How Many
How many times must a man fall down
Before he gets picked up no more
How many times must a child get killed
Before we take the guns away
How many times must the girls be sold
Before we don't raise any more
The answer my friend, is not to be had
The answer is not to be had
How many souls must come to their end
Before motherhood stops in vain
How many graves for the little ones
Before the earth will hold no more
How many families loose their precious ones
Before all are rotting away
The answer my friend, is not to be had
The answer is not to be had
How many times must a bad man kill
Before they take his toys away
How many men will be locked away
Before greedy men go to Hell
How many days will turn into years
Before God makes the carnage stop
The answer my friend, He alone does know
God alone the answer does know
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Photos and Poem copyright, © 2016 Jimmiehov, All Rights Reserved
Today I'm linked with Rommy at the Friday Writings #44 at
Notes:
Excerpted from a write, poem, that I wrote for October 21, 2016 (here on my Blog Search for "How Many)
_ _ _ _
Jimmie's Got a Gun
.Dum, dum, dum, honey what have you done
Dum, dum, dum, it's the sound of my gun
Dum, dum, dum, honey what have you done
Dum, dum, dum, it's the sound, it's the sound...
Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah....
Janie's Got A Gun
Janie's Got A Gun
Her whole world's come undone
From lookin' straight at the sun
What did her daddy do
What did he put you through
From Aerosmith - Janie's Got A Gun Lyrics (There's more at the link. I interpret 'daddy' to be her old man in hippy terms and the 'little baby' (later in the song) meant that Janie was very young--way too young.)
[For larger pictures click on to the picture, try again for larger still]
I blogged of my guns and gun experiences here. Since most of those I have acquired a real gun that I could keep. It is a Spanish 9mm pistol of which the manufacturer has long gone out of business. It is a Star, M243 Model Firestar Plus, 9mm, manufactured by Star Bonifacio Echeverria S.A. Eibar (Guipuzcoa), Spain.
It is still new, never been shot. http://star-firearms.com/firearms/
"A double-stack 9mm version (M-243) ... was commonly referred to by the unofficial name "Firestar Plus". The Firestar was produced by the now defunct Star Bonifacio Echeverria, S.A. in Eibar, Spain until 1994. The Firestar was imported into the United States by Interarms of Alexandria, Virginia." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Firestar_M43
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8 Comments: (from 2016, you may find an old friend here)
- At Friday, October 21, 2016 12:52:00 PM,
brudberg said... the questions are so very relevant
- At Friday, October 21, 2016 1:06:00 PM, Kerry O'Connor said...
You ask the hard questions, Jim.. ones we would all like the answers to. This is a powerful piece in the style of Bob Dylan.
- At Friday, October 21, 2016 8:30:00 PM, kaykuala said...
Great Dylan's parody, Dr Jim! Certainly must have taken lots of thinking to do so!
Hank- At Friday, October 21, 2016 10:05:00 PM, Linda said...
A very powerful post, Jim. Thank you so much for sharing.
- At Saturday, October 22, 2016 12:03:00 AM, Teri L said...
Dylan would approve. :) Thought provoking and straight forward.
- At Saturday, October 22, 2016 1:43:00 PM, Helen said...
One of your finest, Mr. Jim! Dylan and I were both born in 1941 ~ I love that little fact.
- At Sunday, October 23, 2016 6:38:00 PM, Outlawyer said...
Wow--so terribly sad--thank you, Jim. k
- At Monday, October 23, 2017 11:33:00 PM, Artsy said...
So powerful. Well done, parody.- Gel
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Must start with those greedy people... but these are questions as you say with no answers...not at this time atleast.
ReplyDeleteA very fine take on the Dylan song, with questions as relevant and poignant as his. Even when we can see what the ideal answers ought to be, there is no assurance that the actual answers will match.
ReplyDeleteGood questions and I like the Dylan format. The answers won't be had on the questions on my poem either.
ReplyDeleteI am glad you gave us this poem again. The answers are "blowin' in the wind" I fear ... a wind we cannot capture. Be well, Jim.
ReplyDeleteSo many horrors in the world, and too many things unanswered
ReplyDeleteIt is truly sad ...
ReplyDeleteTime may be short, and we may not know the answers. But i like to think that the world will right itself from the list, common sense will prevail. Enjoyed your poem, Jim. Should be sung to music too. :)
ReplyDeleteWe have some of the strictest gun laws here, almost impossible to own a gun. Of course, the crime rates with a gun are almost zero here. We only get to play with guns when during our military service.
Truly sad, but perfect new lyrics to Bob's original. Love that you put in the lines from Aerosmith!
ReplyDelete