Listen, Soak Up and Enjoy...Behind the Music is a Living Whole Online podcast series that spotlights the stories of musician composers. The more we deepen our understanding and appreciation of the creative process from which music, art, writing, photography, filmmaking, energy practices and family connections emerge, the more we can embrace those creative energies within our own lives, and enhance our health, healing and relationships with ourselves and others.
Listen to this insightful conversation between Kathryn Hayward, MD and award-winning composer and musician, Neal Barnard, MD. God Save the King is a song about betrayal, xenophobia and prejudice, about neighbors fighting against neighbors. It takes on the subject of Kristallnacht (The Night of Broken Glass). During the night of November 9, 1938, Nazi German leaders unleashed a nationwide state-sponsored anti-Jewish riot of vandalism, arson and terror.
The lyrics say “I tried to believe that people are good, and I don’t really believe that anymore.” It’s a song that says that betrayal causes scars, and scars don’t go away, but one can say, “I’m not going to let this set boundaries in my life, and I am going to go forward.”
-Neal Barnard, MD
God Save the King
(Barnard)
Another morning
In pieces in the rain
And everything you ever wanted
Somehow slipped away
They watched from a distance
And when the storm clouds came
They smiled kindly
And asked about your name
I tried
Yes, I tried and I tried to believe
In a world where dreams come true
And love lasts forever and ever
And God save the King
Another morning
Something in the air
For everyone who said nothing
And little ones who hid under the stairs
I tried
Yes, I tried and I tried to believe
In a world where dreams come true
The good guys win
With Christmas trees and I love you
And God save the King
I tried
Yes, I tried and I tried, I tried to believe
In a world where dreams come true
And love lasts forever and ever
And God save the King
Well, all right, I’ll try. I’ll try to believe
Somewhere in this world
Someone will make a dream come true forever
And God save the King