storymilo

I've read Life Of Pi and it's one of my favorite books. I hardly know you Vegangelica but I would say you would probably enjoy it

Nicktarist

No, those are sortof lame arguments. We know it's metaphorical for a bigger more economically based mass murdering.

It really is a brilliant book. I know you would love it. Read it twice.

All the time. I have various reasons for not posting yet--the main one being that I wish to have a ready recording by the time I do post.

peace,
-nick

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VEGANGELICA

Hey, storymilo! I think you are very right that I would probably like the Life of Pi! Since both you and Nick (below) love it, I suspect I would, too. Also, I like your taste in music, so it would seem likely that we would have a similar taste in books

Nick, yes...that is exactly what I meant in the line (about the economically based mass murdering) so I'm glad the scenarios I thought of in which animal consumption is required for human survival didn't pop first into your mind when you read my "Look out" song lyrics.

I will just have to wait for the public unveilings of *your* completed lyrics until you have the recordings, too!

--Erica

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OceanAndSilence

i like these. do you have any complete recordings of the songs available? they can really bring the lyrics to life.

VeggieLover

Ahhh vegangelica! I just wanted to let you know that, despite the fact that i've never met you, you are one of the adults i really admire (and I've actually written a few things about you...thought none of them have been edited enought to really be worth reading.)

I recently took a "break" from vegetarianism. Gasp! i know... but I'd kind of lost sight of why i was really doing it and it didn't feel right anymore. In the month that I've been eating meat, I've felt terrible...i mean really sick. My whole body just feels heavier, i dont have as much energy, im not in as good of shape, and more importantly, a big chunk of myself seemed to be missing.

Well just thought I'd let you know that I'm going back to my veggie-loving (and more importantly, animal-loving!) It just feels right. Especially since the things you write about are so blatant to me. Even if i never get anyone to stop eating meat...at least I made them think about it.

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"Not remotely! Because iocaine comes from Australia, as everyone knows. And Australia is entirely peopled with criminals. And criminals are used to having people not trust them as you are not trusted by me, so I can clearly not choose the wine in front of you."

VEGANGELICA

Hi OceanAndSilence,
Thanks for reading some of my lyrics! I have recordings of 5 songs on the Vegangelica Myspace, the link for which is in my Profile under my "Contact" information. Currently uploaded are the songs "Free," "Dichotomy," "Wring," "Garden," and a children's song called "Be Our Friend" that I made for my child (since so few vegan songs exist). Here's the link so you can go to it directly: VEGANGELICA on MySpace Music - Free Streaming MP3s, Pictures & Music Downloads. I intend to re-record the songs to improve them, and add more instruments, but unfortunately I never have much alone-time to do that (very little private time except late at night when drums/electric guitar aren't appreciated!).

Thanks, VeggieLover, for your kind words. I'd love to read what you've written if/when you want to share it. Thanks also for the update on your own vegetarian journey! Any reduction in meat-consumption is helpful because it reduces the economic demand for animal products. A new book, Eating Animals, says that an average person in the U.S. eats 21,000 entire animals in a lifetime. Of course, since each hamburger is composed of parts of many individuals, and each chicken leg or breast one eats probably comes from a different chicken, the total number of animals whose lives are taken to feed an average U.S. citizen would be huge...my guess is that a U.S. omnivore eats parts of around 100,000 different animals. Avoiding or reducing the consumption of animal products over a lifetime thus has a *very* big impact on the lives of animals (and on the environment)...even if no one else follows your example!

--Erica

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FooFighting

DICHOTOMY" by Erica

That's a bloody good song.

VEGANGELICA

Hello MB people,

As Thanksgiving (aka "Tofurkey Day" among many vegetarians/vegans) approaches in the U.S., I decided to share the lyrics of a song, "Miles," that I wrote last year based on a true story. I have been intending to shorten the lyrics because the recorded vocals last almost 7 minutes (!), but the pages have sat around for over 12 months without me making any cuts...and so I think if I really wanted to I would have shortened the song by now.

I think the reason for my inaction is that I want the song to stay as true as possible to what actually happened, including all the details. Why? Probably because I know most people wouldn't care for a second about what happens to the song's hero...so the least I can do for him is give him a 7-minute song, which is more than most people ever get. Somehow that feels to me like a little bit of justice.

Before I share the lyrics, though, I want to say thank you, FooFighting, for reading "Dichotomy," which you called a "bloody good song" using that amusing and vivid British/Australian slang term that I've always felt is very interesting. "Dichotomy," like "Miles," was inspired by Thanksgiving and is yet another song of mine that would deeply consternate and trouble my many relatives who don't mind eating blood but don't like to talk about it.

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"MILES" by Erica

Driving down the road, she took a sudden turn
at a livestock farm to see what she could learn.
She’d passed them often, for miles and miles and miles.

No answer at the farmhouse door, so she went
across the dusty yard to see in the confinement,
one of many for miles and miles and miles.

The barn was open so she stepped inside
to see a sea of white stretching far and wide.
It seemed to go on for miles and miles and miles.

Ten thousand doomed eyes gazed up at her and then
she looked down and saw a baby bird inside the pen,
no longer distanced by miles and miles and miles.

What would you do to save a life?
Would you pick a baby up, would you put down your fork and knife?
How does a person decide who counts?
She saw friends others valued just in cash amounts.

Without a second thought about what she’d been taught,
she picked the baby up, whether that was right or not.

She tucked him in her coat and took him to her car.
When faced with choices, we find out who we are.
She chose the road of mercy and she traveled for miles.

