Posted on 09/28/2001 1:59:51 AM PDT by JohnHuang2
Singer-songwriter Steve Vaus' inspirational patriotic anthem, written days after the terrorist attack on America, has climbed to No. 5 on the MP3.com country charts out of more than 1 million songs on the site, including some by mega-stars such as Martina McBride, Sugar Ray, Faith Hill, Kenny Rogers and Alicia Keys.
This achievement by Vaus' "There Is an Eagle" was reached without the benefit of a recording contract and industry publicity.
Following a story in WorldNetDaily, "There Is an Eagle," has been downloaded by tens of thousands of people and continues to soar on the country charts – up from No. 7 last week, according to Vaus.
"Eagle" is also No. 47 on all the charts.
Vaus is encouraging people to download it and tape it if they like. His goal is not money, but bringing some comfort and inspiration to the American people in the wake of the terrorist strikes.
"There have been few times in my life when I felt absolutely compelled to write songs – as though I had no other choice – as though God was saying, 'Look, this is what your purpose, your reason for living is,'" explained Vaus, a San Diego recording artist who has worked with top stars, including Willie Nelson, Christine McVie and Kenny Rogers. "I felt that calling when I wrote 'We Must Take America Back' in 1992; when I wrote 'Will You Be Among the Patriots' in '94; when I wrote 'I Still Believe' in '97. But never more so than this past weekend."
You can hear the song and read the lyrics on Vaus' website.
"I had a vision – that's the only way to describe it – of an eagle soaring above the rubble in New York City," Vaus said. "And in my mind it was the same eagle that has soared over every battlefield America has ever fought for. And along with the eagle, I saw our flag."
In 1992, singer-songwriter Steve Vaus signed a recording contract with RCA. The resulting CD was called "We Must Take America Back," and the title track instantly struck a chord with Americans starved for entertainment that spoke to them, touched their hearts and reinforced their core values.
"We must take America back," Vaus sang. "Put an end to the gangs and the drugs in the street and the fact that the bad guys most always go free. That is wrong. We need leaders who lead us, not stick us and bleed us and take all our money and send it abroad. We must take America back. We need prayer in schools and more things made in USA. It's the least we can do for the red, white and blue. We must take America back."
The song began climbing the charts in some markets. Many radio stations found it was the most requested song in their inventory after listeners had a chance to hear it. Vaus' star seemed to be rising.
But, after a few complaints from some big-city radio stations about the patriotic nature of the song, the company decided to pull the CD off the market.
Vaus, who has been without a record contract since his "We Must Take America Back" days, is aiming to bypass the music industry's normal release track and get this song played on radio stations nationwide in the next few days by raising the production and distribution money independently. He's also not selling the song, only his extensive collection of earlier CDs.
"I want this song to be more than a poignant moment just for now," he says. "I want it to help us remember all that we have ever fought for, and how we pull together at times such as this – truly one nation under God, indivisible."
I've got it saved on my harddrive, and I'll listen to it - when I have gotten to the point where even thinking about listening to it again doesn't make me tear up.
In fact, I don't even know what's wrong with me - because an awful lot of things seem to get me all teary and choked up in the past 2 - when I am not generally a softy kind of a person.
And whats even stranger is.. I never know when it's going to hit...this very strange reaction.. I'll be reading something here - or I'll click on a link and hit a website related to the WTC attack -blitz, and find myself with tears running down my cheeks, when minutes before I wasn't in any kind of emotional state.
A collaberative poem that describes this emotive state better...
Lady Liberty speaking on "The Spirit of American Freedom"
You may write me down in history
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise.
Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.
Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I'll rise.
Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops.
Weakened by my soulful cries.
Hell - no!, Instead I Rise!
Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don't you take it awful hard
'Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines Diggin' in my own back yard.
You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I'll rise.
Does You think You've Got Me Beaten?
Well, I don't believe your lies,
Because beneath the rubble, and shattered lives
I hear my children's cries
You'll never see me coming'
From everywhere I'll strike
Up from a past that's rooted in pain
I rise
I'm a multi-coloured ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I dance there in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise Into a daybreak that's wonderously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise I rise I rise.
MWW
As always, thanks for the best posts.
a Good Morning bump!
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