"Arc of Triumph" genre: Folk
	lo fi play (dial-up) hi fi play (broadband) download (0.6 MB)	email track to a friend	add to My.MP3
	Contrasts the violence of war with the enduring peace and beauty found in shrines of the Holy Land.
	CD: Shadows of Belgrade (not available on mp3 disk)   Label: self released in Hong Kong (pm productions) Credits: written, arranged, performed and recorded by Paul Meredith. Djembe: Peter Suart. Mastering assistance in HK from Simon Hui.
	Story Behind the Song Ever been in a place that just felt special? I have, and that's what is behind this song. Religions should teach ways of peace, tolerance, love and forgiveness. Nowadays the message, effectively, from religions is so often one of hate and intolerance, in my country of origin in particular. Yet without spiritual inspiration and guidance from all faiths, where do we turn? This song offers a thought or two, with much imagery and inspiration coming from a visit I made in 1992 to the holy land, to visit the Baha'i shrines and gardens, as well as holy sites of Christianity, Judaism and Islam. The Baha'i Faith was my spiritual "home" for many years, and has many deep insights on our journey as a human civilization. It was amazing to visit holy shrines of four world religions, all crowded together in a tiny country ripped apart by religious, political and sectarian violence and death. Yet from visits to holy places, one can still draw inspiration, comfort and peace, and one can see extremism, even religious extremism, for what it is. I experienced some of this in the Balkans as well. Religious shrines have huge importance to every culture there, none more so than that of Serbia. No wonder such shrines become targets of attack in war. From all parts of Belgrade, one can see a huge and magnificent Orthodox cathedral, another powerful symbol of peace in an otherwise war-torn world of violence, anguish, and the dull sufferings of everyday existence. It made me think of the power and inspiration such shrines can bring, and brought on memories of my trip to the holy land. Recently a magestic series of arc terraces were added on Mt. Carmel, adding much to an already unique and mysitical experience of being in a holy place. All of these circumstances and experiences sort of came together in this song, which I think was greatly helped by Peter's djembe playing. For space considerations, I have deleted "Arc of Triumph" from the Shadows of Belgrade mp3 CD on this site. Lyrics ARC OF TRIUMPH It's the end of what's been called a blessed century how could this time bear that name? A century of hope and a century of fear wrapped in a hundred years of shame But peace is still within our reach, people want to lend a hand if they could only see a sign Well on a holy mountain, in a Holy Land is being drawn a sacred line It's an Arc of triumph, the end of a long night Circle shining in the sun It's the fruit of the century, beginning of the light To make us see that we are one Like a star spangled necklace behind a shrine of gold Like a thousand diamond rings You can see the dreams of sages and philosophers of old when you're walkin' up the Path of Kings It's a place no words or music can describe ... just a presence you can almost see And every race every faith every nation every tribe before their God gonna bend their knee... Wars ever rage, chaos ever looms bullets and bombs fly And it's never really gonna end or so you might assume till you see the Arc, then you'll wonder why Why we still killin'? Why we still got war? When will mankind ever learn? When you're starin' at the Arc don't need convincing anymore you can see our oneness burn... c) Paul Meredith, 2000

Copyright notice. All material on MP3.com is protected by copyright law and by international treaties. You may download this material and make reasonable number of copies of this material only for your own personal use. You may not otherwise reproduce, distribute, publicly perform, publicly display, or create derivative works of this material, unless authorized by the appropriate copyright owner(s).