Henry's Songbook

   Ah, the heart's a wonder
   Stronger than the guns of thunder
   Even when we're torn asunder
   Love will come again

Don't beat the drum, that frightens the children
Don't sing the songs about winning and losing
Sit down beside me, the green fields are bleeding
Sing me the music of healing
Sing me a song of a lover returning
The darker the night, the nearer the morning
Bring me the news of a new day that's dawning
Sing me the music of healing

Sometimes the truth's like a hare in the cornfield
You know that it's there but you can't put your arms around it
All we can hope for is follow its footprints
Sing me the music of healing
Who would have thought I could feel so contented
To learn I was wrong after all of my rambles
I've learned to be hard and I've learned how to tremble
Sing me the music of healing

Somehow the cycle of vengeance keeps turning
Till each other's sorrows and songs we start learning
Peace is the prize for those who are daring
Sing me the music of healing
Time is your friend, it cures all your sorrows
But how can I wait till another tomorrow
One step today and a thousand will follow
Sing me the music of healing

[1995:] The cease fires in Northern Ireland brought a great sense of hope to us all. No matter what the eventual solution is to be, ordinary people will have to learn to live together. Sometimes music can help to heal some of the wounds. I wrote the second verse using some words from an old friend of mine, Pete Seeger, and some words he quoted from his father [...]. Every day in his native Sarajevo, the lone figure of [Vedran] Smailovic, dressed in full evening suit, could be seen, walking past his bombed out orchestra theater and in the street, amidst shell and fire, he sat down and played his cello for peace. When a CNN reporter asked him if he was not crazy for playing his cello in the middle of the shelling, the famous Smailovic reply that went all around the world was, "You ask me am I crazy ... why do you not ask those people on the mountain are they not crazy for shelling Sarajevo while Smailovic is playing the cello." (Notes Tommy Sands, 'The Heart's A Wonder')

[1996:] Like everyone in Northern Ireland, [Tommy Sands] views the recent cease fires as a reason to hope for the future. He knows, however, that a solution will only be reached by hard work. "No matter what the eventual solution is to be," he says, "ordinary people have to learn to live together." To that end, he has written "The Music of Healing," his most celebrated song since "There Were Roses." It is a plea for understanding, for love, and for peace. In its refrain, "sing me the music of healing," it crystallizes the prayers of many Irish people. (Sing Out! Magazine, vol 36 #3, Nov/Dec 1991, updated in January 1996)

[1998:] [Tommy Sands'] recent composition "The Music Of Healing" has been described by MEP John Hume as a "new anthem for our times". (Promotional text, http://www.maeker-tours.de/ )