I fear the monoculture
because I know in the time of choosing
which culture will win out:
The Dominant One
the one that eats forests for breakfast
and oceans for supper
skips lunch because it’s too busy
and can’t afford the calories
The One that never sleeps because
it’s too busy planning
its next acquisition
I fear that loss of cultural diversity
because if we all start acting the same way
we’ll be a world of bullies
in search of new victims
and only the planet itself
will be left to suffer
That would be our undoing
This song was written as a submission for American Idol’s first songwriter contest. Howard and Mark used Appreciative Inquiry to tailor the song for the program — the first time either of them had created a song fully through the use of AI. Learn more about Potluck’s custom songwriting service which uses Appreciative Inquiry to draw out your needs and desires as the basis for an original song.
Music and lyrics: By Mark S. Meritt and Howard Ditkoff
I was afraid I was forgotten in the shadows
Too weak to hope the sun would shine on me again
But you lit me up and helped me to remember
How alive I used to be, deep in every part of me back then
You were the faith that moved me forward when I faltered
You were the trust that made it safe to risk it all
To bet my life and all that I’ve believed in
To stand alone and vow to reveal the joy I now recall
We feared our dreams would fade away
But now we know they’re here to stay
I’m strong, I’m free
I’m where I’m meant to be
No longer trapped so deep inside
Afraid of all that I’d denied
You saw in me
What I would come to see
And freed it so there’s nothing left to hide
I’ll lift you up, we’ll fly as one for our whole lives
When I look back on every step along the journey
I see how you unlocked each door through which I’ve grown
Though you may feel your sense of wonder is divided
You showed me how to give, now I know we’ll never live alone
My sun will shine to see us through
I’ll light the way that lives in you
I’m strong, I’m free
I’m where I’m meant to be
No longer trapped so deep inside
Afraid of all that I’d denied
You saw in me
What I would come to see
And freed it so there’s nothing left to hide
I’ll lift you up, we’ll fly as one for our whole lives
We are the rock each other stands on
The reflections that set each other free
Our whole lives, we’re always more together
For you, for me, for we can be
Free and strong
We’re right where we belong
No longer trapped so deep inside
There’s nothing left for us to hide
We finally see
What we were meant to be
We’re free and now we’ve crossed the Great Divide
I’ll lift you up, you’ll carry me, we’ll fly as one for our whole lives
This song was written for a compilation album of songs inspired by the work of Daniel Quinn. Mark wanted to throw things for a loop with this song about being true to who you are. The appreciative approach he took led him to create an homage to some of the great disco anthems, both lyrically and especially musically, using that style and the notion of coming out of the closet in a similar way to how the gay movement has at times used disco songs for its own anthems. Learn more about Potluck’s custom songwriting service which uses Appreciative Inquiry to draw out your needs and desires as the basis for an original song.
Empty
That’s how I’d always feel
My life
Didn’t even seem real
I just couldn’t get all the things I needed
I thought I was defeated
Prison
That’s what I felt inside
Afraid
Part of me might have died
But then someone brought me a brand new story
Here’s what that someone told me
Come out!
Come out of your shell
Or all you get and all you give, you’ll be living in hell
Come out!
Come out of your hole
Or any tale you might be telling, you’ll be selling your soul
If you want a lot, just forget what you’re not
If you’re gonna go far, you’ve gotta be who you are
Shout it, flout it, spout it, tout it
‘Til there’s not a drop of doubt
About
Come out!
So I
Took my mind off the bad
And looked
At what I really had
Though it wasn’t much, still, it was beginning
I slowly started winning
Take two
Now, I am what I am
My life
Not someone else’s sham
For better or worse, I do what works for me
And you’ll, too, if you’ll only
Come out!
Come out of your shell
Or all you get and all you give, you’ll be living in hell
Come out!
Come out of your hole
Or any tale you might be telling, you’ll be selling your soul
If you want a lot, just forget what you’re not
If you’re gonna go far, you’ve gotta be who you are
Shout it, flout it, spout it, tout it
‘Til there’s not a drop of doubt
About
Come out!
You wanna live your life?
Well, you just can’t do it
If it’s not you doing the livin’
You wanna love someone
But you just can’t do it
If it’s not you doing the lovin’
You wanna change the world?
Well, there’s nothin’ to it
Long as it’s you doin’ the changin’
You wanna speak your mind
But if you can’t say, "My mind is mine"
Then what’s the use of talkin’ at all?