Never looking back, she put the distance between
this little bird and his future she’d seen.
The road to freedom went for miles and miles and miles.

When they stopped at last, they shared a good long look.
She named him Miles for the journey he took,
his one chance to flee for miles and miles.

She made him a cosy and comfy home,
with a bed on the porch and a garden to roam,
much more than anyone had ever offered to Miles.

Can you steal someone someone shouldn’t own,
like a sentient being whose life should be his own?
How does a person decide who counts?
She saw a friend others valued just in cash amounts.

Miles grew quickly with the yard to explore,
with sun and trees and the grass he’d never known before.
It was a life full of wonder and joy for Miles.

Happiness for him was sitting in her lap,
closing his eyes and taking a nice, long nap.
Being with his friend was important to Miles.

When a year had passed since Miles was in his egg,
she saw a swelling growing in his lower leg
where an infection was starting to spread through Miles.

Since he was ill, she took him to the vet,
who laughed when someone said, “Hey, that’s dinner, not a pet!”
They couldn’t see any reason to care about Miles.

Funny how people ridicule
compassion, mercy, and the Golden Rule
to do unto others as you’d have done to you.
Our feathered friends and beasts of burden are others, too.

Strange how people pray for heaven and rebirth,
and yet for animals create a hell on earth.
Odd how people claim they’re thoughtful and kind,
when whom they eat never crosses their mind.

She took Miles home and gave the medicine to him,
but the infection went throughout his system
through his veins and capillaries traveling for miles.

He huddled on the porch and cuddled by her knee
as she gently smoothed his feathers soothingly.
The vet said there was nothing more to do for Miles.

The tragedy is he was bred to die.
People stole his family, his ability to fly.
They stole his future against his will.
Why breed longevity in someone you’re going to kill?

What would you do to save a life?
Would you open your heart, would you put down your fork and knife?
How does a person decide who counts?
She loved someone others valued just in cash amounts.

When morning came and Miles didn’t wake,
she sat and pondered how quickly death could take
away the warmth and the joyful friendship of Miles.

She buried him in a sunny spot in the yard.
He would have liked it there. Maybe dying’s not so hard
when you know that you are loved like Miles.

Turkey. People laugh at the word,
but he was more than just a beautiful bird,
Miles, Miles, Miles, Miles, Miles.

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VEGANGELICA

Hello again, MB,

Based on the number of replies to my previous post, I can tell that a ballad about a bird may be a hard sell to the general public, as represented by MusicBanter. So, for a slight change of pace, today I am posting lyrics of a song, "Common Ground," about people's cruel treatment of each other.

I wrote "Common Ground" last month in response to trolling during arguments I observed on MB. When I say people are trolling, I am referring to people who are unable to, or choose not to, control their desire to express derision of others whom they feel are inferior to themselves.

One question I have about the lyrics is whether the line, "Why do they power trip and fall," has been used before in other songs. I Googled "power trip and fall" and came up with nothing, but since it is such an obvious play on words I would expect to find it in other lyrics. If you know of a song that uses the phrase, "power trip and fall," please let me know!

Erica's MUSIC RATING SYSTEM rating for "Common Ground" is SCGM, for "Social Critique of the Gladiator Mentality."

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"COMMON GROUND" by Erica

Shields raise, swords graze
their flesh, now bleeding,
trying to reach the one goal
they share: defeating.

Opponents united,
at odds even though they agree
they so desire justice,
they feel animosity.

No love, no friendship,
it’s no use –
they’re beyond trying.
They simply want to fling abuse,
all blame denying.

And I’m watching in the stands,
thinking what sorrow is this
where people issue cruel commands –
thumbs down and the weaker one loses.

Why do they power trip and fall
making each other suffer
when they could just apologize,
hold onto truth, let go of lies?

They think they have nothing in common,
but in the end they’ll learn they’re wrong
for when their blood is seeping down
they’ll finally find common ground.

Each tries to claim the upper hand.
Others say it’s none of my business.
I call out stop and understand,
understand and give in to forgiveness.

Put all these differences aside...
but they’re beyond trying.
They’d rather feed their rage inside,
complicity denying.

Why do they power trip and fall,
making each other suffer,
when they could just apologize,
hold onto truth, let go of lies?

Always in conflict, clashing,
over injustices they see,
they fault each other, lashing out
because of their hypocrisy.

(BRIDGE)
What is the aim of all the fighting
that they’re choosing?
Killing the best off in themselves
both of them are losing!

Shirts drench, teeth clench,
their knives are drawn.
Sheathed only if one wins,
the other gone.

Opponents united,
at odds even though they agree
they so desire justice
they feel animosity.

No love, no friendship,
it’s no use –
they’re beyond trying.
They simply want to fling abuse,
all blame denying.

And I’m watching in the stands,
thinking what sorrow is this
society anger commands –
thumbs down and the weaker one loses.

Why do they power trip and fall
making each other suffer,
lacking the strength to apologize,
thinking it’s weakness when it’s wise?

Why do they power trip and fall
trying to show who’s tougher?
Never absolved of guilt they feel
inflicting wounds, they never heal.

They thought they had nothing in common
but at the end they both were wrong
for as they lie blood seeping down
they finally find common ground.

******************************************

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iron9567

i like this song it has alot of descriptive lines. I will say that the way you have the lines structured. It does makes it difficult to see how you would arrange music to it. I like it either way and would like to hear it in audio. So keep up the good work and keep cranking out the songs.
thanks
the iron man

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thanks
The iron man


I don't want to change the world. I just want to make the world colder then the day I came.