Poems & Song Lyrics

The Songs, Poems and Writings of Maurice Allen Lee

On forgetting the past
05.06.2021

"Forgetting all the past is like driving down the road without ever
looking in the rear-view mirror. But its also very dangerous to always
be looking in the rear-view mirror without regard for the road ahead" 

Walls in your head

A wall first begins as a thought
Deep in the minds of the human

It is formed into words by the sound of the lips
And then by the hand it is written

Its nails are the fears of the other
Unfounded in hysterias cement

Falsehood is the firm foundation
Upon which it must be built

And the higher the wall
the deeper the hole must be

Ignorance must be in abundance
Mixed with inability to think

It must be painted with false promises
And fenced in with belief

Hoisted up by useful idiots
forbidden must they to speak

Of the deception being erected
Before their very eyes to see

And when it is finally finished
With the pieces of families torn apart

We'll call a Parade on each side of the street
And chant loudly " tear down this wall " 

What Color Is the Soul ?
For Georg Floyd
02.06.2021

What color is the soul ?
Is it red black yellow or blue ?
Is it striped or paisley or beige or green
Made out of gold silver and glue ?

How will we know who is who
Up there in that great unknown
How will I recognize you up there
Where the soul has no hue ?

What color is the soul ?
I really would like to know
Its a stupid question I guess
Since noone really knows

White is the color of this page
that Im writing upon
And black are the letters being scribbled out
To get the message to you

Ive got my work cut out for me
A journey few have tried
To find out the color of the soul
And to ask the question "why" ? 

How Long Has It Been ?
23.05.2021

How Long has it been since Woodstock ?
How long has it been since Kent State* ?
How Long has it been since Selma* ?
How much longer will it take ?
When was the Emmancipation Proclamation ?
Why did John Brown give his life to set me free ?
Never forget the lessons of Little Big Horn
Sitting Bull was fighting for you and me 
They despised the General Othello
How could the Queen love this black "beast" ?
It was known that rage was his weakness
His own destruction and this innocent thing
"Turn around, turn around and repent" they say
"Start going the other way"
But now that we're back where we started again
We've been going in circles my friend 
How long has it been since Roosevelt said:
"This is the war to end all war's"
But more than you can count on two hands 
Is the number there has been since then
Sometimes I forget to kiss my wife
And even to hug my kids 
But I never thought there would come a day
I would ask "How long has it been" ?

Footnote:

Duisburg on My Mind
11.04.2021

German Lyrics by Maurice Allen Lee 
Original Lyrics: Carmichael
Original Titel: Georgia on My Mind 

Refr  1.    Duisburg Duisburg
             Oh wie dein Licht scheint
             Wie ein Stern am Himmel
             Funkelnd über dem Rhein  

Refr  2.    Duisburg Duisburg
             Ich höre deinen Herzschlag
             Wie ein schöner Song 
             den man immer singen mag

Refr  3.   Duisburg Duisburg
             Bei Tag und bei Nacht
             Da ist immer wat los in der
             Riesenhafenstadt 

Br     Ein bisschen schmuddelig ein bisschen verdreckt 
         Schimanski sagte es ganz direkt
         Doch die Menschen sind freundlich und haben Respekt 
         Drum find' ich  es so  wunderschön hier
         Wunderschön hier

Refr 3.
4 T Piano
4 T  Scattin 

Br    An der Mündung der Ruhr in den Rhein liegt
        Duisburg das Tor zum Ruhrgebiet 
        Auf der Fußgänger-Achterbahn Tiger & Turtle
        Oh wat en schöner Ausblick
        Oh wat ne schöne Aussicht
  
Refr 1
Refr 2 b
Refr 3 b
Duisburg 

A Symphony of Brotherhood

By M. A. Lee and S. Beuting, (Melody/“America the Beautiful“)
Duisburg, 22.01.2021

A Symphony  of Brotherhood
Unending Melody 
Hearts and minds in harmony
Still freedom our Refrain 

A Symphony of Brotherhood
A new song we will sing
With ears that hear and eyes that see
Let our voices Ring 

Our  hearts  and minds in harmony 
Let our voices ring  
A new song we will sing 

I Bless the Year

By Maurice Ąllen Lee 
(For Daughter Glorias' Birthday)

I bless the year you came to Earth
To make our hearts softer
To fill up our lives with mirth 
And say „Hey, Love one another" 

There can only be one you
There can never be another 
And I would say the very same 
Of your sisters and your brother

