Romanovsky & Phillips - Even years later they still make sense...

[WillParkinson]

HYMN:
If there's something to be learned
From examining the past
It's that institutions change
Or else they do not last
Now you are such a dinosaur
In the ancient ways you think
And if you do not soon adapt
You too will be extinct

I believe that Christ's intention
Many centuries ago
Was to serve and to enlighten
And to guide our spiritual growth
But the latest word from Rome
Is not a loving one at all
If Jesus walked on earth today
I think he'd be appalled

Now the priesthood's quickly shrinking
But you won't let women in
And instead of teaching safer sex
You condemn it as a sin
You deny all women the right
To decide their bodies' fate
Suggesting that their purpose here
Is just to procreate

You say that gays and lesbians
Are fallen from God's grace
And tacitly you sanction
All the violence that we face
You distort the Bible's words
To support your platitudes
But bigotry is not
A very Christian attitude

Now as for reformation
I have very little hope
But if you think it can be done
Go and tell it to the Pope
'Cause the clergy and parishioners
Who are still inside the closet
Support this persecution
Even if they do not cause it


THE WOMAN NEXT DOOR:
Have you met the woman next door?
I see her sometimes at the grocery store
She never says much, she's rather withdrawn
But she always will tell you
Yes she always will say that nothing is wrong

Have you talked to the woman next door?
She has a young boy who just turned four
And a husband who works in an office downtown
She acts kind of nervous
Yes she seems afraid when he's around

Have you seen the woman next door?
She looks as if she's been through a war
A bruise on her arm and a scar on her face
I asked her a question
Yes I asked how it happened but she wouldn't say

Last night I heard the woman next door
Desperate cries that I couldn't ignore
She was pleading with him to leave her alone
I was trembling with fear as I picked up the phone
And I hoped and I prayed that she would survive
As I waited on edge for help to arrive
And I thought of her son and I wished that her screams
Wouldn't find their way into his innocent dreams

Have you met the woman next door?
She needs compassion and support
She's finally safe now, along with her son
But the process of healing
Yes the long night of healing has just begun



LOVE IS ALL IT TAKES (To make a family)
Good night my daughter
Sleep tight, my son
The world is full of injustices
Of which you know none
I wish that I could shelter you
So you'd never have to see
The ways in which some folks have made
An outlaw out of me

Good night, my precious
Sweet dreams, my little one
While the lawyers and the courts decide
What is to be done
I wish that you could tell them all,
When they dare to question me,
That we're every bit the model
Of a perfect family

It's not the pot that grows the flower
It's not the clock that slows the hour
The definition's plain for anyone to see
Love is all it takes to make a family

Good night, my child
So innocent, so young
When they start teaching you to hate me
I pray you won't succumb
To prejudice and bigotry
To ignorance and shame
Because I'm proud of who I am
And hope you'll feel the same