A peace anthem based on Papal Encyclical "Peace on Earth"

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WAR NO MORE

© By Sherwood Ross

(Chorus based on Papal Encyclical "Peace on Earth". This is a peace anthem, to be played slowly and solemnly.)

1.
G Em
What was it for?
C D7 G
What was the sacred cause?
Em A D7
The enemies we fought are now our friends.
G B7 Em
What was it for?
C D G
Why weren't we friends before?
Em A D7
What is more sacred than a son? My son!
(Chorus)
G D7 C G
War, no more, war never again.
Em A7 D
War, no more, war never again.
G D G C B7
War, no more, war never again.
C G D7 G
No more war, war never again.

2.
G Em
How could I let him go?
C D7 G
What was the lie I believed?
Em A D7
The people we killed were just like us.
G Em
Now the evening breeze

Drives candles on the water
A
For those we loved and lost
A, D7
For lover, son, and daughter...

(Repeat Chorus, add final chords)

C D G

(Composer's note: This song was written after reflection on how a few generations after the American Civil War ended Northerners and Southerners got along splendidly again as if the war had never been fought. Much the same is true of the combatants who participated in the two great World Wars and, later, Viet Nam.)

(Sherwood Ross is a Charlottesville, Va.-based playwright and columnist who has recorded for the Fast Folk Musical magazine. This peace anthem has not been recorded. His new political and social satire CD is "Certifiably Nuts," from Crackpot Records. Reach him at sherwoodr1@yahoo.com)

Authors Bio:
Sherwood Ross worked as a reporter for the Chicago Daily News and contributed a regular "Workplace" column for Reuters. He has contributed to national magazines and hosted a talk show on WOL, Washington, D.C. In the Sixties he was active as public relations director for a major civil rights organization.