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Thou Shalt Not Kill

from Days of Honey, Days of Onions by Joanie Calem

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about

My friend and sound engineer Tom Boyer has an old rifle hanging on the wall of one of the rooms in his studio where I spend lots of hours recording. One day he told me that the gun had belonged to his great-grandfather, who had been a Quaker, a pacifist, and a hunter. The story caught my imagination, especially juxtaposed to the sad reality of mass shootings in the US.

lyrics

Thou Shalt Not Kill © Joanie Calem, March 2021
Chorus:
This gun’s just meant for hunting squirrels, birds, raccoons
It helps feed my family just a little extra food
It’s not meant for resolving people’s strife
This gun won’t take a human life.

It was 1863, and the war was raging on, Papa’d gone to fight, Grampa ran the farm.
Union and rebels, needing weapons and men, coming for the farm guns, you just hand them over when
Tired men knocked on the door, horror in their eyes, Taking a human life makes something inside you die
Each side believed their cause was worth the fight, No one dared question if all this bloodshed was right

chorus

Grampa answered the door, always offered a drink and a chair, No matter the uniform, he saw the human there
But the farm guns stayed here at home, he politely said no, To let his hunting rifles kill a human soul, he said…

chorus

Sorry boys, he said, I don’t believe in war, This gun stays on the wall, bullets stay in the drawer
Like I said before, I use it to hunt food, But I live by the Bible, and in that good book….

It says, “Thou shalt not kill, nor shed the blood of man.” “If you live by the sword, you will die with sword in hand.”
War and hatred, anger and fear, I won’t take part in that, so the gun stays here….chorus

At the end of the war, Papa made it home, Grampa passed that gun down, it’s purpose always known
I passed it on too, but now we’ve got enough food,
It stays up on the wall, not even shooting squirrels or raccoons…chorus

credits

from Days of Honey, Days of Onions, released April 1, 2021
Joanie Calem guitar and vocals

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Joanie Calem Columbus, Ohio

Joanie Calem is a folk musician, singer/song-writer, storyteller and inclusion advocate for audiences of all ages. Joanie writes songs and sings about life's different twists and turns, angles and perspectives, telling stories through her songs of the ups and downs of reality. She performs regularly at festivals, retirement homes, shelters, libraries and schools throughout the US and abroad. ... more

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