Northern Irish singer-songwriter and peace activist Tommy Sands offers a new song for the current conflicts, called "Is There Anyone Else Up There."
"This is a new song about the times that are in it," says Sands. "A bit sad but a bit of hope as well, I hope." The acoustic ballad features Sands on vocals and guitar with his daughter Moya on harmony vocals. The song is available to listeners on YouTube.
Sands was raised in Co. Down to a musical family. His father played fiddle, his mother accordion, and with his siblings he formed the influential folk group The Sands Family. His family kitchen, he says, was a place where Protestant and Catholic farmers alike would gather to sing at the end of a day's harvesting.
Much of Sands's repertoire is traditional, but he also frequently addresses concerns for peace. His classic "There Were Roses" has been called one of the best songs written about the Irish troubles. He collaborated with Bosnian cellist Vedran Smajlović on the album “Sarajevo/Belfast,” which featured Pete Seeger and Joan Baez. And he has previously joined in Israeli-Palestinian peace events.
"I have played concerts in Gaza and the West Bank as well as many parts of Israel," says Sands. "I have played for many people who have now been killed or injured. The answer is not easy. Never stop trying to find it."
Website: www.tommysands.com
LYRICS:
Is There Anyone Else Up There
Tommy Sands (©Elm Grove Music PRS)
What would be if it were true
Could we be the chosen few
God has told us what to do
Go and take the land.
Can we be the just and wise
Or just like wild colonial boys
Or could there be another voice
To help me understand
Is there anyone else up there
Is there anyone else up there
Is there anyone else up there to say
There might be another way
Is there anyone else up there
A Crusade or a holy war
What god are we fighting for
if it is right that might is right
Who is the god to gain?
The god of fear, the god of greed,
The god of blood that children bleed
Who profits from the rockets
That scream like burning rain
Is there anyone else up there
Is there anyone else up there
Is there anyone else up there to say
There might be another way
Is there anyone else up there to say
Don't kill children in your way
Is there anyone else up there
So If you hear your heaven say
Slaughter that what’s in your way
Time to change to whom you Pray
Get a second point of view
For Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Jew
Who wrote in your holy books
Don't do to another
What you don't want done to you
Is there anyone else up there
Is there anyone else up there
Is there anyone else up there to say
There might be another way
Is there anyone else up there to say
Don’t kill children in your way
Is there anyone else up there above
To speak of justice, truth and love
Is there anyone else up there
. . . . .
