New Duggleby/Birsan Song: “Sunflowers (for Ukraine)”
Like about everyone, I’m shocked and disgusted at Putin’s brutal assault on the citizens of Ukraine. And when I get angry, I try to get writing. So here is “Sunflowers (for Ukraine)”, inspired by accounts of everyday heroes fighting for their country and their lives. It’s a co-write with my friend, collaborator, world-class tenor/pianist, and Romanian native (now Chicagoan) Codrut Birsan. I’ll let the song speak for itself, in the link below and following lyrics:
Sunflowers (for Ukraine) By John Duggleby & Codrut Birsan © 3/2022
Like the dawn on the rise o’er the ruins, like the blood on my face and my hands Like the fire from the burst of the rockets, all is red across the green of our land Here I raced through the fields of summer, like the children of centuries before Here I’ve aged with my parents and babies, now I’m too old to run anymore
If my destiny ends with tomorrow, I’ll be home in the ground where I lie And in my pocket, the seeds of sunflowers, will grow in my place when I die
There are hands that stretch toward me with shelter; safe harbor in which I can hide But I can’t win a fight from asylum, I need ammunition, not a ride It’s a scar since the dawn of creation; it’s a hell fueled by power and greed When the few at the top flash their sabres, and the many below start to bleed
If my destiny ends with tomorrow, I’ll be home in the ground where I lie And in my pocket, the seeds of sunflowers, will grow in my place when I die
There’s a thundering down at the corner, rumbling up past the bar and the bank Crushing kids’ bikes and cracking the pavement, it’s the lumbering treads of a tank As a cold sweat encircles our village, and every last one fears the worst I step out and announce to the turret: “You’ll have to go through me first.”
If my destiny ends with tomorrow, I’ll be home in the ground where I lie And in my pocket, the seeds of sunflowers, will grow in my place when I die
Sunflowers wave their heads across the meadow, golden carpets as far as eyes can see Sunflowers reaching for the morning, smiling with hope for you and me