me & jherek do cohen part 2: neil reads “democracy”
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(public post)
hallo loves.
here is a photo of yesterday’s rehearsal for our havana show…i’m not sure the last time i rehearsed in a cathedral for a show in a rock club…
AND
i’ll have something amazing coming your way from cuba in a hot sec, but meanwhile here is neil reading “democracy”, from the same session as “everybody knows “, is available TODAY on the PEN America website.
go share the link far and wide. it’s beautiful. this moment in history. all of us. i love you.
WATCH the video HERE:
https://pen.org/donate-democracy
you can download the song with donation on Bandcamp HERE. all proceeds from the download of “democracy” will go to PEN America.
our friends david mack and olga nunes created this stunning video to go with the song. we gave it as a gift to support PEN America and its mission to celebrate and defend free expression.
no one becomes a writer, artist, cartoonist, or journalist because it will be easy. now this work may get a lot harder. we want to speak out. resist. fight back. protect the rights to free speech that make our country great and our creative work possible.
PEN America does life-saving work to protect persecuted writers and defend free expression everywhere. its mission is more timely than ever, and PEN America is rising to the occasion, leading a massive mobilization of writers and their supporters.
join us in supporting PEN America, and share the video, share the song.
……
DEMOCRACY
It’s coming through a hole in the air,
from those nights in Tiananmen Square.
It’s coming from the feel
that it ain’t exactly real,
or it’s real, but it ain’t exactly there.
From the wars against disorder,
from the sirens night and day;
from the fires of the homeless,
from the ashes of the gay:
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.
It’s coming from the sorrow on the street,
the holy places where the races meet;
from the homicidal bitchin’
that goes down in every kitchen
to determine who will serve and who will eat.
It’s coming to America first,
the cradle of the best and of the worst.
It’s here they got the range
and the machinery of change
and it’s here they got the spiritual thirst.
It’s here the family’s broken
and it’s here the lonely say
that the heart has got to open
in a fundamental way:
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.
I’m sentimental, if you know what I mean
I love the country but I can’t stand the scene.
And I’m neither left or right
I’m just staying home tonight,
getting lost in that hopeless little screen.
But I’m stubborn as those garbage bags
that Time cannot decay,
I’m junk but I’m still holding up
this little wild bouquet:
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.
Sail on, sail on
o mighty Ship of State!
To the Shores of Need
past the Reefs of Greed
through the Squalls of Hate
Sail on, sail on, sail on
……
“Democracy” credits:
Written by Leonard Cohen
Video & Animation: David Mack and Olga Nunes
Neil Gaiman – Vocals
Recorded by Patrick O’Leary at John Marshall Media Studio in NYC
Amanda Palmer – Piano
Recorded by Prasanna Bishop at Akashic Studio in Boulder, CO
Strings:
Etienne Abelin – Violin
Ola Sendecki – Violin
David Schnee – Viola
Lukas Raaflaub – Cello
Arranged, Mixed and Mastered by Jherek Bischoff
Recorded by Benjamin Gut at Idee und Klang Studio, Basel, Switzerland
love.
AFP
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