Song of the Moment: Almost Gone (The Ballad of Bradley Manning)

We, too, think Bradley Manning is a hero - and one whose sacrifice is both historic and almost unimaginable.

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Song: Almost Gone (The Ballad of Bradley Manning)

Artist: Graham Nash and James Raymond (son of David Crosby)

Composed: Spring 2011

Released: December 2011

Length: 3:50

Nash: "'Bradley Manning is a hero to me,' he says, acknowledging Manning's role in making public videos and documents that shed light on such as issues as the true number and cause of civilian casualties in Iraq, human rights abuses by U.S.-funded contractors and foreign militaries, and the role that spying and bribes play in international diplomacy."

Video:

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Lyrics:

Locked up in a white room, underneath a glaring light
Every 5 minutes, they're asking me if I'm alright
Locked up in a white room naked as the day I was born
24 bright light, 24 all alone

What I did was show some truth to the working man
What I did was blow the whistle and the games began

Tell the truth and it will set you free
That's what they taught me as a child
But I can't be silent after all I've seen and done
24 bright light I'm almost gone, almost gone

Locked up in a white room, dying to communicate
Trying to hang in there underneath a crushing wait
Locked up in a white room I'm always facing time
24 bright light, 24 down the line

What I did was show some truth to the working man
What I did was blow the whistle and the games began

But I did my duty to my country first
That's what they taught me as a man
But I can't be silent after all I've seen and done
24 bright light I'm almost gone, almost gone
(Treat me like a human, Treat me like a man )

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Nash: "I see many things wrong with this country right now: the ever widening divide between the rich and the poor, the taking over of our government by the corporate/financial elite, the 'buying' of our very democracy by the 1%, the decimation of our environment by the oil, coal, gas, chemical and nuclear industries and the ever increasing erosion of our civil rights to name but a few of our many problems.

"I believe that one case in particular, the case against Bradley Manning, has chilling consequences for the future of our fragile society. Manning is the U.S. Private First-class soldier who, allegedly, released the hundreds of thousands of documents to the world for everyone to see exactly what was being perpetrated around the planet by our military and state departments in our name."

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"Unfortunately the president of the U.S.A. has already muddied the waters of this investigation by declaring that Manning had 'broken the law.' How is it possible for there to be a 'fair' trial when the Commander-in-Chief has already pronounced a verdict? Why is the president openly supporting the rights of whistle-blowers except in the case of Bradley Manning?

"The lawyer, David E. Coombs, when asked about Manning's mental state, says that his client is 'almost gone.' That phrase prompted me to write this song with my friend James Raymond."

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Previously in Song of the Moment:
* Iron Man
* The Story of Bo Diddley
* Teach Your Children
* Dream Vacation
* When The Levee Breaks
* I Kissed A Girl
* Theme From Shaft
* Rocky Mountain High
* North to Alaska
* Barracuda
* Rainy Days and Mondays
* Brother, Can You Spare A Dime?
* Baby, It's Cold Outside
* Man in the Mirror
* Birthday Sex
* Rio
* My Sharona
* Alex Chilton
* Surfin' Bird
* By The Time I Get To Arizona
* Heaven and Hell
* Sunday Bloody Sunday
* Lawless One
* Tell It Like It Is
* The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
* Lake Shore Drive
* On, Wisconsin!
* Anarchy in the U.K.
* Ballad of a Thin Man
* White Riot
* Know Your Rights
* Chicago Teacher
* Youngstown
* Over The Cliff

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See also:
* Songs of the Occupation: To Have And To Have Not
* Songs of the Occupation: Johnny 99

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