Come out, come out, whoever you are
Come out, come out, whoever you are
Come out, come out, whoever you are
Come out, come out, whoever you are
Stand up
Be yourself, feel alive
You’ll do
So much more than survive
Just like love and shelter and food and air
It’s something that we all share
Homo
sapiens all the world ’round
Were lost
Now we all can be found
It all can come out in the end, you’ll see
If everyone will only
Come out!
Come out of your closet
If you don’t, you won’t earn a return on your deposit
Come out!
Come out of your cage
Or all you loathe and all you love, you’ll feel nothing but rage
Come out!
Come out of your shell
Or all you get and all you give, you’ll be living in hell
Come out!
Come out of your hole
Or any tale you might be telling, you’ll be selling your soul
If you want a lot, just forget what you’re not
To get what you need, be yourself in deed
Shout it, flout it, spout it, tout it
‘Til there’s not a drop of doubt
About
Come out!
You wanna get things done
You wanna have some fun
You wanna feel so free
You wanna let it be
You wanna find your path
You wanna have a laugh
You wanna see the sights
You wanna reach new heights
You wanna do your best
You wanna get some rest
You wanna leave your mark
You wanna bite and bark
You wanna be so kind
You wanna ease your mind
You wanna make a friend
You wanna reach the end
You wanna have a thrill
You wanna make a kill
You wanna feel some pride
You wanna get inside
You wanna satisfy
You wanna live and die
You wanna raise the youth
You wanna know the truth
In his ancient marble tower
an Archbishop’s Divine Power
is impenetrable, unquestionable, his right
He makes promises for an hour
as the people below him cower
then shed money from fists once tight
For to reach the Immaterial State
with too much food on your plate
is harder than pulling camels through needle eyes
Poverty is but the first rule
and there are more of them than fools
for those seeking bliss when they die
You’ll ne’er find it here on Earth
It’s too dire; too much dearth
so you’d better get on your knees
These are the Words of holy men
from tongues and from pens
this is what they’d have us believe
So there’s a pious fool
for everyone of their rules
and there’s as many play a new game
Though their gods have different looks
and they read different books
their righteousness is much the same
They’ve increased in quantity
Their enforcers have gained enmity
but we don’t know which rules to follow
Thank Sony for TV
and Fox for apathy
and Civilization for the ruts where we wallow
Leave morality to the experts
only they know its worth
We just want to be entertained
Let the Saints fight the Baddies
as they dictate so madly
in victory something must be gained
But the risks aren’t ours to take
these are battles we forsake
it’s work enough to pay the bills
With men so certain on both sides
even if you think you know who’s right
war ain’t exactly a thrill
When it’s Evil v. Good
(the very extremes that would
fight eternally given the chance)
we’re begging for moderation
hoping on toleration
as an end to the Carnal Dance
But what if two fighting extremes
are really the same thing?
just two kinds of fundamentalism?
What if all these rules
made by and for fools
for dictatorships or environmentalism
are all on the moral high ground?
So their followers can look down
on those of us watching TV?
And what if we’re the other extreme?
Living our American dream
laughing our canned laughter so freely
While evil and good duke it out
and spread collateral damage about
our contribution is sitting by
polluting the planet with our breath
denying others what we possess
and watching humanity die
Cash sang a lot about jail
the long term kind without bail
Those paying for sins part theirs part ours
men and women at extremes
under the American dream
fermented and left out to go sour
But is not America
in itself a chimera?
