Wednesday, September 17, 2008

O My Brothers (Beethoven's Cry)

A song I wrote based on Beethoven's famous letter to his brothers, on his deafness:
http://home.swipnet.se/zabonk/cultur/ludwig/beeheil.htm

O my brothers, can't you see
what ought to be clear
you are blind in blaming me
because I cannot hear

If you felt the pain I feel
because I must stay alone
you'd know it is real
I am human, I'm not made of stone

How you wrong me
how you wrong me
you do not know
you do not know

Oh my brothers,
it feels like yesterday
I could hear perfectly
the gods took it away
a cruel joke on me

If I try and pass the time of day
I feel such anxiety
I can't hear what people say
and like you,
they misunderstand me

How you wrong me
how you wrong me
you do not know
you do not know

O my brothers,
it's not my choice to live this way
like a banished man,
I go from day to day
with just one hope, one plan:

Only art, only art holds me back
from taking my life
I will overcome this lack
I will create amid this strife

And so I choose: patience, patience,
patience, patience, patience
to be my guide,
Oh Powers That Be, grant to me
one pure day of JOY,

When, oh when
shall I feel it again--Never?
No, oh no, it would be too hard!

How you wrong me,
how you wrong me,
you do not know,
you do not know!

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