The fact is that I’ll spend three years of time in jail
The fact is that that’s very small
The fact is that you and I live in the midst of a society
Which does much more than send people to jail
We live in a society that’s become synonymous
Not simply with sending people to jail
And not simply with starving people all around the world
Not simply with the most devastating tools of destruction
That mankind has ever known
Not simply with the pillaging and rape of an entire landscape
We live in a society that beyond all those things
Has become synonymous with death itself
Which is why I myself, and many people like me
Are going to spend a lot more than simply three years in prison
Not because we simply violate the law
There are thousands upon thousands of law violations
The question is not simply law
There’s a much more basic principle that’s been violated
Beyond all things, the life of a man is that man
And beyond all other things, every man has an indigenous right
To live, and to exercise life
If there is one thing I’ll leave behind
It’s a very simple statement that I’ll close with
Which is that there’s no direction to go but forward
There’s no place to run, there’s no place to hide
There’s only one way that you and I will get out
There’s only one way that you and I will see the things we want to see
And that’s to build them, and that may be a painful process
That may be a process in which any number of people
Expend any amount of energy
That may be a process where you and I
Will have to endure any number of things
That don’t seem to us to be pleasant
But it must be done
It must be done
For a very simple reason
The simple reason is that life is sacred
Find more lyrics at westlyrics.com
Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate and an Apple Partner, we earn from qualifying purchases
Joan Baez – Finlandia
Joan Baez – Portland Town
Joan Baez Lyrics – Life Is Sacred