What fools thought they could tame what God made
on the backs of Africans
and by theft of Indians
pretending men are equally made
Blood’s slippery foundation
built many a strong nation
only to see it fall after rise
America is not new
nor sins its powerful do
It won’t be the last corpse to breed flies
Power is a psychosis
All the world ought to know this
Pinochet Amin Seko and Bush
The most powerful men
are doing all that they can
Pushing all the buttons they can push
and on a much smaller scale
killing sprees by men on bail
while bystanders get an injection
Vengeance spreads like a disease
the pesticides in the trees
root in our hearts as an infection
but it’s time and time again
powerless women and men
receive discipline and punishment
It’s delivered as jail time
a career ladder to climb
either form equates shoes of cement
Seems Cash was a lucky man
Besides his millions of fans
he believed — was able — to speak truth
His religion did decree
That the truth shall set you free
and he took likelihood over proof
Not that religion is key
though wise is humility
salvation need not come after death
There are human qualities
That could save us — set us free
Humbly we learn secrets of the depths
Imagine how freedom feels
dancing out in sunlight squeals
using our true gifts working with friends
In this ancient place I walk
on a geologic clock
that’s just the means folks used to meet ends
You can think it in your head
or else use your gut instead
these things combined will tell you what’s right
and if we use all our skill
and if we use all our will
we can make societies work right
The jails will crumble and fall
and so we’ll end office stalls
No longer will we cower in fear
Dictators will be reduced
to harmless psychos cut loose
but we’ll welcome their antics with cheer
and a peace flame will be fired
commemorating desire
for ever flattened hierarchy
The poor will climb up higher
C E O s will be rehired
to build homes for guys in factories
Farmers will earn vacation
for having fed all nations
since the fertile crescent got big press
We’ll all dance in hopes of rain
as God takes control again
we’ll remember that gods do it best
With human diversity
and biodiversity
cooperation over control
Cash’s truth will prevail then
No more slaves human or hen
Smoke will clear — life will spring from this hole
I hate the man who appreciates the hatred
Can’t stand the one who tolerates them all
Least of all can I abide the ones
who set them up just to watch them fall
I love the woman who deals with my anger
I envy those she talks to in the hall
I ponder on those who think they own her
wonder why they bother at all
I oppose all who think they can plunder
control freaks who think they own it all
I’ll fight them till I’m six feet under
I’ll stand up until they force my fall
The seasons’ cycle is never-ending
She dances at our annual ball
She’s naked inside the meandering river
she’s seen a lot but she hasn’t seen it all
Her Jesus accepts things as they are
That doesn’t mean she never feels appalled
at the world’s complex web of lies
and the prisons of cubicle stalls
The world tends toward the complex
but if I had a crystal ball
I’d hide it away where it can’t be found
I’d surrender my illusions of control
I’d dispossess anything that you can name
and I’d skip randomly through my patrol
I have conceded.
I am defeated.
I have been burned to the ground.
Every last pound
of putrid flesh
has been turned to ashes.
Nothing is left
but fragmented flashes
of a life of discontent.
But I am not done,
I am not spent.
I will rise like a phoenix
from the charred remains,
a fire of new intensity
burning in my veins.
I will increase my extensity
and push for new gains.
I will grow strong,
and engulf the world in my flames.
She was telling me about the death penalty
and the murders that hurt her family
The justice of the gun
and the victory of the righteous
I told her Jesus was cryin’ in his grave;
the accused ain’t always what he’s made out to be
and how you can’t believe everything on TV
Then we yelled and cried
and fucked the pain away
her innocent eyes looked vacuous and strange
I knew she didn’t see my point
nor I hers
It was just another conflict
The greatest wars are the littlest battle
Victory is death and your reign is your rattle
Cocky is the champion
humble the saint
but they’re both in conflict
and you can’t say they ain’t
It’s like the left and the right
Pick your spot on the line
Don’t fall off
and you’ll be fine
Grab the rope and dig into the slick
Do your part in the big conflict
Flip the coin
It’s heads v. tails
Put on the blinders
and set the sails
If you’re lucky you’ll miss all the connections
the common ground in between elections
where ideas aren’t opposites
so much as different angles
to a common problem
that faces us all
We can hold each other up
or fight till we fall
in this conflict
The greatest wars are the littlest battle
Victory is death and your reign is your rattle
Cocky is the champion
humble the saint
but they’re both in conflict
and you can’t say they ain’t
Jingle Bells and Winter Wonderland
Take a Sleigh Ride, Let it Snow
But like Frosty’s one day
All these songs melt away
Though there’s so many winter days to go
They could light and warm the dark and cold
Not a holiday word sung
Yet somehow for a year
They will all disappear
Moments after the holidays are done
See the family, visit your hometown
Gather all your closest friends
Give to somebody else
It comes back for yourself
Bringing life’s most rewarding dividends
All these things could happen any day
But we seldom let them last
For we’ll spend most the year
Missing what we hold dear
Moments after the holidays have passed
And can we truly be happy
With shopping crowds and bills galore?
Even the holidays don’t feel
At all like holidays anymore
Then again, it feels like all we’ve known
Is this ornamental dream
But if what we enjoy
Really beats any toy
Are the holidays not all that they seem?
No, they really can be special times
Overflowing with good cheer
The best gifts you present
Don’t require money spent
Even after the holidays are here
It can feel like the holidays all year
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2007 Mark S. Meritt
2007, 2002 Mark S. Meritt