The American Friend

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

"The reaper of souls flies high in the cold dark sky. Great black wings spanning 20 feet rhythmically beat against the innocent air. And he soars, circles and laughs a hideous laugh. His sinewy skeletal body possesses the strength of a thousand men. In his left hand he carries a syringe: silver needle, glass cylinder with intricately molded miniature gothic ironwork interlaced around it. He soars, circles, laughs. Death. Santa Muerte. The grim reaper of souls. He dances a macabre dance across the dark night sky. And the voices of a thousand demons bellows forth from his mouth as he laughs his hideous laugh… " —Robert G. Will #999404 Polunsky Unit Texas Death Row, Livingston, Texas

NOT JUST A MAN

How do you write a song about the death penalty? How do you keep anger from the lyrics? How do you find a way to convey what you feel are the positive aspects of the man you are writing about; a man who has seen unspeakable acts of violence in his 11 years on Death Row for a murder he did not commit? And how do you stay true to your belief that the death penalty is a crime in itself—state sanctioned murder—whether or not the human being actually committed the crime he/she has been accused of?

The Mister and I have been mulling a song like this for some time. We have made many starts and there are reams of notes for all of those starts. Should the tune be upbeat? Angry? Or to use a word that is not strictly a word, anthemic?

Between all those starts and stops we wrote and produced other songs, all of them rooted in our lives, our experiences, people we love. One man was someone we loved very much. We learned a great deal about generosity and fairness from Charlie. He saw us through the very real scare of me losing my job and championed us in ways that still astound us. He was an ex-priest who never really felt he was not a priest. He kept us afloat after that devastating job loss. He lived an ascetic life, a private life, yet he embraced the friendship he and I had developed in our wilder years, so many years ago, when he was contemplating leaving the priesthood, and then he met me.

He was not shy about speaking his mind. He was singularly attuned to what evil exists in this world. He was also remarkably attuned to people who faced that down, who protested when it was necessary, never withheld aid for a friend and just as easily went to the aid of others who were not friends.

He, like me and The Mister, was repulsed by capital punishment. It was often part of the lively evening conversation in our bi-weekly dinner with him here at home. We wanted to tell him how much we loved him and also respect the fact that he was not a man given to sentiment. So, we wrote him a song.

Charlie died a couple of years ago and we mourned him in a way that surprised us until we realized that such clarity of friendship is rare and we would be missing his presence for a long time. We thought a lot about this, this missing presence. It feels very much like this since I have been volunteering as Robert Will’s amanuensis.

I have come to know Rob in a way that I have never connected with another before. Typing his handwritten updates from Texas Death Row for a few years is like having a private conversation with a disembodied voice, only I have never heard his voice. Until my friendship with other dedicated supporters of Rob took hold, friends of his who have supported him for the entire time he has been in his, as he calls it, Orwellian Hell. And then I heard his voice, a coming together of all those voices who love him and believe in his innocence. All those people who believe, as The Mister and I do, that to save the soul of this country we have to end the death penalty once and for all.

I have only seen photographs of Rob. I am most drawn to his eyes. I realized I had felt the same about our old friend Charlie. He had the most serious eyes, windows to a complex soul that carried the burden of seeing the horrors of the world and then knowing when the laughter counted as well.

One night as we were struggling with yet another attempt at writing a song about the death penalty I suddenly had this image of Charlie and suggested to The Mister that we think of it as a love song, in a way, for Rob, as we did for Charlie. We revisited the song we had written for Charlie, listening for inspiration and like a bolt of lighting it hit us simultaneously: This was Rob’s song! We took the sentiment from Charlie’s song, reworked the lyrics to fit Robert. Paul rewrote the music and recorded it anew. He tempted me into backing vocals (thank the goddesses for electronic manipulation) and as we worked on the song we kept feeling Charlie’s pleasure at finding a home for his song and making it Rob’s. We kept seeing those “serious eyes.”

In this way Charlie lives on for us, in a way that would do him proud. In this way a song will be there for Rob when he walks away from Death Row a free man.

How do you write a song about the death penalty? You find the love.

Listen to the song: http://soundcloud.com/paul-fairall/not-just-a-man

Not Just a Man

don’t know what I’m in for today
traffic light says go or stay
just like every other day
falling through the atmosphere
landing in the who knows where
just like every other day
and then a man
who’s been so wronged
learns the secret to your song
and lights the way

he’s not just a man
with serious eyes
there will be time
when you will find
the heart that beats within
just beneath the skin
he’s not just a man
he’s nobody’s fool
he knows what you do
comes from the truth
all that’s been held within
will see the light again
he’s not just a man

don’t know what i’m up for today
the willing have a way they say
to keep themselves
from giving in
he takes your hand & weaves a spell
leads you from the wishing well
leads you to the love he brings

standing apart from him
letting the moment in
letting the heart begin to see

TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE

You can help in ways big and small, literally. Visit our webpage for Rob and read his story. Learn about this remarkable young man who has been wrongfully sentenced to Texas Death Row for a crime he did not commit.

To help in our efforts to raise funds for his cause check out our web shop! There are solidarity items like the PERSEVERANCE unisex t-shirts with a bold graphic design. These are high quality 100% cotton shirts designed by designed by Dennis Schröder from Supportershirt and printed by DirAction from Hamburg. And they come is all sizes! Or choose among the other items offered here: http://www.freerobwill.org/#/shop/4555732242.

Our main goal is to bring attention to Rob’s case by raising awareness and raising the much needed funding for his legal defense.

Lethal Injustice Rob Will e.V. is also part of Rob Will Defense Committee. We are a non-profit organization approved and registered in a local court in Leipzig, Germany. We have a tax number and are authorized to issue receipts for all donations. All contribution from donations and merchandise will be used exclusively for Rob’s defense and for his campaign.

Please consider making a generous donation in one of two ways:

Sending money via www.paypal.com is very easy. Just click on the "send money" tab at the top of the paypal page. Insert our email address—lethalinjustice@gmail.com—for the recipient and follow instructions.

You can also make donations directly to our bank account:

Lethal Injustice Rob Will e.V. 
Bank für Sozialwirtschaft 
IBAN DE17860205000003507800 
BIC BFSWDE33LPZ

Give the gift that keeps on giving. Be that person who spreads the word about Rob Will. Support Rob’s bid for freedom. Thank you all, in advance, for that perfect gift that will bring us all a generous return.

Learn more about our friend Robert Will:

http://www.drivemovement.org
https://www.facebook.com/FreeRobWill
http://www.freerobwill.org