Behind the Song - Some Man, Some God, Some War

Hello friends. I just finished up a song inspired by my latest songwriting book club read, The Sandcastle Girls by Chris Bohjalian. It was a good read - really intense but fascinating (fictional but historical) account of the Armenian genocide. I loved how the author traced the story of struggle and survival through multiple generations, ethnicities, etc. of women. In these songwriting challenges, I always try to find the characters or themes that resonate with me, and apply my own experience, but I felt like kind of an imposter trying to relate on a personal level to the unimaginable suffering these characters witnessed and endured. My problems become all but imaginary when viewed through the horrifying lens of attempted ethnic cleansing. So instead of narrowing my focus, I widened the scope and thought about how the book relates to the position many women have found themselves in since the dawn of time. We play so many roles for "some man, some god, some war" - some of which are forced on us, some of which we embrace, many of which demean us or destroy us in one way or another. Whether we are perceived as sexual objects of desire, spiritual objects of religion, or social objects of war, we've been consistently rendered useless, unworthy of governing our own bodies, choosing our own beliefs, or creating our own culture. I'm encouraged at how far we've come, but slightly exasperated at how far we've yet to go. Here's hoping the momentum will continue to build. I truly believe women are the key to making a more powerful impact and a more peaceful world. If you agree, please give this song a share!

Lyrics:
1. She is dried out like the desert
She is famished, all but vanished by design
And her hide out is her cactus heart
Her own hand grenade, a barricade of spines

CHORUS
The sands of time repeating
She’s seen suffering before
Her future takes a beating
for some man, some god, some war

2. She is minding her own business
Steadfastly building castles of sand
She is blinded by a raging son
Who demolishes and calls it all his land

CHORUS
These poor holy rolling soldiers’ plight
They can’t live without their virgins and whores
To lift their strengths and spirits to fight for
Some man, some god, some war

3. We are sucking out the venom
Of poisonous scorpions and snakes
We are bucking this ecosystem
Til our mother’s deserts are our daughter’s lakes

CHORUS
Oh, wondrous, thunderous women
Together too loud to ignore
No more curtsies at the mercy
of some man, some god, some war