I looked out across the river today
Saw a city in the fog and an old church tower where the seagulls play
Saw the sad shire horses walking home in the sodium light
Two priests on the ferry
October geese on a cold winter’s night
All this time the river flowed endlessly to the sea

Two priests came ’round our house tonight
One young, one old, to offer prayers for the dying to serve the final rite
One to learn, one to teach which way the cold wind blows
And fussing and flapping in priestly black like a murder of crows

All this time the river flowed endlessly to the sea
If I had my way, take a boat from the river and I’d bury the old man
I’d bury him at sea

Blessed are the poor, for they shall inherit the earth
Better to be poor than be a fat man in the eye of the needle
As these words were spoken, I swear, I hear the old man laughing
What good is a used-up world and how could it be worth having?

All this time the river flowed endlessly like a silent tear
All this time the river flowed
Father, if Jesus exists then how come he never lives here?

Teachers told us, the Romans built this place
They built a wall and a temple and an edge-of-the-empire garrison town
They lived and they died, they prayed to their gods
But the stone gods did not make a sound
And their empire crumbled ’till all that was left 
Were the stones the workmen found

All this time the river flowed in the falling light of a Northern sun
If I had my way I’d take a boat from the river
Men go crazy in congregations
But they only get better
One by one

In 1963, Emperor of Ethiopia, Halie Selassie, gave a speech on racism and oppression to the United Nations General Assembly. Bob Marley would later find inspiration in the speech, and transform portions of the speech into a Reggae song. In doing so, Bob Marley amplified the message and reached a larger audience. The song remains a call for justice as a path to peace.

Until the philosophy which hold one race superior
And another inferior
Is finally and permanently
Discredited and abandoned
Everywhere is war

That until there no longer first class and second class citizens of any nation
Until the colour of a man’s skin is of no more significance than the colour of his eyes
Me say war

That until the basic human rights are equally guaranteed to all
Without regard to race
Dis a war

That until that day, dream of lasting peace, world citizenship
Rule of international morality
Will remain in but a fleeting illusion to be pursued, but never attained
Now everywhere is war
War

And until the ignoble and unhappy regimes that hold our brothers in Angola
In Mozambique, South Africa
Sub-human bondage have been toppled, utterly destroyed
Well, everywhere is war
Me say war

War in the east
War in the west
War up north
War down south
War, war

Rumours of war

And until that day the African continent will not know peace
We Africans will fight, we find it necessary
And we know we shall win, as we are confident
In the victory
Of good over evil

Written by Paul Simon and Joseph Shabalala, performed by Paul Simon and the Zulu band, Ladysmith Black Mambazo.

(a-wa) O kod wa u zo-nge li-sa namhlange
(a-wa a-wa) Si-bona kwenze ka kanjani
(a-wa a-wa) Amanto mbazane ayeza

She’s a rich girl
She don’t try to hide it
Diamonds on the soles of her shoes

He’s a poor boy
Empty as a pocket
Empty as a pocket with nothing to lose
Sing, Ta na na
Ta na na na
She got diamonds on the soles of her shoes

People say she’s crazy
She’s got diamonds on the soles of her shoes
Well, that’s one way to lose these
Walking blues
Diamonds on the soles of her shoes

She was physically forgotten
Then she slipped into my pocket
With my car keys
She said, “You’ve taken me for granted
Because I please you
Wearing these diamonds”

And I could say, Oo oo oo
As if everybody knows
What I’m talking about
As if everybody here would know
What I was talking about
Talking about diamonds on the soles of her shoes

She makes the sign of a teaspoon
He makes the sign of a wave
The poor boy changes clothes
And puts on aftershave
To compensate for his ordinary shoes

And she said, “Honey take me dancing”
But they ended up by sleeping
In a doorway
By the bodegas and the lights on
Upper Broadway
Wearing diamonds on the soles of their shoes

And I could say Oo oo oo
And everybody here would know
What I was talking about
I mean, everybody here would know exactly
What I was talking about
Talking about diamonds

People say I’m crazy
I got diamonds on the soles of my shoes
Well, that’s one way to lose
These walking blues
Diamonds on the soles of your shoes

Someway, baby, it’s part of me, apart from me
You’re laying waste to Halloween
You effed it friend, it’s on its head, it struck the street
You’re in Milwaukee, off your feet

And at once, I knew I was not magnificent
Strayed above the highway aisle
Jagged vacance, thick with ice
But I could see for miles, miles, miles

3rd and Lake, it burnt away, the hallway
Was where we learned to celebrate
Automatic bought the years you’d talk for me
That night you played me Lip Parade
Not the needle, nor the thread, the lost decree
Saying nothing, that’s enough for me

And at once, I knew I was not magnificent
Hulled far from the highway aisle
Jagged vacance, thick with ice
But I could see for miles

Christmas night, it clutched the light, the hallow bright
Above my brother, I and tangled spines
We smoked the screen to make it what it was to be
Now to know it in my memory

And at once, I knew I was not magnificent
High above the highway aisle
Jagged vacance, thick with ice
But I could see for miles

A Real Hero

Real human being
And a real hero

Back against the wall and odds
With the strength of a will and a cause
Your pursuits are called outstanding
You’re emotionally complex

Against the grain of dystopic claims
Not the thoughts your actions entertain
And you have proved to be
A real human being and a real hero

A pilot on a cold, cold morn’
One-hundred fifty-five people on board
All safe and all rescued
From the slowly sinking ship

Water warmer than, his head so cool
In that tight bind you knew what to do
And you have proved to be
A real human being and a real hero

In 1994, Australian musician Nick Cave was jamming with band mates to create new music for an upcoming album. He did not particularly like the repetitive and atmospheric groove they had come up with for one song, but when he began to pen lyrics for the music he focused on a story of a mysterious figure in black.

