Song #15 Picking Up the Holy Pieces

 

PICKING UP THE HOLY PIECES

 

See the ant climb up the wall

I know you’re back but that ain’t all

I lost my sanity in a squall of peace and quiet once before

When you walked out the door

You went looking for war

 

With anything you could get your hands on

I hope you forgive me if you think I’m wrong

Just be careful you’re not riding far too high when you fall

You might have to cry

Your pride might die

 

See the ant climb up the wall

Escaping the shell as the building falls

But like the hurricane that rages round my brain it has to die

Crumble and fall

Crumble, wither and fall

 

                I’m picking up pieces of three years ago

                And I’ve come to say hello

                I’ve come to say hello

 

                I travelled down south to your no longer land

                Where you’ve buttered someone else’s bread

                While you raised that land from the dead

 

                The people who live there have wandered for years

    Now they’re ripping off tourists and playing their fears

    As they sputter down highways and look for the gears

 

    Ten Golden Rule mountain stands centre of all

    Moses has gone; his reputation is tall

    While some are still counting just how many rules he gave us

    To help us along the way

 

    Well I’ve picked up the pieces of three years ago

                I feel like it’s time to cry

    I’ve picked up the pieces of three years ago

    I’ve come to say goodbye

                I feel like it’s time to cry

    I’ve come to say goodbye

    I’ve come to say goodbye

(1979)

Commentary

I wrote this when I finally got back to Israel. Reading over these lyrics again has reminded me of just how big an impression Israel made on me. Someone once suggested that I may have lived there in a previous life but I think it has more to do with my Catholic upbringing and my love of desert landscapes. I felt very at home there. I was once very proud of this song - in which I'm clearly glad to be back there but worried about the direction she was heading. I now find my love of Israel at the time uncomfortable to explain. Some interesting use of metaphor here and some of it a bit clunky! I stopped playing the song long ago when I became disillusioned with Israel and don't remember how it went.