TOGETHER – PEACE by PIECE

I'm a little boy brought up in India,
I'm a young girl from Peru,
And every day I live my own way,
But I know I must think of you,
Though we live many thousands of miles apart,
So many different things do we do,
When I look at the sky, if I look very high,
I see the same stars as you,

We can make it happen,
Wounds from the past we can heal,
We can lay down the guns,
For we are the ones,
For whom One World can be real

I work on the board of my firm in France,
I toil in the fields of Gabon,
If we could just share, all that is there,
The famines we know could be gone,
Though our lives to each other may seem so strange,
Our chances of meeting are few,
When I get home at night, out goes the light
I'm just the same as you

Lets make it happen
We now have the knowledge to win
If we make our ties stronger
Eradicate hunger
For us, One World can begin

One World from the farms round Aukland
One World from museums in Rome
One World from the rainforests near Vientianne
One World its your only home,

One World from the deserts of Mali,
One World from the beaches of Brazil,
One World from the snowy wastes of Canada,
One World if it can be it will,

I'll soon dance with the northern lights as a Cree
In Australia my dreamtime is near
I've seen and felt war, there must be no more
My children should not know this fear
All my lands were taken away from me
I lost out in the power game
In life as in age, turn back the page
And find we are much the same

Can we make it happen
Have we still got the time
To improve relations for new generations
And One World can then be mine
To leave you
One World can then be mine

Together we can make it happen,
From Alaska to ancient Greece,
If we do all we can
Each woman, each man
Finally we'll live in peace
Together
One World Peace by Piece

© Copyright - Richard Rowland 2002

The story behind it

One day Richard was having a bath. It was the beginning of a new month. Suddenly he thought up the words to the song and rushed out of his bath to write them down. Then he went and sang to Ev who was fortunately still asleep. However she decided that it should have proper music so she took Richard to see the Director of Skola Muzycna im Karlowicza in Poznan. He said wow (Richard still hadn’t dressed after his bath) and he introduced them to Pawel Lucewicz, a very talented 17-year-old pupil at the school who the Director said could help them.

On meeting them Pawel asked Richard to sing (we said he was talented not clever) and then immediately made Richard’s tune (or noise as it is technically called) into real music. Then it was agreed that the school would record it and Radio Merkury, a patron of the project, offered their studio for free. So that the kids could learn the song Pawel made Richard record a demo version and this was handed out to everyone. Surprisingly no one gave it back; these are now collectors’ items (well Richard is still trying to collect them)

On the day of the recording, or three days to be more precise, we recorded an instrumental version that you can hear and also one with singers from and connected with the school. Then right near the end they let Richard record a version. Finally, at the very, very end, Richard and Pawel did a jazzed up version, which we promise was recorded in one-take with no rehearsal. Richard sang, a descriptive term, in one room, Pawel played in another and, amazingly, they finished together. You may ask why and if you do, you could have a very nasty shock. Be warned. Be afraid, be very afraid.

THE PLAYERS

TOGETHER – PEACE by PIECE

Words: Richard Rowland
Music: Richard Rowland and Pawel Lucewicz
Vocals: Jakub Matuszczyk, Barbara Przybylska, Bartek Hacia, Klaudia Kaczkonska, Alexander
Radzenski and Bozena Kaczkonska
Chorus: Jan and Alexander, Maria Antkowiak, Izabela Dulinska, Olga Krzyzaniak, Natalia Solarek, and Elzbieta Spycchala and, if you listen very carefully, Richard Rowland
Strings: Marta Panlowska, Anastazja Lysenko, Elwira Nocnika, Maria Lajkonika, Katarzyna Halicka, Barbara Staninska, Marta Lagoda and Monika Samolczyk
Guitar: Michal Francuzik
Flute: Marta Jagla
Harp: Roza Sekonska
Drums: Szymon “Nzrushony” Linette
African Drum: Pawel Lucewicz
Piano: Pawel Lucewicz

Music Arranged and Conducted by Pawel Lucewicz
Sound Engineer: Joachim Krukowski
Recorded at Gielda Studios, Poznan, Poland on February 17, 18 and 20 2003

© Richard Rowland 2002

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