See the soldiers on the warpathSee the people fall like stonesSee the leaders stand in silenceSee the bodies and broken bones

Hear the daily call to prayerHear the crowds’ angry criesHear the bullets roar like thunderHear the propaganda and bloody lies

There’s got to be another way There’s got to be another way There’s got to be another way There’s got to be another way

We read about it in the papersWe see it on our screensWe watch it from a distanceWe turn away from the screams

They’re bleeding in the streetsThey’re dying all aloneThey’re calling out to GodThey’re all on their own

There’s got to be another way There’s got to be another way There’s got to be another way There’s got to be another way

Now the streets are quietNow they mourn the deadNow the world holds its breathNow the flames are fed

Soon the bodies are fallingSoon there is only painSoon another child is orphanedSoon it starts all over again

There’s got to be another way There’s got to be another way There’s got to be another way There’s got to be another way

How long does it go on?How long do the tears flow?How long do we sit in silence?How long do we watch the show?

America sits in judgmentIsrael reaps what it sowsThere’s no oil to plunderJust death in old Cairo

There’s got to be another way There’s got to be another way There’s got to be another way There’s got to be another way There’s got to be another way There’s got to be another way There’s got to be another way There’s got to be another way

I wrote this song over the last couple of weeks, after watching scenes of the violent crackdown in Egypt. I was becoming increasingly annoyed with the media coverage, which seemed very distant and impersonal, and the attitudes of the leaders around the world, who seemed intent on condemning the violence only in the lightest of terms.

The photo is a shot I took last week from my grandparents’ balcony of the sun rising over the ocean. The photo reminded me of a bloody sunrise and I thought it suited the song quite well.

Photo: Red Sunrise © CJ Levinson 2013 Text licenced under Creative Commons