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For a man who was held in solitary confinement for most of his 18-year prison sentence, after being kidnapped by the Mossad off the streets of Rome, for blowing the whistle on Israel's now-not-so-secret but still unacknowledged nuclear weapons program.

lyrics

I was born in Marakesh and I thought life was good
Then some visitors came from far away, convinced my parents that we should
Move from Marakesh to Israel, what they called the Promised Land
That's how we ended up in Beersheva by the Negev Desert sand
I turned 18 and joined the Army, that's what everybody did
I learned to blow up bridges just like every other kid
I learned how to fire weapons, I learned how to shoot to kill
Then I studied engineering and learned many other skills
I got a job, paid the rent, working just like you
I just did what I had to do

As the years went by I learned many things
And I wondered what to do with the burden knowledge brings
I learned about the massacres committed in my name
After Sabra and Shatila life could never be the same
But I got up every morning, worked til the day was through

Working in the desert I did what I was told
Though I'd long ago rejected the bill of goods I had been sold
I was supposed to ask no questions but as the years passed by
I discovered what was going on there beneath the clear blue sky
I snuck a camera into work one day as my suspicions grew

Once I left the country I could sit no longer on the fence
I met with a reporter and displayed the evidence
Of the secret nuclear arsenal which I had helped to make
I had to blow the whistle for humanity's sake
The world simply had to find out the things my commanders knew

Mossad came to get me on the streets of Rome
Brought me in a boat back to my adopted home
After 18 years of torture in a tiny prison cell
On the streets some people ask me how I lived so long in hell
Each morning when I woke up I remembered it was true

credits

from Everything Can Change, released May 18, 2013
Alejandro | bass, electric guitar
Jun | keys, banjo

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David Rovics Portland, Oregon

Singer/songwriter, writer, podcaster (on Spotify, Substack & Patreon), anarchist, dad, lover of life.

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