Love Force Lyrics

Title of recording: Love Force
Recording artist: Mundo Brew
Author: Christopher L. Elwood

1. Love Force
© 2016 Christopher L. Elwood

We’re coming to you live on Un-Armed Forces Radio. And we’re here to send you off on your latest mission, should you choose to accept it. The enemies today are hate, bigotry, structural racism, policies of mass incarceration, radical economic inequality, irrational fear of infiltration by people who don’t speak your language or look like you or love like you, border fence fixation. Your mission: treat your brother like your brother and your sister like your sister, because we’re all one Family.

CHORUS 1:
So join the Love Force
Help us bring in a better day
Join the Love Force
Sweeping injustice from our way
The Love Force
It’s closer to you than you know
Join the Love Force
Get up and dance, and join the show

It’s a new way of living
No more tanks, no body armor
Our weapons are the truths we tell
Peacemakers that we are
We’re loaded up with righteous love
Stockpiling forgiveness
Mercy, peace, and hope will bring
An end to bitterness

CHORUS 1

There’s no recruiting office
No document to sign
The contract is within your heart
And liberates your mind
So get in troop formation
Put your hands up in the air
We’re marching to a brand new world
Where all will have their share

CHORUS 2:
So join the Love Force
Help us bring in a better day
Join the Love Force
Sweeping injustice from our way
The Love Force
Our numbers swelling by the hour
Be the Love Force
On earth there is no greater power

CHORUS

It’s a brighter day, if you make it that way
Treat your brother like your brother and your sister like your sister
We’re all one family, and we have our dignity
Under heaven above, there’s nothing like the power of love
Just join the show, and you can make it so

2. Just Another Day
© 2016 Christopher L. Elwood

How did I lose your number?
Maybe I missed your call?
Couldn’t see the writing on the wall.
You didn’t leave a letter,
An empty closet was your goodbye.
Tears stains on your pillow told me why.
Searching for your sweet voice
And the harmonies we always made,
I keep losing my way,
And through the night I pray

For another day
Waking up in the morning with you
Just another day
To be there in the dawning with you
Another day
Holding hands in the sunshine with you
Another day
Wading into the water with you
Just another day

Remember those summer evenings,
Chasing each other in the rain,
Laughing round the shadows of our pain.
You were my morning glory,
Dancing to hearts of fire,
Shining star, the dream of our desire.
We whispered promises
We’d never leave our love alone,
But my broken sparrow has flown,
And in the night I moan

For another day
Waking up in the morning with you
Just another day
To be there in the dawning with you
Another day
Diving into the water with you
Another day
Holding hands in the moonlight with you
But it’s just another day…

3. Cool Water
© 2016 Christopher L. Elwood

Gonna lay down my burden
Cool water all over me
Gonna lay down my burden
Cool water all over me
Gonna lay down my burden
Cool water all over me
Gonna lay down my shield
Gonna lay down my gun
Gonna fly from these walls
And run

Gonna break all these chains, now
Cool water all over me
Gonna break all these chains
Cool water all over me
Gonna break all these chains, now
Cool water all over me
Gonna fly from these walls
Gonna soar in the sky
Gonna dance with my love
And cry

Gonna dance with my lover
Cool water all over me
Gonna dance with my lover
Cool water all over me
Gonna dance with my lover
Cool water all over me
She’ll be there with the moon
And we’ll laugh at the stars
Knowing all of this love
Is ours

Gonna wash off the stains of hate
Cool water all over me
Gonna wash off the stains of hate
Cool water all over me
Gonna wash off the stains of hate
Cool water all over me
Gonna lie in that fountain
And drink deep until
This old sad heart has had
Its fill

Gonna lay down…
Gonna lay down…
Gonna lay down…
Gonna lay down…
Gonna lay down my burden now

4. Marchinha do Seu Sorriso
© 2016 Christopher L. Elwood
No lyrics. Scat vocals.

5. Blue Horizon
© 2016 Christopher L. Elwood

Beyond the clouds there’s a blue horizon.
Above the crowd you can drift away.
It lies so heavy on your shoulders, this affliction.
We’ll loose the tethers
That are binding you to gloom.

