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The Death of Rachel Corrie

from Live in Boulder by David Rovics

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A song for International Solidarity Movement activist, Rachel Corrie, who went to Palestine to stand with the Palestinian people, where she was killed by an Israeli soldier driving an armored bulldozer in 2003, as she tried to protect the home of a local doctor in Gaza. Originally recorded for my 2003 album, The Return.

lyrics

When she sat down in the dirt
In front of your machine
A lovely woman dressed in orange
You in military green
If you had met her in Jerusalem
You might have asked her on a date
But here you were in Gaza
Rolling towards the gate

As your foot went to the floor
Did you recall her eyes
Did her gaze remind you
That you’ve become what you despise
As you rolled on towards this woman
And ignored all the shouts to stop
Did you feel a shred of doubt
As you watched her body drop

And as your Caterpillar tracks
Upon her body pressed
With twenty tons of deadly force
Crushed the bones within her chest
Could you feel the contours of her face
As you took her life away
Did you serve your country well
On that cool spring day

And when you went back across the Green Line
Back to the open shore
Did you think that this was just another day
In a dirty war
And when you looked out on the water
Did you feel an empty void
Or was it just one more life you’ve taken
One more home destroyed

credits

from Live in Boulder, released August 3, 2023

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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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