[etni] "I Think of All the Children" - lyrics
- From: laurie@xxxxxxxx
- To: etni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 05 Nov 2007 02:13:22 -0700
Hi All,
Last week Sharon Neeman, a folksinger-songwriter recently, penned these
fantastic song lyrics and sent them to me. She also faxed me the notes so I
could learn the song and get it out there...to the Prime Minister! It received
acclaim at Sharon's "premier" Fri. night at a musical event in the north and
also at a home concert here in my community. She asked me to share the lyrics
here with you. She dedicates the song to her father who was teacher and also
wrote it in solidarity with our struggle. (Sadly, I think the Prime Minister
remains "tone deaf".)
You can hear "I Think of All the Children" this Wed. at the Tel Aviv Folk
Club or at one of my upcoming home concerts, already posted.
Thanks, Sharon!
Laurie
>
> --------------------
>
> I THINK OF ALL THE CHILDREN
> by Sharon Neeman
>
> I think of all the children in the neighborhood around me;
> Lots of them still live nearby and some have moved away --
> Alice is an astronaut, and Ben is an attorney;
> Charlie is an actor, and he's starring in a play.
>
> Don's an entomologist, and Ellen's a technician;
> Freddie is the captain of a naval ship at sea --
> Gail's a child psychologist and Harry's a musician,
> And in a very modest way, they owe it all to me.
>
> I am an English teacher in an inner city high school;
> My hair is full of chalk dust and my hands are stained with ink;
> Each day I see two hundred of the city's adolescents;
> I sharpen up their intellect and show them how to think.
>
> Ian owns a factory, and Jennie's an accountant;
> Katherine's an anchor, you can see her on TV --
> I watch her in the evening, over tea and plain spaghetti,
> And I try not to remember how much more she makes than me.
>
> I rent a small apartment, and I drive an old jalopy
> To school at seven every day, to help the children learn;
> For years I had a partner, but we couldn't think of marriage --
> You can't raise kids and buy a home on what two teachers earn.
>
> Leila is a minister, and Moses is a rabbi;
> Noel's a theologian, D.D. and Ph.D. --
> I don't have much religion, but I pray to God Almighty
> To keep the teachers out of debt, on half a salary.
>
> I would have liked a doctorate; I would have liked to travel;
> I'd have liked a pension big enough to keep me when I'm old --
> For now I'm pushing 60, but I'm vowed to my profession:
> To give the kids the tools for life that stave off want and cold.
>
> Oliver's a governor; Patricia is a mayor;
> Quincy is a senator in Washington, DC --
> And I wonder what we failed to teach the Government officials
> Who think it's quite all right to starve the teachers just like me.
>
>
>
> --
> "I am only one; but still I am one.
> I cannot do everything, but still I can do something.
> I will not refuse to do the something I can do."
> - Helen Keller
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