The song, Red Right Hand, has inspired many covers by other artists including the Arctic Monkey’s, PJ Harvey, and Snoop Dog. The song also found it’s way into the soundtracks of numerous TV shows and films including the X-Files, the horror-comedy series, Scream, and most notably as the theme song to the Netflix outlaw crime-drama, Peaky Blinders.

The repeating image of the Red Right Hand lends itself to interpretation. Nick Cave has never revealed who the mysterious figure is. The audience must interpret who he could be, based on context, and in the Peaky Blinders series the refrain ‘Red Right Hand’ occurs juxtaposed with killers, communists, and the IRA.

The phrase ‘red right hand’ is also associated with a line from John Milton’s lengthy poem, Paradise Lost, to signify the vengeful hand of God.

To this day, Nick Cave’s co-writer, Mick Harvey, has said that Nick never told him who the mysterious figure was intended to be (and perhaps the figure was always intended to be ambiguous, to allow the audience to participate in a the transactional experience of meaning).

Red Right Hand

Take a little walk to the edge of town
And go across the tracks
Where the viaduct looms
Like a bird of doom
As it shifts and cracks
Where secrets lie in the border fires
In the humming wires
Hey man, you know
You’re never coming back

Past the square, past the bridge
Past the mills, past the stacks
On a gathering storm 
Comes a tall handsome man
In a dusty black coat with
A red right hand

He’ll wrap you in his arms
Tell you that you’ve been a good boy
He’ll rekindle all the dreams
It took you a lifetime to destroy
He’ll reach deep into the hole
Heal your shrinking soul
But there won’t be a single thing that you can do

He’s a god, he’s a man
He’s a ghost, he’s a guru
They’re whispering his name
Through this disappearing land
But hidden in his coat
Is a red right hand

You don’t have no money?
He’ll get you some
You don’t have no car?
He’ll get you one
You don’t have no self-respect
You feel like an insect
Well don’t you worry buddy
‘Cause here he comes
Through the ghettos and the barrio
And the Bowery and the slum
A shadow is cast wherever he stands
Stacks of green paper in his
Red right hand

You’ll see him in your nightmares
You’ll see him in your dreams
He’ll appear out of nowhere but
He ain’t what he seems
You’ll see him in your head
On the TV screen
Hey buddy, I’m warning
You to turn it off
He’s a ghost, he’s a god
He’s a man, he’s a guru
You’re one microscopic cog
In his catastrophic plan
Designed and directed by
His red right hand

White lips, pale face
Breathing in the snowflakes
Burnt lungs, sour taste
Light’s gone, days end
Struggling to pay rent
Long nights, strange men

And they say
She’s in the Class A Team
Stuck in her daydream
Been this way since 18
But lately, her face seems
Slowly sinking, wasting
Crumbling like pastries
And they scream
The worst things in life come free to us’

Cause we’re just under the upper hand
And go mad for a couple grams
And she don’t wanna go outside tonight
And in a pipe she flies to the motherland
Or sells love to another man
It’s too cold outside
For angels to fly

Ripped gloves, raincoat
Tried to swim, stay afloat
Dry house, wet clothes
Loose change, bank notes
Weary-eyed, dry throat
Call girl, no phone

And they say
She’s in the Class A Team
Stuck in her daydream
Been this way since 18
But lately, her face seems
Slowly sinking, wasting
Crumbling like pastries
And they scream
The worst things in life come free to us

‘Cause we’re just under the upper hand
And go mad for a couple grams
But she don’t wanna go outside tonight
And in a pipe she flies to the motherland
Sells love to another man
It’s too cold outside
For angels to fly

An angel will die
Covered in white
Closed eyes and hopin’ for a better life
This time, we’ll fade out tonight
Straight down the line

And they say
She’s in the Class A Team
Stuck in her daydream
Been this way since 18
But lately, her face seems
Slowly sinking, wasting
Crumbling like pastries
They scream
The worst things in life come free to us

And we’re all under the upper hand
And go mad for a couple grams
And we don’t wanna go outside tonight
And in the pipe, fly to the motherland
Or sell love to another man
It’s too cold outside
For angels to fly
Angels to fly
Fly, fly
For angels to fly, to fly, to fly
Angels to die

I took my love, I took it down
I climbed a mountain and I turned around
And I saw my reflection in the snow-covered hills
‘Till the landslide brought me down

Oh, mirror in the sky, what is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?

Well, I’ve been afraid of changing
‘Cause I’ve built my life around yours
But time makes you bolder
Even children get older
And I’m getting older too

Oh, take my love, take it down
Oh, climb a mountain and turn around
And if you see my reflection in the snow-covered hills
Well the landslide will bring it down

The song below implies a sad story of a desperate runaway surviving on the streets. The visual images create new meaning and extend our thinking with irony: the song may appear to be an ode to beauty, while it laments the tragic impact of objectification.

Nicky’s in the corner
With a black coat on
Running from a bad home
With some cat inside

Now where did you find her?
Among the neon lights
That haunt the streets outside
She says, “Stay with me”

Beautiful girl (stay with me)
She wants to go home

From doorway to doorway
Street corner to corner
With the neon ghosts in the city
And she says, “Stay with me”

She’s so scared
So very frightened
Anything could happen
Right here tonight

Beautiful girl (stay with me)
She wants to go home