Thursday, July 4, 2013

American Tune

Photo from
Ben's 3rd grade Field Trip, Spring 1999

" . . . And I dreamed that my soul rose unexpectedly
And looking back down at me
Smiled reassuringly
And I dreamed I was flying
And high above my eyes could clearly see
The Statue of Liberty
Sailing away to sea
And I dreamed I was flying.

Oh, we come on the ship they call the Mayflower
We come on the ship that sailed the moon . . . "

~ Paul Simon ~

"Going to America then was almost like going to the moon."
~ Golda Meir ~

~ Veronica Lawlor ~

"When I was about 10 years old, I said, 'I have to go to America.' Because my uncles were here already, and it kind of got me that I want to go to America, too. . . . I was dreaming about it. I was writing to my uncles, I said I wish one day I'll be in America. I was dreaming to come to America. . . . and I was dreaming, and my dream came true. When I cam here, I was in a different world. It was so peaceful. It was quiet. You were not afraid to go out in the middle of the night. . . . I'm free. I'm just like a bird. You can fly and land on any tree and you're free." [emphasis added]

Helen Cohen
Poland
Arrived in 1920 ~ Age 20

~ Lawlor's illustration and Cohen's reminiscence ~
found on pages 14 - 15
of this beautiful book:


Also included in Lawlor's collection are these remarkable words from Golda Meir, who would one day be the 4th Prime Minister of Israel:

"My father, who had by not moved from New York to Milwaukee, was barely making a living. He wrote back that he hoped to get a job working on the railway and soon he would have enough money for our tickets. . . . I can remember only the hustle and bustle of those last weeks in Pinsk, the farewells from the family, the embraces and the tears. Going to America then was almost like going to the moon. . . . We were all bound for places about which we knew nothing at all and for a country that was totally strange to us." [p 10, emphasis added]

Golda Meir
Russia
Arrived in 1906 ~ Age 8

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Click to read
what my friend Beata wrote about Coming to America:
"I was now INSIDE of independency! . . . I was free!"


AND

Click to hear
Paul Simon sing a song for the day . . .

American Tune
Many’s the time I’ve been mistaken
And many times confused
Yes, and I’ve often felt forsaken
And certainly misused
Oh, but I’m all right, I’m all right
Just weary to my bone
Still, you don’t expect to be
Bright and bon vivant
So far away from home, so far away from home

And I don’t know a soul who’s not been battered
I don’t have a friend who feels at ease
I don’t know a dream that’s not been shattered
Or driven to its knees
Oh, but it’s all right, it’s all right
For we've lived so well so long
Still, when I think of the road
We’re traveling on
I wonder what's gone wrong
I can’t help it, I wonder what’s gone wrong

And I dreamed I was dying
I dreamed that my soul rose unexpectedly
And looking back down at me
Smiled reassuringly
And I dreamed I was flying
And high above my eyes could clearly see
The Statue of Liberty
Sailing away to sea
And I dreamed I was flying

Oh, we come on the ship they call the Mayflower
We come on the ship that sailed the moon

We come in the age’s most uncertain hour
And sing an American tune
Oh, it’s all right, it’s all right, it’s all right
You can’t be forever blessed
Still, tomorrow’s going to be another working day
And I’m trying to get some rest
That’s all I’m trying to get some rest
[emphasis added]

© 1973 Words and Music by Paul Simon

This year's American Flag Pie!
Also 2009 & 2010

2 comments:

  1. Thank you so much!! I never listened to that before! Really like the theme of Freedom and Flying in the various posts!

    ReplyDelete
  2. One of my all time favorite Paul Simon tunes. And I love how you tied it in with Independence and "coming to America." Diane and I are watching the John Adams series now: Independency!

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