While in the shout box, inspiration struck again:

[align:center][/align] The Knee



In my mind there’s something wrong

With some athletes today

They disrespect our country

Before they’ll even play

I’ll respect them more if

They would help their kind

By fighting for the innocent

Before they speak their mind



I will only take a knee------------------} Chorus

When I get down to pray

Not to be self-righteous

Like some folks today

Look at who is killing who

They will surely see

Black on black murder

Is the majority



They should be an example

For downtrodden youth

Try to help them understand

What really is the truth

Instead they rally round

The murdered in the streets

The rioting and looting

Ends only in defeat



I will only take a knee------------------} Chorus

When I get down to pray

Not to be self-righteous

Like some folks today

Look at who is killing who

They will surely see

Black on black murder

Is the majority



In my mind the kneelers-------------} Bridge

Deserve to get the boot

Find another country

Lose all of their loot



Instrumental Break



I will only take a knee------------------} Chorus

When I get down to pray

Not to be self-righteous

Like some folks today

Look at who is killing who

They will surely see

Black on black murder

Is the majority



Copyright 7/2020 John W Selleck

Controversial John! At the moment we both live in a free country, we need to make the best of it and say how we feel, before we have that privilege silenced
Regards
John

Morning, John:

Unvarnished truth. Sometimes hard for the paid professionals to understand. They are busy attempting to pander to a crowd of well meaning but greatly misinformed individuals. Those who disrespect our Anthem and Flag are usually the ones who never served. All lives matter. Tradition matters. We are not a perfect Nation but speaking as one who has been to many lands, I would not want to live elsewhere unless there was no choice. (Gotta admit how much I would consider Wales!)

As a descendant of Colonists, Patriots, Confederates, and those who served in WWI, WWII and the Cold War, I was proud to wear the uniform of this great land. It does not give me a place at the front of the line nor special privileges. Thank God I am able to speak freely without fear of retribution... as long as I clearly obey the rule of law and respect my fellow man... and those who enforce our laws.

Have we, as a Nation, made some pretty awful social mistakes? You bet! I hope we have learned and will continue to learn as a group of many races and religions who need to work together for the common good.

If those of you overpaid athletes and movie stars feel like you've been "put upon" or mis-treated, please find another venue. Until that Anthem Kneeling activity ends... I am happy to use the "remote" and find another channel. Reward for bad behavior is not an option.

----Dave

I'm not going to get into the politics of the song. I see the gesture slightly differently. If I saw it as insulting to the nation, I would feel as strongly as you do.

Confining my remarks to the lyric, I'd say it has a really strong hook:
"I will only take a knee
When I get down to pray"

After that it gets too preachy to be effective, in my view. However, I'm not your audience, so I'll be interested to hear how those who share your views judge it. Theirs is the opinion that really matters

Agreed John,

Too many people fought and died to give us that freedom. But there are many other ways to speak your mind than showing total disrespect for our country and all it stands for, especially when you are taking millions of dollars you would never have earned in any other country in the world.

Hi John,
I write lots of songs that say what I feel, and everything in them is the truth, or I won't write it. If these "Athletes" and entertainers would spend as much time fighting to make the streets safer in the communities where the most crime, especially violent crime is being committed, I would be behind them all the way. Instead they take actions meant to inflame and be divisive. Most of them have no clue as to the amount of crime being committed by blacks on other blacks. Anyone who did the crimes these police did should be, and will be punished.
I also served, and those of us who did/are, don't expect anything from it. But respecting our countries values is part of being a citizen of any country. If they dislike this one so much, there are plenty of other countries out there, most of which wouldn't tolerate this behavior.
I have no hate in my heart for any race, religion, or creed, but I will speak up when I see intolerable actions.

Hi Gavin,

Thanks for the read, and the comments. Every protest song I have ever seen has been preachy. They need to state the facts, and maybe solutions to the problems they see. The person who started this knew it would be offensive, and divisive. It remains to be. If the people behind this movement would go out in the communities and try to help the people there stop the violent crimes being committed there I would be behind them all the way. This isn't about hate, it is about respect.

Yeah I get the peachy comment a lot. But as you say it's the nature of protest songs. You re just saying what a lot of people thing but are afraid to say.

A young man, who, due to accomplishments of his own, had a little light shining on him, decided to try to reflect a little of that light on a 'matter' more important than a football game, or even a national anthem; specifically, the routine killing of American Citizens in routine interactions with Law Enforcement.
That was before many more of those Citizens were killed.
But Fox Propaganda Organs and Republican Rhetoric quickly distracted their audience from the killings of American Citizens to the pseudo-Patriotic, and often coupled with pseudo-Christian claims of holiness, anti-anthem/anti-soldier/anti-America concept; and their audience bought it. Very few in my experience had any idea why Colin Kaepernick 'kaepernicked', kneeling during the playing of the national anthem, a pseudo-Patriotic routine at games, rallies, anywhere pretending to be Patriotic can be used to deceive an audience into thinking the people running things are Patriots.
Perhaps more of us should be kaepernicking, if we're truly Patriotic, if we truly care about justice, truth, The American Way, soldiers, all the list of things we profess allegiance to as we lay back in our barcoloungers with a big bowl of chips on our bellies and a Bud-weis-er in our fist, while the anthem plays. Or am I mistaken? Perhaps you spring to attention, chips flying through the air, beer transferred to the other hand so you can put your right hand over heart, when the anthem plays to start your ball games?
A nation easily misled into its stance on every issue that arises by the propaganda organs and rhetoric from politicians and holy men is weaker by degrees, unable to think for itself, and becomes willing participants in its own degradation and undermining by those propagandists, self-appointed, self-annointed 'holy' men, and their SCOTUS Dark Money financiers. By the time they realize the threat of the people they empower with their reliance on public opinion 'shaping' by the sources of the information they buy into, it is often too late to defend their country, their people, against the creeping fascism and totalitarianism a free-thinking Citizen could have spotted. Yoked to the opinion making sources they aid and abet their own demise. It's happened before. It may be happening now. But how would we know?

