2. The Cruel War

CRUEL WAR
Yarrow/Stookey © Neworld Media Music Publishers- ASCAP/Silver Dawn Music- ASCAP

The Cruel War is raging, Johnny has to fight
I want to be with him from morning to night.
I want to be with him, it grieves my heart so,
Won't you let me go with you?
No, my love, no.

Tomorrow is Sunday, Monday is the day
that your Captain will call you and you must obey.
Your captain will call you it grieves my heart so,
Won't you let me go with you?
No, my love, no.

I'll tie back my hair, men's clothing I'll put on,
I'll pass as your comrade, as we march along.
I'll pass as your comrade, no one will ever know.
Won't you let me go with you?
No, my love, no.

Oh Johnny, oh Johnny, I fear you are unkind
I love you far better than all of mankind.
I love you far better than words can e're express
Won't you let me go with you?
Yes, my love, yes.

Yes, My Love, Yes.

3. Blowin' in the Wind

BLOWIN' IN THE WIND
Bob Dylan- Special Rider Music - SESAC

How many roads must a man walk down
Before they call him a man?
How many seas must a white dove sail
Before she sleeps in the sand?
How many times must the cannon balls fly
Before they're forever banned?

The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind.

How many years must a mountain exist
Before it is washed to the sea?
How many years can some people exist
Before they're allowed to be free?
How many times can a man turn his head
And pretend that he just doesn't see?

The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind.

How many times must a man look up
Before he can see the sky?
How many ears must one man have
Before he can hear people cry?
How many deaths will it take till he knows
That too many people have died?

The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind.
The answer is blowin' in the wind.

4. If I Had A Hammer

IF I HAD A HAMMER
Seeger/Hayes- Ludlow Music Corp. - BMI

If I had a hammer,
I'd hammer in the morning
I'd hammer in the evening,
All over this land

I'd hammer out danger,
I'd hammer out a warning,
I'd hammer out love between my brothers and my sisters,
All over this land.

If I had a bell,
I'd ring it in the morning,
I'd ring it in the evening,
All over this land

I'd ring out danger,
I'd ring out a warning
I'd ring out love between my brothers and my sisters,
All over this land.

If I had a song,
I'd sing it in the morning,
I'd sing it in the evening,
All over this land

I'd sing out danger,
I'd sing out a warning
I'd sing out love between my brothers and my sisters,
All over this land.

Well I got a hammer,
And I got a bell,
And I got a song to sing, all over this land.

It's the hammer of Justice,
It's the bell of Freedom,
It's the song about Love between my brothers and my sisters,
All over this land.

It's the hammer of Justice,
It's the bell of Freedom,
It's the song about Love between my brothers and my sisters,
All over this land.

5. Lemon Tree

LEMON TREE
Will Holt- Boulder Music Corp.-BMI

When I was just a lad of ten, my father said to me,
"Come here and take a lesson from the lovely lemon tree."
"Don't put your faith in love, my boy", my father said to me,
"I fear you'll find that love is like the lovely lemon tree."

Lemon tree very pretty and the lemon flower is sweet
but the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat.
Lemon tree very pretty and the lemon flower is sweet
but the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat.

One day beneath the lemon tree, my love and I did lie
A girl so sweet that when she smiled the stars rose in the sky.
We passed that summer lost in love beneath the lemon tree
the music of her laughter hid my father's words from me:

Lemon tree very pretty and the lemon flower is sweet
but the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat.
Lemon tree very pretty and the lemon flower is sweet
but the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat.

One day she left without a word. She took away the sun.
And in the dark she left behind, I knew what she had done.
She'd left me for another, it's a common tale but true.
A sadder man but wiser now I sing these words to you:

Lemon tree very pretty and the lemon flower is sweet
but the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat.
Lemon tree very pretty and the lemon flower is sweet
but the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat.

Image from Ian Britton on freefoto.com

The Very Best of The Very Best of Peter, Paul and Mary!

