Elegy For Heather Heyer

by Major Layerson & Friends

	/

Streaming + Download

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Purchasable with gift card

$1 USD or more

about

I wrote the underlying poem on August 19th, 2017, seven days after Heather Heyer's death.

At the time I assumed it would always remain a poem.

Recently, however, Micke and I, in the course of exploring the possibilities of our collaboration, experimented with the idea of me reading the words and Micke building a musical structure around my reading.

We'll continue to create regular songs. But we'll also continue to do experiments like this.

lyrics

Elegy For Heather Heyer

1
When she woke up that day she had a body.
She had no reason to imagine that by the time night fell
she would be a person the whole world was mourning.

When she woke up she was listening.
She heard the voices that no one else seemed to be hearing.

So many cries of frustration.
So many whispers of pain.
So many souls hungry for justice.

And she heard the coarse calls of hatred
descending on Charlottesville;
she knew without thinking
that she had to act.

She could have made lots of excuses.
Life is full of reasons for not doing
the things that have to be done.
But she'd heard the voices crying for justice.
And she'd heard the rough words of hatred.
She was standing where she was supposed to be
that afternoon.

2
When Heather Heyer woke up that morning she had a body.
Now her body is buried... a body torn by hatred.

And we,
still in our bodies,
must make some kind of sense
of the world that remains.

Will we succumb to division?
Will we surrender to loud hopeless anger?
Will we choose to see foes where there could be friends?

These are the questions that haunt us.
These are the questions we all have to answer.

3
In each of our hearts is a lens
that when held up to the power of love
can concentrate the scattered rays of hope
and give each one of us common purpose.

This is what could draw us together.

And in that coming together
Heather's sacrifice
could be charged with a new meaning
and Heather's life ---
so dedicated to the power of love ---

could be

magnified.

Whether this happens or not
is all up to me...

and you.

It's all up to...
us.

credits

released February 6, 2019
Lyrics/Poem: Read by Stanfield Major
Music: Written and performed by Micke Layerson

license

about

Major Layerson & Friends Kingman, Arizona

contact / help

Contact Major Layerson & Friends

Streaming and
Download help

Report this track or account

If you like Major Layerson & Friends, you may also like:

PRE-HISSTORIC: Off the Record
by The Hissyfits

Relive the potent punk rock blast of NYC group The Hissyfits with this comp showcasing them in all of their snarling, hooky glory. Bandcamp New & Notable May 6, 2024
go to album
Did You Get Better
by Babe Report

Post-punk meets a very classic alt-rock sound on the new record from this Chicago group. RIYL The Breeders, Dinosaur Jr, and Yo La Tengo. Bandcamp New & Notable May 4, 2024
go to album
Last Splash (30th Anniversary Edition)
by The Breeders

The Breeders’ iconic “Last Splash” is now available on cassette, exclusively on Bandcamp. Bandcamp New & Notable May 3, 2024
go to album
GOING INSANE
by pôt-pot

Psychedelia at its most fundamental, the new EP from pôt-pot is equal parts Velvet Underground, BJM, and hypnotic vibes. Bandcamp New & Notable Apr 30, 2024
go to album
PRE-HISSTORIC: The Cassettes
by The Hissyfits

Re-live the rip-roaring, hooky-as-hell punk rock of The Hissyfits with this new collection, which compiles their first two cassettes. Bandcamp New & Notable Apr 30, 2024
go to album
Into The Realm
by Castle Rat

featured on Bandcamp Radio Apr 26, 2024
go to album
Time is Glass
by Six Organs of Admittance

Recorded at home, Six Organs of Admittance's 21st album upholds Ben Chasny's reputation for experimental psych-folk excellence. Bandcamp New & Notable Apr 25, 2024
go to album