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once again, shattered

by decibelists

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Ed Hong
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about

100% of the funds from this song go to Medical Aid for Palestinians www.map.org.uk

We started writing this song during the 2014 Israeli assault on Gaza. There was a gala at the Manhattan JCC in support of Israel, and Jewish Voice for Peace organized a vigil in protest. We stood on the sidewalk outside the JCC entrance with our signs in silence while well-dressed patrons entering the building screamed at us, called us names and spewed all their well-rehearsed speeches about why Palestinians deserve to die.

A young girl caught my eye -- she was maybe 13, the age in Jewish tradition where you perform the rituals of entering adulthood, and for a few moments I watched her watching us with curiosity before her family pulled her inside towards the awaiting metal detectors. She reminded me of my cousin, of my students, of myself as a child, and of all the young Jewish people who are forced to stake out our own stories, understandings and actions in the face of generations of trauma, violence, lies and resistance. More than 40% of the population in Gaza's open-air prison is under the age of 14 and many of the dead this time and every time are children.

lyrics

Once Again, Shattered

she is looking at the faces
she is reading all the signs
she is listening real closely
making up her own mind

somehow no one has the answers
it's all whispers or it's shouts
all this living they've been living
ain't shit figured out

she heard they're right behind us
so how does she know we're safe?
while the bombs fall far away
they claim it's in her name

she is inching her way closer
tasting the barricade's edge
how did I find a place here?
A home on a ledge made of glass

Reading the names on the street is what we do best
Hiding the flames from the wind so they warm my chest
Nurturing shame is the game that we play today
Home is the place where the bodies won't go away

the story is she's all mixed up
the story is she's young
dropped into this fine family
an island all her own

there's the things your mama tells you —
which side’s right and which side's wrong
yet she holds her own truth deep down
in her throat, a swallowed song

the story is she's a woman now
and a woman always knows
but she's aimed those child eyes
shooting darts wherever they go
shooting darts wherever she goes

Reading the names on the street is what we do best
Hiding the flames from the wind so the shadows can nest
Filling the streets with the names of the recently dead
Filling their graves with the fuel for the fire ahead

credits

released June 6, 2018
Vocals: Emma Alabaster
Words by Emma Alabaster & Leo Ferguson
Music by Leo Ferguson
Produced by Leo Ferguson
Art -- Imaging Apartheid: Wall by Jason Kuhrt justseeds.org/product/imaging-apartheid-wall/ handalahasaposse.tumblr.com

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decibelists New York, New York

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