PEACE!

“Now I've been happy lately, thinking about the good things to come
And I believe it could be, something good has begun

Oh I've been smiling lately, dreaming about the world as one
And I believe it could be, some day it's going to come

Cause out on the edge of darkness, there rides a peace train
Oh peace train take this country, come take me home again

Now I've been smiling lately, thinking about the good things to come
And I believe it could be, something good has begun

Oh peace train sounding louder
Glide on the peace train
Come on now peace train
Yes, peace train holy roller

Everyone jump upon the peace train
Come on now peace train

Get your bags together, go bring your good friends too
Cause it's getting nearer, it soon will be with you

Now come and join the living, it's not so far from you
And it's getting nearer, soon it will all be true

Now I've been crying lately, thinking about the world as it is
Why must we go on hating, why can't we live in bliss

Cause out on the edge of darkness, there rides a peace train
Oh peace train take this country, come take me home again


Cat Stevens”

“man, i love that song. it's always been a favorite.

thanks, tarpy!”

“Didn't Cat sing a song called Morning is Breaking?”

“I love thatsong! Like the first morning, blackbird is speaking like the first bird (I just make up lyrics when it suits me)”

“Morning has broken, like the first morning
Blackbird has spoken, like the first bird
Praise for the singing, praise for the morning
Praise for the springing fresh from the world

Sweet the rain's new fall, sunlit from heaven
Like the first dewfall, on the first grass
Praise for the sweetness of the wet garden
Sprung in completeness where his feet pass

Mine is the sunlight, mine is the morning
Born of the one light, eden saw play
Praise with elation, praise every morning
God's recreation of the new day

www.catstevens.com”

“Oh man, now I gotta start singing, and my office mates aren't gonna like it. ;-)

Cat Stevens is cool. Love "Father and Son" too! (Is that what it is called?)”

“Thanks Tarpy :o)”

“QUICK FACTS
Why did he become a Muslim? In the late 70's Cat was introduced to Islam by his brother David Gordon who gave him a copy of the Qur'an -- the holy book the of Muslims. Cat was immediately impressed by the religion and ultimately adopted it. He later changed his name to Yusuf Islam. He stopped making music because he felt that the life of a pop star was incompatible with the life of a Muslim. The following is from a statement by Yusuf Islam.

"It was in fact the Surah called ?The Poets? which made me stop and evaluate my life and abandon the music business when I embraced Islam twenty years ago. Towards the end of the chapter, Allah, the Almighty, says:"


Shall I inform you upon whom the devils descend?
They descend on every sinful false one.
They listen eagerly, but most of them are liars.
As for the poets, the deviants follow them.
Hast thou not seen how they stray in every valley,
And how they say that which they do not?
Except those who believe and do good works,
and remember Allah much, and vindicate themselves
after they have been wronged. Those who do wrong will
come to know by what a (great) reverse they will be
overturned.
The Glorious Qur?an, Chapter al Shu?ara verses 221-227
What is he doing now? Yusuf is a prominent and well respected member of the British Muslim community. He runs two primary schools and is the chairman of several charities. He has released several Islamic albums since leaving the music business.

Did he auction off all of his musical instruments? Yes he did auction off all of his musical instruments and other items (gold records, etc) after converting to Islam. To the best of my knowledge he does not own a guitar.

How does he feel about his old music now? Yusuf still profits from his record sales and uses the money mostly for charity purposes. His music is not forbidden in his home, nor is it encouraged. His own children know and enjoy his albums. He does however have problems with the subject matter of some of his songs, particularly those of a sexual or religious nature that are not compatible with his new beliefs. Profits from these songs are donated directly to charity and never pass through Yusuf's hands.

Is he married, what about his family? Yes. Yusuf is happily married and has five children - 4 daughters and one son (Muhammad).”

“yep, heard that a while ago.”

“This is crazy. Last night, as we packed for our weekend trip, we were playing Cat Steven's Tea for the Tillerman. Haven't listened to it in a while. Now, I've been singing this song in my head all morning:

Where Do The Children Play?

Well I think it's fine, building jumbo planes.
Or taking a ride on a cosmic train.
Switch on summer from a slot machine.
yes, Get what you want to if you want, 'cause you can get anything.

I know we've come a long way,
We're changing day to day,
But tell me, where do the children play?