My lovely friend Donna bought me The Very Best of Peter, Paul and Mary for my birthday - my very first P, P & M CD! I've been listening to it tonight, and despite what some may say, Peter, Paul and Mary really do ROCK! Just for the sheer thrill of it, I've decided to count down my top 5 favourite songs from the CD - not my top 5 P, P & M songs of all time, just out of the ones on this album (a hard enough task in itself!) This is the list I had to choose from:

1. Early in the Morning
2. 500 Miles
3. Lemon Tree
4. If I Had A Hammer
5. Where Have all the Flowers Gone
6. Puff, The Magic Dragon
7. The Cruel War
8. This Land is Your Land
9. Blowin' in the Wind
10. Stewball
11. Don't Think Twice, It's All Right
12. For Lovin' Me
13. For Baby (For Bobbie)
14. The Times They Are a Changin'
15. Early Mornin' Rain
16. Leaving on a Jet Plane
17. I Dig Rock and Roll Music
18. Too Much of Nothing
19. The Great Mandala (The Wheel of Life)
20. Day is Done
21. El Salvador
22. Wedding Song (There is Love)
23. Follow Me
24. Weave Me the Sunshine
25. Don't Laugh At Me
    

The Bible - LOLCat style!

Romans 8:28-39:

28 U no, teh Ceiling Cat, he always doin stuff for ur own gud, if yu luvs him.29 Teh Ceiling Cat nu us befor an calld us be liek Baby Jebus.30 Wat him nu befor, datz hoo him calld; an hoo he hollerd fer, demz himz gibbd warm milk; an demz he givd warm milk, dem himz fed annuder cheezbrgr, srsly. Dubba brgr wit cheez. No mayo, dats nawt Kosher. Srsly. Mustard ok. An rellis. Hold da pikl, I dunno wer das bin. Srsly.

31 WTF den, srsly? Iff Ceiling Catz r fite for us, den who gunna hav Catfight?32 Him naild hiz own kittn, Baby Jebus, to scratchn post, so we no hez gonna giv us mor cheezbrgz an warm milk, an stuff.33 U fink u kan say hoo iz gud enuf? Onlee Ceiling Cat kan does dat.34 An hoo gunna starta Catfight!? Jebus hadda dirtnap, an he livd agen, an iz teh right-paw mitten uv Ceiling Cat, dat d00d hoo maiks cheezebrgz an warm milk.35 Den hoo gunna steels da luv uf Baby Jebus? kan Catfight!, or azz bitin, or no kibble in bowl, or no fur, or dangur?36 Da skripchurs sez, "Fur youze we face deth all day long."37 Nope srsly, webe moar dan teh winnarz uv cauz we petted Himz fur.38 I noes dat nawt dirtnappin or dancin, nawt Invisible Anglez, nawt stuff nows or stuffs in mornin, nawt lektrisity,39 nawt up, nawt dwn, nawt uddr aminalz, kan taiks us away frm teh luv we has, teh warm milk uf Ceiling Cat an Baby Jebus, teh Christ, owr Lord.

Translation (ESV):

28And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

31What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 33Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised— who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. 35Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36As it is written,

"For your sake we are being killed all the day long;
we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered."

37No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Our first Christmas tree

I'm a bit sentimental when it comes to Christmas. I've always loved putting up the tree. Although in recent years I've appreciated the small fibre-optic tree my parents bought (pull it out of the box and plug it in!) I was so excited to buy our first tree. I had a marvellous time shopping for ornaments, and Matt and I had a lot of fun putting it up and decorating it. We had some funky garlands around the place too, but I forgot to take photos of those...

Making gingerbread

And here are some photos of our first Christmas as a married couple. Making gingerbread is a long-running tradition of mine, and Matt had a fantastic time helping me decorate them. Mine are the more minimalist ones at the top here:

Aww...

My lovely sister-in-law is borrowing our camera for her trip to Cairns, so I finally got around to downloading our most recent photos (i.e. Christmas) to my computer. I shall inflict some upon you all now.

Here are some cute photos of Matt with our gorgeous niece Anastasia:





And here's a lovely one of my Auntie Luba with Anastasia:

Estranged

Old at heart but I'm only 28
And I'm much too young
To let love break my heart
Young at heart but it's getting much too late
To find ourselves so far apart...

Still talking to myself
and nobody's home

- Guns n' Roses, "Estranged"