Blood

from St. Ann by Brother Theodore

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April 3, 2018

I was composing what I thought was a very well thought out political post about gun violence when the news broke of the shooting at YouTube headquarters. I had all of my points together and was ready to hop on my proverbial soapbox and then realized that nothing that I typed on the issue was going to change anything. It certainly wasn't going to change anything at that moment. I found out later that one of my bandmates from a corporate band, a YouTube employee, was 10 to 20 feet away from the shooter. What also struck me at that moment was that whatever I decided to post was likely to be seen only by people who agree with my viewpoint and not people with whom I'd want to open dialogue. My post, like so many other posts, would be nothing more than a self-serving soapbox.

I think that if the only thing we do is post about our opinions or get so outraged about someone else's without actually doing something then, on some level, we've all got a little bit of blood on our hands. "Likes" don't equal activism.

The algorithm has us all messed up. Instead of being able to hear other points of view we're fed what they think we'll agree with. You're either preachin' to the choir or talkin' to the wall. Don't post about it if you ain't gon' be about it. Maybe we can all do a little better.

Bass | Acoustic Guitar | Percussion & Vocals: TG3
B3: Eamonn Flynn
Drums: Scott Keller
Electric Guitar: Garth Webber
Backing Vocals: Tamar T. Gillette
Co-written with Eamonn Flynn

'"The truth is, you are either here to enlighten or to discourage." - PRN

lyrics

Blood

I got blood on my hands
I got blood on my hands
I can type it on my Facebook or post it on Instagram
But I got blood; I got blood on my hands

Armchair politics
Superior positions
Talkin’ bout a better life
Just a-hopin and a-wishin

I got my bullhorn
So I can scream my truth out loud
While the brother standin’ next to me
Gets lost off in the crowd

I got blood on my hands
I got blood on my hands
I can type it on my Facebook or post it on Instagram
But I got blood; I got blood on my hands

They’ll feed you lies
If you give enough ammunition
You’ll only hear your own side
If you fall prey to the algorithm

Another died on the schoolyard
But you can’t say that we don’t care
We won’t march on the boulevard
But we’ll be sendin’ up thoughts and prayers

See, we got blood on our hands
We got blood on our hands
We can type it on our Facebook or post it on Instagram
But we got blood; we got blood on our hands

You're either preachin' to the choir
Or talkin' to the wall
And no one hears each other
Until the sound of silence falls
In the silence that surrounds you
When the lights begin to fade
We're left with easy words
And the promises you made
In the silence...

You better hear me when I say
We got blood on our hands
You got blood on your hands
See, I can type it on my Facebook
And it's more than I can stand
I got blood; I got blood on my hands

Do you know what I typed?

credits

from St. Ann, released June 30, 2019
Bass : Theodore Gould III
Drums: Scott Keller
Guitar: Cam Perridge
Rhodes: Eamonn Flynn
Backing vocal: Sanara Pippins

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about

Brother Theodore New Orleans, Louisiana

BROTHER THEODORE is the brainchild of New Orleans native Ted Gould III, a veteran musician whose career includes working with NOLA Funk Music Legend, Zigaboo Modeliste, Prince Damons, and Pop Icon, Jody Watley.

"St. Ann" is Soul w/ Funk, Rock, and Jazz tendencies and features the talents of some of the best NOLA & Bay Area musicians with guest appearances by PRN Alumn, Dr. Fink & Levi Seacer, Jr. ... more