Well you roll on roads over fresh green grass.
For your lorry loads pumping petrol gas.
And you make them long, and you make them tough.
But they just go on and on, and it seems that you can't get off.

Oh, I know we've come a long way,
We're changing day to day,
But tell me, where do the children play?

Well you've cracked the sky, scrapers fill the air.
But, will you keep on building higher
'til there's no more room up there?
Will you make us laugh, will you make us cry?
Will you tell us when to live, will you tell us when to die?

I know we've come a long way,
We're changing day to day,
But tell me, where do the children play?”

“I was listening to that this morning.”

“wow.. you guys are showing your ages.. :)

next you will be dragging out joni mitchell and gordon lightfoot.”

“When Ayatollah Khomeini declared fatwa on Salman Rushdie - said he should be killed for writing The Satanic Verses - Yusuf Islam agreed that he should be killed.”

“john barleycorn MUST DIE!!!!”

“TownDawg: here's the Joni Mitchell you requested!

THE THREE GREAT STIMULANTS
I picked the morning paper off the floor
It was full of other people's little wars
Wouldn't they like their peace
Don't we get bored
And we call for the three great stimulants
Of the exhausted ones
Artifice, brutality and innocence
Artifice and innocence

No tanks have ever rumbled through these streets
and the drone of planes at night has never frightened me
I keep the hours and the company that I please
And we call for the three great stimulants
Of the exhausted ones
Artifice, brutality and innocence
Artifice and innocence

Oh and deep in the night
Our appetites find us
Release us and bind us
Deep in the night
While madmen sit up building bombs
And making laws and bars
They'd like to slam free choice behind us

I saw a little lawyer on the tube
He said, "It's so easy now, anyone can sue."
"Let me show you how your petty aggravations can profit you!"
Call for the three great stimulants
Of the exhausted ones
Artifice, brutality and innocence
Artifice and innocence

Oh and deep in the night
Appetites find us
Release us and blind us
Deep in the night
While madmen sit up building bombs
And making laws and bars
They're gonna slam free choice behind us

Last night I dreamed I saw the planet flicker
Great forests fell like buffalo
Everything got sicker
And to the bitter end
Big business bickered
And they call for the three great stimulants
Of the exhausted ones
Artifice, brutality and innocence
Artifice and innocence

Oh these times, these times
Oh these changing times
Change in the heart of all mankind
Oh these troubled times”

“Awesome.. :).. you are taking me back, guys.. to a time of innocence, when drugs were cheap and girls were free.

*s*”

“No, they aren't taking John Barleycorn!!!!!”

“I went to a funeral at a Episcopalian church [read: dry and long] and the hymen that they chose from the hymnal was none other than hyme #8...?Morning Has Broken?! I told my wife, ?This is a Cat Stevens song.? She just laughed as if I was a nut. There very few Cats, Morisons or Lennons these days. We get stuck with people like Sully, Durst and Manson.

To quote the great Dead Kennedys:

?If the doors or John Lennon were around today the industry wouldn?t sign ?em in a million years!?”

“As you know, the 'morning has broken' song is actually an old Gaelic tune.. as with nearly ALL church hymns, their roots are in popular folk songs of the period.

But.. I hear ya.. I hear remakes of songs on the radio and make a comment about how good it is to hear that song AGAIN, and most people look at me like I am nuts.”

“He was being interviewed when the subject of Salman Rushdie came up, and said that if he knew where Rushdie was, he'd get on the phone and tell the Ayatollah Khomeini so he could be assasinated.”

“I have just about had it with opinions. No one wants to learn from conversation, they just want to win them, and wash the other person with their views. I think I am going to be silent from now on.”

“uMmm.. say what?.. where did THAT come from Tarp Rat?”

“sorry!

geez, we'll let john barleycorn live!”

“OK Tarpy.. I surrender. You win.

Actually you do have a point, but I don't understand how this was happening in this thread in particular.

BTW: Stevens said in an interview that he was partly mistaken and partly misrepresented about the Rushdie matter. I'm not sure that I understood his point or that I am in any position to evaluate it.”

“It came from debating politics with my manager!”

“hehe.. ok, tarpie..”

“If you want to be high, be high
And if you want to be low, be low
There are a million place to go
you know that there are.

I love Harold & Maude.”

