Axe, by Stephanie Ryan Johnstone with Liberty Songs

Axe

by Stephanie Ryan Johnstone with Liberty Songs

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1.	Hope Is Not A Feeling 02:42	lyrics	buy track
There is blood on my white hands that goes way back before me There is blood on my white hands for silence up in front of me Blood on my hands for the fear that chose complicity In the name of comfort bloody are my hands There is blood on my white hands Part of a wider toxicity And I need healing too, as I can see I did this all to me myself and yourself too I stole the land you shared for free in the name of freedom bloody are my hands. in the street, the court the pulpit In the prison, in the classroom, kitchen, in my home, the subdivisions In the chambers, In the hill and in the high and In the low, in the walls we burn and Bridges we throw Your liberation is my liberation Hope is not a feeling. Hope is not a feeling Hope is not a feeling Build a wall and burn a bridge build a bridge and burn a wall build a wall and burn a bridge build a bridge and burn a wall first the grave and then the womb first the grave and then the womb first the grave and then the womb Tirelessly I’ll fight for you Tirelessly I’ll fight with you
2.	One Too Many Times 05:01	lyrics	buy track
How do I awaken the mother in me? How do I hold you unconditionally If only out of the things we share For no other reason than similar blood And similar home? Is this a prayer? Will I try to listen, even if I think I am wiser? Even if you silence me or worse Throw me across the kitchen when we disagreed And break my fucking heart? Will I try to understand That we cannot completely understand? Is the trying the prayer? Is the trying the other cheek? How do I awaken the mother in me And tell you sweet in low tones That the road you took went hellish And you hit and ran my house. But tell you this in kindness after I cook you dinner And hold your hand across the table Because I need to believe you are larger Than the malice you manifested And if I see hate in you One too many times Let me not dismiss you without tears Is fear the enemy Or you
3.	Axe 03:13	lyrics	buy track
Hope is an axe that you break down walls with

about

AXE

A 3 song EP of protest songs in reaction to the results of the 2016 election

100% of the proceeds will be sent directly to Southern Poverty Law Center (www.splcenter.org)

We are at a loss for what to say.

At the same time, the fire in our bellies knows it is more vital than ever
to defiantly keep on keeping on making music
and to roar loudly against oppression of all kinds with our words AND our actions

We also know that sometimes songs can be big and strong enough
to hold our fear, our guilt, our rage, our heartbreak, our hopelessness,
even when we ourselves are not.

"Hope is not a lottery ticket you can sit on the sofa and clutch, feeling lucky.
It is an axe you break down doors with in an emergency.
Hope should shove you out the door,
because it will take everything you have to steer the future away from endless war,
from the annihilation of the earth's treasures and the grinding down of the poor and marginal."
That's from historian Rebecca Solnit.

May these songs hold you in your big feelings, as they have for us.

And then may they be a part of the kindling that keeps you fired up to fight tirelessly for what you know is right, these four years and beyond, as they will be for us, too.

You are not alone.

Outlive this. Outlast this.

Hope is not a feeling. Hope is an axe.

credits

released December 2, 2016

Written and recorded by Stephanie Ryan Johnstone, Heather Christian, and Sasha Brown on November 13-14, 2016

Guitar: Sasha Brown
Vocals: Heather Christian and Stephanie Ryan Johnstone

All songs (c) 2016 Sasha Brown, Heather Christian, and Stephanie Ryan Johnstone
Produced and Engineered by: Sasha Brown and Heather Christian
Mixed by: Matt Hubbs

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Liberty Songs Brooklyn, New York

libertysongs.com

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