Argentina Part III: You May Ask Why We Sing

On Saturday night, the third “Sunday” of Lent, we attended a service at the Methodist Church in Temperley. It is a growing church, and the space is not big enough to hold all of the people who spill out onto the street.

We sang a beautiful song about justice, “You May Ask Why We Sing.” It reminds me that God helps us to sing even in the most difficult times…

If every hour brought another death
if time was just a den of thieves
if the air in Buenos Aires was no longer sweet
and life reduced to being a moving target

You would ask why we keep singing

If our loved ones were left with the ache of empty arms
the nation almost dead with grief
and people’s hearts were broken
before exploding with shame

You would ask why we keep singing

We sing because the river is singing
and when the river sings, it’s for a reason
we sing because while the cruel are yet unamed
they eventually will get what they deserve

We sing or the children and for everything
for a future and for the people
we sing because of the survivors
and our dead
want us to sing

If we went far away, beyond the horizon
and left our roots and dreams behind,
if every night was marked by absence
and every awakening was met with conflict

You would ask why we keep singing

We sing because it rains upon the furrow
and we are soldiers of life
and because we cannot, will not
let our song turn to ashes.

We sing because screaming is not enough
and crying and anger are not enough
We sing because we believe in the people
and because we will overcome defeat

We sing because the sun shines upon us all
and because the countryside smells like spring
and in its growth, in its ripening fruit
each question eventually finds its answer.

Lyrics: M. Benedetti, Music: A. Favero

We remember, for truth and justice.

We pray with our children.

Shared by Marcie Doll