written for and performed at the conference by Ted Lewis
In the Year of Jubilee
Chorus:
In the year of Jubilee
People looking back on history
See the past with new eyes
Knowing better where the power lies
Time to set the conscience free
Time to lay down the weaponry
War can no more be justified
With everybody living side-by-side
(chorus)
In olden days when the empires ruled
A mythology made killing okay
To bolster belief there were also sacrifices
That made violence seem like the only way
(chorus)
‘Eye for an eye,’ it's a very ancient custom
To keep things from getting our of hand
Then somebody said, treat your enemies with love
It's hard for most people to understand
(chorus)
More and more there are people of conscience
Who see themselves in the face of a foe
They can't pay for war anymore that they could fight
They know that we reap whatever we sow
(chorus)
War Tax Blues
I love my country / but I cannot pay for war
(repeat)
All that money for fightin' / it's something I deplore
I don't trust the taxes / from my head down to my toes
(repeat)
Cuz I know better now / where half the money goes
I understand freedom / are you listenin' Uncle Sam
(repeat)
I know my beliefs / and I know just who I am
I'm a good citizen / I care about the common good
(repeat)
But I won't bow to the flag / even though they say I should
I'm happy to pay for / the things that make for peace
(repeat)
And maybe someday / all the violence will cease
I love my country / but I cannot pay for war
(repeat)
All that money for fightin' / it's something I deplore
Song for Marian Franz
by Ted Lewis
Waiting just to talk to the senator
In a room that was full of men
I was just a single little woman
And I wouldn't have been there if not for them
Off to my right were the officers
Big brass from the Pentagon
And off to my left a lobby for the corporations
Who'd love the chance to build a new weapon
When the senator opened up his door
Everybody rose up on their feet
I was feeling smaller by the second
And then I'm told, It's time for us to meet
Lobbying for peace isn't easy
But right then I was glad that I was next
Standing 'tween the military and the industry
It was me who really had the complex
(Repeat)