One day, in her car, Janette heard a radio documentary about the plight of the refugees, landing on the Greek islands. She was moved to tears and had to stop the car. One line stuck in her head - that the camps were a "warehouse of souls"... This was the catalyst for the rest of the song. Brian's playing of our little Greek instrument, a "tzuras", lends a poignancy to the piece. The "eastern" sounding instrument at the start, is Jan, on the very Scottish "chanter".
The final sounds of waves and wind are from a recording we did on Anidri beach, Crete, a few years back.
The chant at the end is Arabic for "SOS".. Jan enlisted help from a Syrian friend, who coached her over the phone.
This one is for you and your people, Osama.
All proceeds from this track will go to refugee charities.
lyrics
Under the Sun
Under the sun, there’s a warehouse of souls
All human life, in limbo
They crawled out of the sea, the ones who survived
The ones who survived the snipers
They crawled out of the sea, the ones who survived
The ones who escaped the bombings
Crawled out of the sea, just barely alive
with bodies in arms… Their children
The cafes and schools, the beach promenade
bodies and bombs – and rubble
An image of Hell, burned into their eyes
War vaporized their children
Family and friends – All gone
How do we carry on?
How do we carry on?
How do we carry on….?
Under the sun, there’s a warehouse of souls
All human life in limbo
Steel containers in rows, surrounded by wire
Nowhere to go, no future
Nowhere to go no future
~ Anqetho Arwahina ~ ( "SOS")
credits
from Under the Sun,
released October 29, 2016
Music: Not for Pussies
Lyrics: Janette Kidd
Brian Kidd: Field recordings, Guitars, Guitar Synth, E-bow, Tzuras, Drumbox Percussion
Janette Kidd: Vocals, Bass Guitar, Keyboards, Chanter
Not for Pussies came into being in 2008, although Brian and Janette Kidd have been together - and playing music together
(and with others) for much, much longer.
We felt we're into an era in our lives where Bette Davis' quote about getting older (it's "not for pussies") felt very apt - and our music reflects this - and the experience of having lived a little! ......more
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