CHORUS:
And we can fuel
The fire that glows inside
And dream of peace,
If we just take each other’s hand.

We’ll steer a course for the blue horizon,
With no remorse for those sadder days—
The winds of lightness blowing gently from the coastline,
Wafting a promise
Of the seas that wash us clean.

CHORUS

I have a taste of that blue horizon;
I see a trace in your longing eyes.
You have the sage of deeper vision resting in you,
Calling our names
And mapping out our destiny.

CHORUS

6. Resist!
© 2016 Christopher L. Elwood
Inspired by Henry Highland Garnet, “Call to Rebellion,” 1843

Let your motto be resistance
Hear the trumpet from above
Set a seal of firm persistence (ya ya ya)
On the shield you bear for love
Freedom or the grave
Now’s the hour to misbehave
Resist
Resist
Resist
Resist

Let your motto be resistance
Strike now while the iron’s hot
Freedom’s star shines from a distance (ya ya ya)
Bondage never was your lot
Rise and take your stand
You’re a woman, you’re a man
Resist…

Too many bellies are hungry
So many dreams have been lost
They rule the land for their pleasure
While never counting our cost

How long will this degradation
Be endured by the poor?
Will their hearts’ desperation
Burst the bolt on the door?

Will this crushing of spirit
Be endured endlessly?
Can the weak hear the siren
Calling all to be free?

Free the mind from enslavement
And the body will fly
Into pastures of freedom
Under heaven’s bright sky

Let your motto be resistance
Strike now while the iron’s hot
Liberty shines from a distance (ya ya ya)
Bondage never was your lot
Freedom or the grave
Now’s the hour to misbehave
Resist…

Now is the day and the hour
Wake and rise to your goal
Become wise to your power
Your own arms can make whole

Your own arms can make whole
Your own arms can make whole
Awake
Arise
Shine out, for your light
Your light
This light
Is shining
From a distance
From a distance
But bright
So bright
Resist!

7. From the Ruins
© 2016 Christopher L. Elwood

Me and Suzanne, Miller Hill Mall, Minnesota—
Dazed by our dreams, hoping we don’t wither away;
Sold the Trans Am, Joni booked our way to Calcutta,
Chasing a vision of dragons and peace for today.

Bread for the day and wine for the journey;
Take all the gold, never had the time for its care;
Lay down your hair, leave your loving cup on the table;
Salvage these gems from the ruins of Vanity Fair.

La, la do da do…

Crossed that long dam, gazing at the wide, sacred river;
Drenched in a past that will point to some holy grail.
Holding her hand, mumbling a vow of thanksgiving,
Pilgrims to temples of saints who died riding these rails.

Into the heights, nesting on the back of a tiger,
Fly through our dreams, in the quiet streams of the night
We catch the light gathering beyond the pagoda,
Seeing with eyes that have cast off the lies of first sight.

La, la do da do…

Where is Suzanne? She was going to be my salvation.
She made other plans, fell in with the gypsies’ parade.
A pale blue sedan sped her off toward Karakoram;
Glimpsed her brown curls flowing out in the world our dreams made.

Lost in Bhutan, listening to my fading horizon;
Fevered and worn, with no shoes to carry me home.
Gleams of pure light silenced in the roar of the dragon,
Mists of my sins, like this lamp that has dimmed, unatoned.

Bread for the day…

La, la do da do…

Find me, my love, swing into my valley of dying.
Run me through streams, pouring down this desolate land—
Hand me the keys to that faded blue El Dorado,
Turn over my soul with a fuel to console all the damned.

