https://guitarnoise.forum/sunday-songwriters-group/y7-wk7-the-freedom-bell/ Guitar Noise Discussion Board en-US Fri, 05 Jun 2026 09:06:18 +0000 wpForo 60 https://guitarnoise.forum/sunday-songwriters-group/y7-wk7-the-freedom-bell/#post-316785 Sun, 21 Dec 2008 16:59:06 +0000
contagiousjerm]]> Sunday Songwriters Group contagiousjerm https://guitarnoise.forum/sunday-songwriters-group/y7-wk7-the-freedom-bell/#post-316785 https://guitarnoise.forum/sunday-songwriters-group/y7-wk7-the-freedom-bell/#post-316777 Sun, 21 Dec 2008 08:50:23 +0000
Good writing...it finds a nice niche between general and specific....General enough to sing to any tyrant...specific enough with details of conflict at the "front line" of the movements.

Thanks for sharing :D

James]]> Sunday Songwriters Group jamestoffee https://guitarnoise.forum/sunday-songwriters-group/y7-wk7-the-freedom-bell/#post-316777 https://guitarnoise.forum/sunday-songwriters-group/y7-wk7-the-freedom-bell/#post-316768 Sun, 21 Dec 2008 05:50:37 +0000
"You can interrupt our meetings, drag us from the halls,
Make martyrs of our spokesmen, hang them from the walls,"

So the new song was written around those lines.....the second line of that couplet was a bit more graphic and originally involved - well, they were hung BY rather than from.
It would also be quite a challenge to write a song that followed up what happens when the power does change. Once the euphoria of ringing that Freedom Bell is over, did anything really change much? Did some of the dreams get met, or did the names change but the conditions remain the same? Where did the changes take hold and work? Etc... Well - you could think about South Africa, circa 1992. Or you could think about the places where democracy hasn't taken hold of the public imagination yet...? Or you could think about the old Who song, as quoted by Alan last week - "Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.....?"

Hopefully, the world IS changing - it's changed a lot in my lifetime, and though we may sometimes be beholden to a benign government for change, sometimes that change may be at the expense of our personal freedoms...

Now, I'm thinking, "Vic, you should've kept it shut and not written about a serious subject - you're okay when the subject's rock'n'roll, but when it comes to politics, you know sod all - so keep it shut. Then I thought, well maybeso - but I'm allowed to have an opinion, aren't I? So I'll express said opinion - especially if it's something I feel strongly about.

And all I wanted was a quiet life......all I really wanted from life was the freedom to have a cigarette in my local pub whilst enjoying a beer. But no, I have to go outside and have one in the rain.....there was a time I was utterly determined to give up smoking, now my feeling on the subject is "I will NOT be dictated to by the Health Police" - if anything, I'm more determined than ever NOT to be dictated to by the health fascists.

Like Lennon once said, "I'm so tired, I'l have another cigarette, and curse Sir Walter Raleigh, he was such a stupid GET!

Damn, I need to go and cool down and smoke a potato or two..... OK, rant over. Apologies.

:D :D :D

Vic]]> Sunday Songwriters Group Vic Lewis VL https://guitarnoise.forum/sunday-songwriters-group/y7-wk7-the-freedom-bell/#post-316768 https://guitarnoise.forum/sunday-songwriters-group/y7-wk7-the-freedom-bell/#post-316767 Sun, 21 Dec 2008 05:15:51 +0000
The connection to the man from Porlock seemed pretty tenuous, but it was a stirring song nevertheless. I could hear a single voice singing the opening chorus, being joined by another for the first verse, the maybe a couple more, and so on - until by the end it had swelled to a huge chorus of mixed voices. Then having it drop back to the original single voice for the last chorus, to add a bit of contrast and also underline that the task wasn't done yet.

It would also be quite a challenge to write a song that followed up what happens when the power does change. Once the euphoria of ringing that Freedom Bell is over, did anything really change much? Did some of the dreams get met, or did the names change but the conditions remain the same? Where did the changes take hold and work? Etc...
A sick dog - took her to the vet's, turns out she'd swallowed the key to the back gate! It'd fallen out of the padlock). I can relate to that. I have trouble with the wrong key, and end up singing like sick dog too.... :roll:

Cheers,

Chris]]> Sunday Songwriters Group Chris C https://guitarnoise.forum/sunday-songwriters-group/y7-wk7-the-freedom-bell/#post-316767 https://guitarnoise.forum/sunday-songwriters-group/y7-wk7-the-freedom-bell/#post-34425 Sun, 21 Dec 2008 03:55:22 +0000
Anyway - I finally got to sit down and start writing at 11.30 pm, Saturday night. The song's based on one I wrote a good few years back (how long is it since the Apartheid laws were revoked in South Africa? About 15 years?) which I lost when I moved house....but I thought I'd re-write it, and dedicate it to tyrants everywhere.

The Freedom Bell.

(CHORUS)The more you refuse to listen, the louder we will shout,
Take away our rights, the more we will rebel,
Try to still our voices, the more we will sing out,
We are the silent majority, but we will ring the freedom bell...one day.....

(V1)You can take away our leaders, lock them up in chains,
But they will be free one day, and they will rise above the pain,
You can cage us up like beasts, take away our liberty,
But there's a new world coming, and one day we will be free...

(CHORUS)The more you refuse to listen, the louder we will shout,
Take away our rights, the more we will rebel,
Try to still our voices, the more we will sing out,
We are the silent majority, but we will ring the freedom bell...one day.....

(V2)You can interrupt our meetings, drag us from the halls,
Make martyrs of our spokesmen, hang them from the walls,
You have guns and money and power, but it can all change overnight,
You can't keep us down forever, you just don't have the right....

(CHORUS)The more you refuse to listen, the louder we will shout,
Take away our rights, the more we will rebel,
Try to still our voices, the more we will sing out,
We are the silent majority, but we will ring the freedom bell...one day.....

(BRIDGE)We don't want revenge, we won't put you to the sword,
All we want is peace and freedom, are we not men like you?
We don't want to subjugate you, keep you in the dark,
We will meet with you as equals, we will share with you the truth....

(V3)You took away our country, you squandered all our wealth,
Sold our birthrights into slavery, cared not for our health,
Executed those who spoke out, for our basic rights,
No matter how long this goes on, you'll never win the fight,
No how matter how long this goes on, you'll never win this fight,
Yes it may take forever, but you'll never win this fight...

(CHORUS)The more you refuse to listen, the louder we will shout,
Take away our rights, the more we will rebel,
Try to still our voices, the more we will sing out,
We are the silent majority, but we will ring the freedom bell...one day.....

(CHORUS)The more you refuse to listen, the louder we will shout,
Take away our rights, the more we will rebel,
Try to still our voices, the more we will sing out,
We are the silent majority, but we will ring the freedom bell...one day.....

:D :D :D

Vic]]> Sunday Songwriters Group Vic Lewis VL https://guitarnoise.forum/sunday-songwriters-group/y7-wk7-the-freedom-bell/#post-34425