Gary, Gary, Gary:

You've done it Pal! We don't need a "war" here at JPF. Your opinion (like mine) belongs to you and that is fine. I know little or nothing about you or your background... but I was a child in WWII and I saw the pain, agony and sacrifice it caused on a two front war. Now, more than 100 years after the Civil War... people who knew nothing about slavery... it has existed since cave dwelling tribes began raiding each other... and is even "Biblical"... would "dredge it up" to create a diversion from their real intent... Anarchy and Violence!

Patriotism was "drilled into us" in school in the "segregated South." Was segregation right? NO! Have we learned from our mistakes? YES! Do we need to drop all this show-boating and work together? YES! The cause is not what ANTIFA and BLM would lead us to believe. The "cause" is survival of our Nation during a Pandemic.

Comparing Fox News' Agenda to it's liberal "cousins" is a bit unfair. It is outnumbered at least 90%. All one needs to do is turn the TV on to MSNBC and be covered immediately in Anti-Trump slime. I get that! He does tend to be his own worst enemy... but where would we be if the Swamp People had won? Freedom, as we know it. would be a thing of the past.

...and yes, I spring to attention and place my right hand over my heart when the Anthem is played. But... I would prefer that "the kneelers" find another "venue" for their display. It is unpatriotic and an insult to the intelligence of those of us who remember what life would have been like if the Nazis had won. Can you spell OVEN? I can't even imagine the Barbarity we would have endured if Tojo's forces had not been vanquished.

Don't get me started on Colbert and his ilk!

Other than that... have a great day!

----Dave

The problem with posting protest songs is that they tend to lead to this kind of falling out. That's why I try to keep my comments to the song itself - does it work as a song, rather than do I agree with what it says? This is a songwriting forum after all. Even then, it can be problematic. I once said on another forum that someone's protest song would work better as a song if it wasn't so mean spirited and contained something other than a succession of insults. What i got back was a succession of insults LOL.

In general, I think protest songs should have a call to action, however vague, rather than just a complaint. They are better if they aim to inspire change, rather than just list grievances.

Hi Carroll,
Thanks for the read. You are so right. Many are afraid of being vilified by the PC. I haven't been PC for a lot of years now.

I equate his actions, and now the actions of others as equivalent to burning our flag, or pissing on everything America stands for. People like him have many venues where they can express how they feel about things instead of choosing to incite hard feelings by doing this.

Yes a higher percentage of blacks are killed every year than whites.
https://www.usnews.com/news/article...isproportionately-affect-people-of-color

But it is also true that while blacks only comprise about 13% of the population, they commit 55% of the homicides, mostly against other blacks. It is also true that many white died from police shootings, as did hispanics.

Their communities would be better served by them serving as good examples by talking to them about some of the biggest problems there, like drugs, alcohol, pursuing higher education, and fatherless homes.

You will have your opinion, and I will have mine. So will many others. The best thing about all this, is many of these teams and leagues are losing lots of money by supporting this.

Thanks for saying it. And many people of color have also given their lives so the world and country could be a better place. and I salute and thank every one of them by placing my hand over my heart every time our national anthem is played.

In England, where they have being playing Premier League soccer in empty stadiums, before every game, all the players and the referee take a knee in support of Black Lives Matter. It is a ritual that lasts 10 seconds. Of course, the national anthem is not playing while this is going on, so there is not the same controversy as here. Playing the national anthem before sporting events is an American thing. It would seem weird over there, but it doesn't here. The only exception is when it is an international game, in which case both anthems are played and usually the crowd sings along. It's a stirring sound, especially when the Welsh are singing before a rugby international.

Hi Gavin,
I like that you brought that up. I would have absolutely no problem with a display of that nature when the anthem is not being played. Then it would not be an insult to everything American.
I also spend lots of time in other countries, and when their anthems are Played I stand with them as a sign of respect.

Hi Gavin, John, Gary and fellow "Posters:"

I agree it might be confusing when Welshmen sing... but the Eistedfodd has been around for more years than many understand. The Welsh National Anthem is also quite soul-stirring... but the language (even with a Welsh Dictionary) is so hard to follow. Furthermore... the language has changed over the years. For example, my first name, David... was once spelled Daffyd. My last name is still spelled Rhys over there except for the families who were "Anglicized" and now spell it as Rice, Reece, Rhees and about a dozen other ways. Even the name Price is a derivative of the Welsh term: ap Rhys (meaning... son of Rhys)

Our customs and traditions over on this side of the pond are different indeed. Why don't the "benders" perform their "act" at half-time... or during the 7th inning stretch for baseball???

I suppose traditions are made to be broken... just like statues of Andrew Jackson, George Washington, Christopher Columbus and Dead Confederates... but I don't have to like it or agree with it. Too many heroic men and women have died defending it... and slavery ended with the Emancipation Proclamation... after thousands of Union soldiers died to give Slaves that right.

Just my opinion. ----Dave

Hi Dave,
I will never believe that just because someone can play a sport, sing, or act well; that makes them smarter than everyone else, or an expert on everything they open their mouth to say, or to act in a manner that influences other people for the worse.