8. Beautiful World
© 2016 Christopher L. Elwood

Little baby crying,
Sad because her mama’s away;
Sobbing and a-sighing, weeping and whining,
Why’d it have to be this way?
Rock her in her cradle,
Help her get through one stormy hour, I say,
Little one you won’t believe it
But there’s bound to be a brighter day.

It’s a beautiful world,
Such a beautiful world;
You’re feeling heartache and pain,
But light will shine after rain;
It’s a beautiful, beautiful world.

It’s a beautiful world,
Such a beautiful world;
We’re going upstairs and down,
There’s no sense freezing that frown,
And it’s a beautiful, beautiful world.

Ran into brother Larry
Early-morning walking his dog:
Man it’s feeling frosty, let’s grab us a coffee,
And you pay ’cause I lost my job.
Looked into the mirror last evening
And a loser’s face stared right back at me, you see;
But I’m happy for the friends
That give me love and tea and sympathy.

It’s a beautiful world,
Such a beautiful world;
You’re feeling heartache and pain,
But light will shine after rain;
It’s a beautiful, beautiful world.

It’s a beautiful world,
Such a beautiful world;
Feels so bad in the night,
But there’s a new day in sight;
And it’s a beautiful, beautiful world.

Mama Annalisa
Called me up to give me the news:
The doctors say it’s spreading, but it’s not Armageddon,
So don’t start in to singing the blues.
There’s so much left of life to see,
And I’m not sure that my time is due, I’m not through,
So send your loving to me
’Cause I need your arms to pull me through.
Mama said

It’s a beautiful world,
Such a beautiful world;
You think the ending has come,
But maybe life’s just begun,
And it’s a beautiful, beautiful world.

It’s a beautiful world,
Such a beautiful world;
You’re feeling heartache and pain,
But light will shine after rain;
It’s a beautiful, beautiful world.

It’s a beautiful world,
Such a beautiful world;
Feels so bad in the night,
But there’s a new day in sight,
And it’s a beautiful, beautiful world.

9. Smooth Lies
© 2016 Christopher L. Elwood

Baby baby oh you look so fine
My heart will break unless you say you’ll be mine
I never felt before the way I feel
If a ring were in my pocket you would see me kneel

I got those smooth lies
So won’t you look deep in my cool eyes
They’re telling you my words will prove wise
Your heart will thrill to hear those smooth lies
Smooth lies…

Your wallet’s bulging, let me help you there
I got a vision that we both can share
Something to make the world much less depressed
You won’t be sorry after you invest

In all these smooth lies
So look down deep into my cool eyes
They’re telling you my words will prove wise
Your heart will thrill to hear those smooth lies

You got real problems, that is evident
We’ll have solutions when I’m president
Got explanations that will simplify
A complicated world, on me you can rely

To tell those smooth lies
So won’t you look into my cool eyes
Selling a bill of goods to move lives
Your heart will thrill to hear those smooth lies

Sit back, relax and take it in
It’s no particular sin
I’ll do the talking for us both
Don’t need to put me under oath
Everyone does it
Just look into my eyes
Don’t get distracted
You won’t feel a thing

Smooth lies…

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,
Gazing at the altar of the status quo;
King says, Boys I wanna see you on your knees;
Don’t make yourself examples of defiance, please.
I got an oven heatin’ up for refusers like you;
’Cause an order is an order, a cue is a cue:
We’re gonna blow that horn, and pluck that lyre;
If you don’t bow you’ll end up in that fire.

They said

CHORUS:
I won’t bow down,
I won’t bow down.
You can throw me in the fire,
You can cut me down,
Hang me from a tree,
Put my body in the ground,
But I got a God in heaven
And I won’t bow down.
I won’t bow down,
I won’t bow down.

Hey Queen Vashti, what you gonna do?
King Ahasuerus been a-callin’ you.
Man, he’s a-light, wants to see you looking fine,
Showing off his trophy since it’s party time.
If you don’t make him look good, make those governors smile,
He’s sure to blow a fuse, so get dressed up in style
In that pretty red dress, put that crown on your head;
Nobody wants to see you dead.