“If you want to be high, be high
And if you want to be low, be low
There are a million places to go
you know that there are.

I love Harold & Maude.”

“You can do what you want
The opportunity's on
And if you find a new way
You can make it today

You can make it all true
And you can make it un-do -- you see...

Ah-ah-ah
It's easy
Ah-ah-ah
You only
Need to know...”

“thanks for clarifying TarpraT”

“Ah, this world is burning fast
Oh, the world will never last
I don't want to lose it here in my time
Give me time forever here in my time.

I don't want to lose the harmony of the universe
I see all things... burning, I hear men... shouting.
Now is the light of the world and the stars going out
Now does the blame for the disaster fall upon men.
Grief is heavy with sadness and tears
Great is the noise from the earth and the seas
O love, O love be with us always.
We who will perish salute death. Life alone goes on.

O Caritas, Cat Stevens”

“I've seen the lights go out on Broadway
I saw the Empire State laid low.
And life went on beyond the Palisades,
They all bought bright Cadillacs
And left there long ago.

We held a concert out in Brooklyn
To watch the Island bridges blow.
They turned our power down,
And drove us underground
But we went right on with the show...

I've seen the lights go out on Broadway
I saw the ruins at my feet,
You know we almost didn't notice it
We'd see it all the time on Forty-Second Street.

They burned the churches up in Harlem
Like in that Spanish Civil War
The flames were everywhere,
But no one really cared
It always burned up there before...

I saw the lights go out on Broadway
I watched the mighty skyline fall.
The boats were waiting at the Battery,
The union went on strike
They never sailed at all.
They sent a carrier out from Norfolk
And picked the Yankees up for free.
They said that Queens could stay,
They blew the Bronx away
And sank Manhattan out to sea...

You know those lights were bright on Broadway
But that was so many years ago...
Before we all lived here in Florida
Before the Mafia took over Mexico.
There are not many who remember
They say a handful still survive...
To tell the world about...
The way the lights went out,
And keep the memory alive...

Billy Joel”

“Peace comes at a price, and it's time the terrorists start paying the piper, the price.... their lives.”

“Be like dead wood!”

“Thanks Tarp Rat. I listen to Cat Stevens about once a week in my car on the long drive to work. I also sing his stuff in my head when I am hiking.”

“In a VH-1 piece on Cat/Yusuf, the fatwa thing was lightly discussed, but indicated that Yusuf believed his thoughts had been misrepresented in the press.

Tea for the Tillerman was a big hit during my college freshman year, along with Carole King's Tapestry, George Harrison's All Things Must Pass, etc. Lots of heartfelt lyrics in those days (except Apple Scruffs?). My, I'm getting old.

Gee, there was a war going on then, too...hmmmmm.”

“Great song Tarprific! I sang it to my daughter as her bedtime lullaby tonight! My mom used to play Cat Stevens when she cleaned. Nice.”

“Dawg?

Something wrong with showing our age?

You remember when Iran held American hostages for a year or more?

Tortured them?

Taunted them?

Starved them?

Have you read accounts of D-Day?

That was in World War 2.

Cat Stevens was a favorite of mine prior to 1979.

Then he turned Muslim Radical.

I remember radio stations then asking for listeners to send in all their Cat Stevens albums so they could be burned in one huge pile.

I didn't see anything wrong with that.

He was making money off the American Public while he supported the Iranian government who tortured our citizens.

A man without ethics.

I do not sing his songs....

Anymore.”

“Neither do I. After he said that he'd turn in Salmon Rushdie to the Ayatolla Kohemeni to be executed (actually assassinated), I turned sour on him.”

“IMHO good things we do in our past are not made bad by the things we do in our present or future. For me his music is just as great as it was before he became a Muslim. He is a Muslim and will support what some of his fellow believers say. Every religion has held beliefs that were damaging to others.”

“Is Cat Stevens profiting from his music?

If we buy it, and he is, are we supporting terrorism.

If Schicklegruber sold his etchings, would you buy it because it was "art"?

If it helped pay for killing six million jews, would buying it despite it's artistic content, justify supporting his cause?

Just a thought.”

“"If we buy it, and he is, are we supporting terrorism."

Does the fact that he is a Muslim mean he is financing or even morally suporting terrorism? Has he ever said he does or has any proof come up that he does?”