Beyond the Wall

This song was written in November 2023 after a conversation I’d had with two friends about the complexity of the situation in the middle east after the October 7^th attack. I’ve added some notes to the lyrics below.

Verse 1

They built a wall around my town

To keep me safe, to keep me sound

It’s miles around and ten feet tall

I don’t know what’s beyond the wall

I remember seeing photographs of the border crossing between Israil and Gaza. After reading Naomi Kleins experience with the border guards in her book Doppelganger I had a clear image in mind about a walled off community that doesn’t fully understand about what goes on outside their determined space.

Verse 2

In a quiet spot there grows a tree

A tree for climbing so I can see

Another tree behind the wall

And from that tree I heard a call

The mention of a wall automatically creates two distinct spaces. I needed a way to look into the other domain and the image of two trees came to me. Almost touching but only at the extremes of long thing branches. Elements of nature in a manmade, heavily controlled environment represent anarchy and the possibilities of the future. There’s some ambiguity about who the ‘I’ is in this story. Is it me? Is it a child or and adult?

Verse 3

Up in the tree there was a boy

His face was smiling radiant joy

I said its ok I come in peace

And he smiled and he said Peace

And I said Peace

The Boy in the tree represents ‘the other’. The forbidden friend, the innocent enemy. Originally there was a line in this verse: ‘I Shouted are you friend or foe, He shrugged his shoulders, he didn’t know’. This was meant to emphasise the language barrier between the two protagonists, but I felt it wasn’t needed and the situation could speak for itself. The repetition of the last word emphasises that, whilst there is limited understanding, the big themes seem to transcend the language barrier. This is also a sign of agreement or cooperation between the two tree dwellers.

Verse 4

I said one day the wall will come down

And there will be rubble on the ground

I’ll come and find you my friend

The boy smiled and he said friend

This verse is intended to represent a longing for the future. A future where walls don’t divide. The reference to rubble on the ground (subtle foreshadowing) could represent the need for change and the destruction of the current system/regime or the acceptance that there will be more violence, maybe it’s necessary to move forward and bring a better world where walls, borders and checkpoints aren’t required.

Once again the repetition of ‘friend’ is meant to demonstrate an understanding and shared feeling between the tree dwellers.

Verse 5

The next day I climbed the tree

I looked over his tree was empty

There was rubble on the ground

Where once there had stood a house

And I felt shame

So things have gone wrong. We knew there would be more violence but we thought it would be for the common cause and bring the two places together but instead violence has been used to punish, dominate and obliterate. The sense of shame felt by the population that doesn’t agree with it’s countries foreign policy or the acts committed by a minority group of powerful elites that, don’t represent the wish of the masses. Also hints at the powerlessness of the common observer. The house represents the most sacred of places. Someone’s sanctuary, where families are born and where people want to feel safe. When homes are attacked and destroyed the damage goes deeper that bricks and mortar.

Verse 6

So I jumped down into the war

On the other side of the wall

I shouted out until days end

I searched the rubble and called out friend

And he said friend

And we sang peace

I had to add this verse because my wife and daughter didn’t want the song to finish on a sad note and felt they needed more closure and a dash of hope at the end. I was against it at first and wanted to finish the song with a sense of shame and despair to try and capture the true horror of the situation. In the end I’m glad I listened to my harshest and most honest critics. This verse became about the moment of action, wanting to get involved. It hints at desperation and frustration. I was left asking questions about why it would take a horrendous act before I get involved. All I could do is search the rubble and hope. Then a reunion, a rescue, the two protagonists come face to face. I pictured them embracing each other covered in dust and blood, in the war zone, outside the safety of the walled citadel. Both in the same situation. Then the shared call for peace as a final attempt to get those that need to hear it to listen.

Please don’t judge my naivety or any lack of sensitivity too harshly. I’m no expert on the situation in the middle east. This song is a representation of the information, reports and stories I’ve heard on podcasts and read in papers and books. I wanted to use it to talk about the complexity of the situation and to raise awareness of the plight of the people that have suffered. If you think this equates to bothsidesism or feel that I represent one side over the other, please believe me when I say that this was not my intention.

I feel that you have to be able to hold two thoughts in your heart and mind. Firstly a hope for a world where borders come down and people can live in peace. Secondly an acceptance of the hurt and guilt that has been caused in the past.