We’ve got some readers from the USA. We’ve got a lot of readers from Northern Ireland.
This song will ring true for both for varying reasons. I have a lot to say about this but the wonderful Peter Mulvey has put it more eloquently in video and writing than I ever could.
Watch the video, read the description, get involved and share this message.
Here’s what’s happening: I wrote this song, “Take Down Your Flag” on Friday night and played it opening for Ani DiFranco in Northampton. I posted it to YouTube late that night. The next day my friend Pamela Means played it in Providence while I played it in Lowell. The next day Ani played it.
When someone suggested I write eight more verses for the other victims (my version mentioned only Susie Jackson) I asked my friends to write those verses. And other people did so on their own, and I am grateful and overwhelmed. I started fanning the flames and trying to manage a social media campaign and got a little wound up. Now I’m finishing a 14-hour drive to West Virginia, where I’ll be in a cave for a while, out of range of this.
Please sing this song. Please write your own second verse. I’ll collect some versions here as I’m able.
Please search for and share all the videos in this series. One helpful thing is to go to the original post of a video, and share other videos as comments on the comment thread. It will give people an immediate sense of what’s going on.
Peter Mulvey