ferron
it won't take long
They said some men would be warriors and some men would be kings And some men would be owners of land and other man-made things And false love as the eternal flame would move some to think in rings And gold would be our power and other foolish things But you who dream of liberty must not yourselves be fooled Before you get to plea for freedom, you've agreed to being ruled If the body stays a shackle then the mind remains a chain That'll link you to a destiny whereby all good souls are slain And it won't take long, it won't take too long at all It won't take long, and you may say "What has that got to do with me" and I say, "You mean to tell me that's all?" Of three men in a desert wandering, one is knowing and two are scared They say time is in the river, but the river is not there Dry in spirit dry in body two will lend themselves to death And in grief one weeps into his hands and drinks his bitter tears 'Cause it don't take long, it don't take too long at all It don't take long, and you may say, "I don't know what you're talking about," and I say "You mean to tell me that's all?" And as I stand before you now, I am hopeful in my rage You know love has finally called for me, I will not wilt upon its stage But still smaller than my nightmare now do I print upon the page Do we have to live inside its walls to identify the cage? 'Cause it takes so long, why does it take so long, But it takes so long, and you may say, "I don't really care what you're talking about," and I say, "Are you trying to say you don't belong?" I am my mother's daughter, but I have seen myself in you It's this blessing that I follow now, and so I must speak true I dreamed of thousands dying, it was you and you and you, And while the city sleeps so quietly there is something we must do And it won't take long, it won't take too long at all, It won't take long, and you may say, "I don't know if I want to know what you're getting at," And it makes we want to say, "So long." Because grief will come in measures, only grief alone will know And you'll see it on your family, on your own face it will grow And they'll try to keep you hungry, then they'll tell you to eat snow You know pride can be a moving thing if we learn the strength of "NO!" And it won't take long, it won't take too long at all, It won't take long, and you may say, "I don't think this has anything to do with me," "But did you ever think you could be wrong?" At noon on one day coming, human strength will fill the streets Of every city on our planet, hear the sound of angry feet With business freezed up in the harbour, the kings will pull upon their hair And the banks will shudder to a halt, and the artists will be there 'Cause it won't take long, it won't take too long at all, It won't take long, and you may say, "I don't think I can be a part of that," and it makes me want to say, "Don't you want to see yourself that strong?" Division between the peoples will disappear that honoured day And though oceans lie between us, lifted candles light the way Half will join their hands by moonlight, the rest under a rising sun As underneath the sun and moon, a ritual'd wailing has begun And it won't take long, it won't take too long at all, It won't take long, and you may say, "I don't know how to be a part of what you're talking about," and it makes me want to say, "Come on!" And beware you sagging diplomats, for you will not hear one gun And though our homes be torn and ransacked we will not be undone For as we let ourselves be bought, we're going to let ourselves be free And if you think we stand alone, look again and you will see: We are children in the rafters, we are babies in the park, We are lovers at the movies, we are candles in the dark, We are changes in the weather, we are snowflakes in July, We are women grown together, we are men who easily cry, We are words not quickly spoken, we're the deeper side of try, We are dreamers in the making, we are not afraid of "Why?"