I always will recall with joy 
Your mischievous childish laughter 
Fall on your nose then come up smiling
Somewhat like your father 

Dear, I never wanted to depart
And leave you feeling like a loner
But Im proud that you got through it all
The battle has made you stronger

So may the songs of praise we used to sing
In times of stormy weather
lift you up and in your heart ring
Both now and everafter

Victims of Ourselves

By Maurice Allen Lee / 01.01.2021

The warm cloak of silence must be discarded 
Let the cold winds of truth pierce our hearts
All that we see cannot be disregarded
We are Victims of Ourselves

ANC CIA KGB MOSSAD 
FBI  REVOLUTIONARY GUARD masquarade as a fairy tale 
Still to me it seems to be 
We are Victims of Ourselves

Nobody forced me to eat that stuff 
That made me so obese 
There were other simple things
Like rice und greens und beans 

Its called „ The Majesty of Choice"
Of Liberty and Speech
Standing empty in“ The Land of Plenty „
As Victims of Ourselves 

The Hutus blame the Tutsi
The whites blame the blacks
The Jews blame the Germans
The East blames the west

Nairobi blames Tiagra 
The North blames the South 
Karl Marx vs. Adam Smith
But we are Victims of Ourselves

Some should be praying down on their knees 
Instead of demonstrating out in the street 
But being less intetested in souls than in sales 
We are Victims of Ourselves

Confusing abundance with excess 
Success becomes oppression 
But theres no going back to the former 
We are Victims of Ourselves 

Keinen Frieden

Ich finde keinen Frieden hier in meinem Herzen
Auch wenn der König des Friedens hineinkehrte als ich Kind war
Was ich denke Ja auch was ich fühle sind oftmals zweierlei
 Einerseits „ brennt alles nieder“ Anderen sagen „ a change will come"
Und so geht es mir immer weiter mal auf und dann mal ab
Auch in Bezug auf rationales Denken doch Ich finde hier keinen Frieden 
Und behaupte ich zu wissen nicht nur Dinge zu glauben 
Denn Wunder habe ich gesehen Und zwar mit eigenen Augen
Zwischen Überfluss und Überdauern Mauern im Kopf und in Magen
Auf  Besuch im Garten versucht verflucht Warum gibt es hier keinen Frieden 
Die Welt hat sich nicht geändert Trotz Epidemie und Plage 
Stattdessen drehen sie sich umher immer mehr und immer gewagter 
 die Größen Firmen verfugen über mehr Rechte als wir die kleinen Menschen 
Darum  können sie mit ein Lächeln im Gesicht  „Nächstes Jahr wird besser “,  sagen  
Nachts , nach verzweifeltes Beten und Tränen Lege ich mich endlich mal hin
 Doch Schlafen kann Mann dass wirklich nicht nennen Mein Kampf geht weiter 
Ich hab immer noch eine leise Hoffnung Gottes Himmelreich zur erlangen
 Doch solange der Feind  unbenannt bleibt, Weiß ich ,finde ich  Keinen Frieden 

Christians 

2020

Dropping Bombs on other people
Plundering foriegn Lands
Standing Idyley by and watching
Children die in their mothers hands 

Go to church on Sunday 
Sleep until offering time 
Give a dime and sing in chime 
We are Christians 

Armed with automatic weapons
We say we trust in god
To love our fellow man as brother
Mere words or just a fassad ?

Five-hundred years hard labour
Was the sentence for being black
No records were kept no amount of the debt 
Owe no man anything it says to the Christians

Yes we cheat on our taxes 
And hide it wherever we can
How else can we pay for our mansions
And afford our decadence ?

Oh we claim to know holy scriptures 
But that's more fiction than fact 
Still we feel we deserve  and poccess the nerve
Pat ourselves on the back Sunday Christians 

Thomas Jefferson spawned eight children 
With a black slave woman 
Is this not then considered perversion
For they counted her less than human ?

And where are the names of the people of color
Who came with Colombus aboard the Mayflower ?
Constitutional Rights excluded
Promises remain unfullfilled 

We had no representation 
For the Independence Declaration 
From Dred Scott to Emmet Till 
No forty acres and still no mule 

Oh oh what did he say 
Was it something about being „ gay" ?
Now you can forgive almost anything 
Even murder of Abel by Cain 

And though it is written God loved the whole world 
In John Chapter three verse sixteen 
However we never forgive this one thing 
And one day a week we are Christians