trial I stood for you.

Eyes on the trial,
8 a.m. arrival,
Hand on the Bible...

-- 
Seth David Schoen <schoen at loyalty.org>  | And do not say, I will study when I
Temp.  http://www.loyalty.org/~schoen/  | have leisure; for perhaps you will
down:  http://www.loyalty.org/   (CAF)  | not have leisure.  -- Pirke Avot 2:5