Tom Waits - Road To Peace

Nov 2014

Alice Bouvier added this track to Tom

1

Young Abdel Madi Shabneh was only 18 years old
the youngest of 9 children
he'd never spent a night away from home
and his mother held his photograph
up in the New York Times
you see the killing has intensified
along the road to peace
a tall thin boy with a wispy moustache
disguised as an Orthodox Jew
on a crowded bus in Jerusalem
some had survived World War II
and the thunderous explosion
blew out windows 200 yards away
more retribution and 17 dead
along the road to peace
now at King George Avenue and Jaffa Road
passengers boarded bus 14A
in the aisle next to the driver Abdel Madi Shabneh
the last thing that he said on earth
was God is great and God is good
and he blew them all to kingdom come
upon the road to peace
now in response to this
another kiss of death was visited upon
Yashir Tehah Israel said is an
Hamas Senior militant
Israel sent 4 choppers in
flames engulfed his white Opel
and it killed his wife and his 3-year-old child
leaving only blackened skeletons
they found a toddler's bottle
and a pair of small shoes
and they waved them in front of the cameras
but Israel said they did not know that
his wife and child were in the car
there are roadblocks everywhere
and only suffering on TV
neither side will ever give up their smallest right
along the road to peace
Israel launched its latest campaign
against Hamas on Tuesday
two days later Hamas shot back
and killed five Israeli soldiers
though thousands dead and wounded on both sides
most of them Middle Eastern civilians
they fill their children full of hate
to fight an old man's war and die
upon the road to peace
this is our land we will fight with all our force
say the Palastinians and the Jews
and each side will cut off the hand of
anyone who tries to stop the resistance
if the right eye offends thee
then you must pluck it out
And Machoud Abbas and Sharon had been lost
along the road to peace
once Kissinger said
we have no friends
America only has interests
and now our president wants to be seen as a hero
and he's hungry for re-election
Bush is reluctant to risk his future
with the fear of his political failures
so he plays chess at his desk
and poses for the press
ten thousand miles
from the road to peace
in a video that they found
at the home of Abdel Madi Shabneh
he held a Kalashnikov rifle
and he spoke with the voice like a boy
he was an excellent student
he studied so hard
it was as if he had a future
he told his mother
he had a test that day
out along the road to peace
the fundamentalist killing on both sides
is standing in the path of peace
and tell me
why are we arming the Israeli army
with guns and tanks and bullets
if God is great and God is good
why can't he change the hearts of men
well maybe God himself
is lost and needs help
maybe God himself
he needs all of our help
maybe God himself
is lost and needs help
he's out upon the road to peace
maybe God himself is lost and needs help
maybe God himself he needs all of our help
and he's lost upon the road to peace
and he's lost upon the road to peace
out upon the road to peace

Powered by YouTube
(none)