She said
CHORUS

Eleven October 1865:
Black folk in Jamaica just trying to survive.
Paul Bogle says, The time is right for marching today;
Gonna make a stand for equal rights in Morant Bay.
But the governor says, We ended slavery;
If you want land and food then earn it through your industry.
Meanwhile the law protects the folks who are rich and white,
So go on home and don’t you dare to fight.

Paul said
CHORUS

Patria, Minerva, and Maria Te,
Dominicanas driving on a rainy day—
Struggling against Trujillo and his tyranny,
You say it’s held together with brutality.
But it’s all for the best, it ain’t cruel, it’s benign,
Keeping this island and the people marching straight in a line.
You better watch your path, you might not comprehend
Who might be hiding round the road’s next bend.

They said
CHORUS

ExxonMobil, BP, Shell—
Fellas start your engines, don’t you love that smell!
State your destination, you’ll be there in a flash;
Burning fossil fuels, it’s a gas, gas, gas.
If it’s power you want, it’s lying all in their hands—
Remember Ken Saro-Wiwa and the oil sands;
Say bye-bye native land, hello toxic brew,
Cause there’s nothing anyone can do.

We say
CHORUS

God gave you one life to live
So live
God gave you one love to give
So give
Don’t run around chasing
That big lie
Everyone here’s going to die

CHORUS:
So
Take time
Take time
Take time
Take time (repeat)

Take time for your brother
Take time for your sister
Take time for your mother
And your father

CHORUS

Take time for your children
Take time for your lover

CHORUS

12. Alhamdulillah
© 2016 Christopher L. Elwood and David Bradley Wigger
Music by Christopher L. Elwood
Chorus lyrics by Christopher L. Elwood
Verse lyrics by David Bradley Wigger

Psalm 150:
Praise God with trumpet sound
Take those shoes off, this holy ground
We praise God with lute’s expression
harp gives a mighty impression
Praise God with shoutin’ tambourine
Make yo-solf a dancin’ queen
Praise with strings of any type
Blow the crap out that pipe
Sing Hallelujah with cymbals clangin’
Make ’em loud, and keep on bangin’
And when you finally meet death
Sing Praise God with yo’ last breath

Alleluia
… Alhamdulillah (x 8)

Liberation:
Why do we sing
From Cape Town to Cape Cod
From Rio to Riyadh
These Hallelujahs
And Praise Gods?
Because…

After the liberations
From degradations
And tribulations
After the manumissions
From slave conditions
And sin’s fruitions
After the abolitions
From forced submissions
And low positions
We can’t help but sing:
Hallelujah with a ring

Alleluia
… Alhamdulillah (x 4)

Revolution:
Man, this ain’t no story book love
Don’t you dare sanitize that dove
People don’t be blind to persecution
Hallelujah’s a call for revolution

So sing those Hallelujahs
And/or meditate like Buddhas
Go-on and light that fire
And let the spirit fly higher

Alleluia
… Alhamdulillah (x 4)

Kentucky Hills:
It’s that song that gives us chills
and heard in Kentucky’s hills
If your skin is sun-burned
Or sun-born
black as night
or white as light
Whether you Appalachian,
Or Afrolachian
Or Appalatin
sing those ‘lujahs with passion
Open up your soul
Sons and daughters of coal
And let us sing:
Praise be the king

Alleluia
… Alhamdulillah (x 4)

As-Salaam-Alaikum:
As-Salaam-Alaikum
Wa-Alaikum Salaam
Peace be unto you
And unto you peace
As-Salaam-Alaikum
Wa-Alaikum Salaam
Peace in every hue
Calm never cease
As-Salaam-Alaikum
Wa-Alaikum Salaam
We must see this through
No one call the police
As-Salaam-Alaikum
Wa-Alaikum Salaam
This comes from who?
God’s peace is obese

Alleluia
… Alhamdulillah

Mundo Brew

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