Gunatanamo
©2004 Stephen R Coffee
If there’s one thing that the fundamentalist Christians and fundamentalist Muslims agree on these days it's that we are engaged in a religious war. On the assumption that it’s a wise practice to “know your enemy,” I offer here a spare and uncomfortably familiar imagining of a Guantanamo detainee's encounter with Christian love. The deep cynicism, evidenced as much by the Appalachian styling as by the lyric, is my own, a luxury the prisoner probably cannot afford.
Here performed by the Harley String Band
Finalist, Mid-Atlantic Song Contest.
Honorable Mention, Great American Song Contest.
The stars for my blanket
I lie here on the ground
The sun’s the only thing
Allowed to move around
I don’t cause no trouble
Don’t even make a sound
Could be years to go, Guantanamo
A few more years to go, Guantanamo
I fought for my country
I fought the infidel
I heard Allah calling
Like the ringing of a bell
But now I found Jesus
Right here in Christian Hell
He loves me this I know, Guantanamo
Jesus loves me this I know, Guantanamo
The blue Caribbean
It soothes me in my rage
Its tropical breezes
Find me in my cage
An endless vacation
To pay the sinner’s wage
Everybody sing Swing Low, Guantanamo
A few more years to go, Guantanamo
Everybody sing Swing Low
More songs for your listening pleasure:
Alice
Soundtrack of one man's journey through the Australian Outback
The Impossible Sky
Ruth finds beauty in a harsh environment. From Rain Follows the Plow
Indian Joe
Where are your people? From Rain Follows the Plow
Maria
A lonely voice from the borderlands
Deepwater Requiem
Epic folk tale treatment of the Horizon disaster
To the Light
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Castle of Thorns
The distance between here and there
Going to the Ukraine
Those Ukraine girls make me scream and holler.
Praise the Drugs and Pass the Ammunition
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Mert's Mix
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The Writing on the Wall
Song and video about visiting my dad's old home place.
The Foundation
a momentary detour on the way into town