Dedicated to Cindy Sheehan -- something that still touches me.

[BigBearJohn]

So I told him
That he'd better
Shut his mouth
And do his job like a man
And he answered,
"Listen, father,
I will never
Kill another"
He thinks he's better
Than his brother that died
What the hell does
He think he's doing
To his father
Who brought him up right?

Take your place on
The Great Mandella
As it moves through your brief moment of time
Win or lose now
You must choose now
And if you lose you're only losing your life

Tell the jailor
Not to bother
With his meal
Of bread and water today
He is fasting
Till the killing's over
He's a martyr
He thinks he's a prophet
But he's a coward
He's just playing a game
He can't do it
He can't change it
It's been going on for ten thousand years

Take your place on
The Great Mandella
As it moves through your brief moment of time
Win or lose now
You must choose now
And if you lose you're only losing your life

Tell the people
They are safe now
Hunger stopped him
He lies still in his cell
Death has gagged his accusations
We are free now
We can kill now
We can hate now
Now we can end the world
We're not guilty
He was crazy
And it's been going on for ten thousand years!

Take your place on
The Great Mandella
As it moves through your brief moment of time
Win or lose now
You must choose now
And if you lose you've only wasted your life

by Peter, Paul & Mary