Dr. Jihad! & the IMG: Listeners' Guide and Lyrics to Cries and Response

Cries and Response
www.mp3.com/drjihad
© 2001 Jeremiah D. McAuliffe, Jr.

This is the Listeners' Guide and Lyrics to the our new CD which you may purchase from the mp3.com web site. All songs are also available for free download or streaming play. Click the link above to go to the web site.

Cries and Response is a collection of songs which, when taken together, express a certain progression of thought-- that it is often by means of the pain of life that people become aware of, and turn to The Transcendent as a response to that pain. The first song, Baby's Crying, is a summation of the human journey as presented in Cries and Response. This is the longest song on the disc-- some heavy rock surrounds an acoustic middle section. Broken Love Song has a pop-80s feel and represents a personal cry which is common to all those who have been rejected by love-- particularly young people. Angela's Ashes is a Bob Dylanesque/Neil Youngish acoustic piece inspired by the Pulitzer winning book of the same title. The book is a biography of the author's growing up extremely poor in Ireland--a flea-infested life of grinding poverty and callousness by both the religious establishment and those who were better off. Near the end of the book, when his mother Angela dies, the author indicates that if there is no heaven for Angela after this horrible life then God isn't worth a whit. Here, it represents the cries of all the world's poor and downtrodden. The Poignant Tragedy of Being Human is a sweeping piece. It represents the beginning of the religious response to life experience. The person is tempted to cry out to The Transcendent as a response to the cries all around and within. The Shaykh's Song is an instrumental piece that divides Cries and Response. Sometimes the word "Shaykh" is used as a term of respect for an elder. Here, we are addressing the alternate meaning which refers to a greatly gifted and accomplished spiritual teacher. On one level it represents the Prophet Muhammad-- and all of God's messengers. On another it represents the heirs to these people such as Abd Al-Qadir Al-Jilani and all the Saints and Spiritual Masters-especially those who are among us even today. Yes. Some actually still exist. The Night Journey has those great grungy Pearl Jam-type guitars and is inspired by Muhammad's ascent "beyond the furthest lote tree"-- the penultimate human experience of The Transcendent. House of Special Things is the climax of the CD. This rocker represents the person desiring, assenting to, and bearing witness to the truth of The Transcendent-- a type of conversion experience. Duruud Shariif is a traditional dhikr (prayer) for God's peace and blessings upon Muhammad. It is chanted 33 times. Feel free to chant along. Play it three times and you've got a traditional recitation of 99. Jerusalem brings the response back to the realm of worldly affairs. Its pretty much self-explanatory. The city for all! The CD ends with A Mighty Fortress is Our God. A somber acoustic Dr. Jihad! version of a traditional hymn expressing faith in God.

Baby's Crying

baby's crying living in a dumpster
baby's crying living in the third world
baby's crying working for the Nike shoes
and everybody's crying for their freedom
mama's crying daddy is a casualty
sister's crying war made her a refugee
brother's crying bomb made him an amputee
and everybody's crying for their freedom

time is our constant companion as we journey through our lives
and who knows, who knows what time may bring our way
we live our lives in a global intertwining with others who are just trying to stay alive

baby's crying living in a dumpster
baby's crying living in the first world
baby's crying working for the Nike shoes
and everybody's crying for their freedom
mama's crying daddy wrecked the family
sister's crying over idols in a magazine
brother's crying didn't make the football team
and everybody's crying for their freedom

i walk along these city streets and see the haunted eyes
reflecting back my helplessness as souls slowly die
and i'm feeling like an exile in babylon alone
rejected by The Righteous One, The Power on the throne
and i cry... and i cry for You

the countless hoards of people with their heads bowed down in prayer
looking for a sign from You
and they're feeling like they're exiles in babylon alone
rejected by The Righteous One, The Power on the throne
and they cry for You... hear them cry to You

and yet, deep within our hearts
we know that we've abandoned our humanity
i looked within inside myself and found duplicity
i call out for someone who can come and rescue me....

Allah!

i looked outside myself for an answer to it all
i looked for a connection to Transcendent Unity!

Broken Love Song

you had me over
'cause you wanted to torture me
then you turned your back in bed
after telling me about my deficiencies
you showed me your guilt
when you insisted it was all my fault
i saw through you at the time
it was obvious what you had done
but I had chosen to love you
so I kept it in my head

that's its possible
to try to fly too high
its possible
to die from a broken heart
i turned to you
but you moved away
i reached for you
but you seem so far away

so you called me up
to tell me not to call
and within a couple minutes
you had an unlisted phone
and now I wonder who you're with
who's next in line for your whip
'cause you cheat lie and run
its your way
you cheat lie and run
like a coward with a gun

and don't you know that's its possible
to try to fly too high
its possible
to die from a broken heart
i turned to you
but you moved away
i reached for you
but you seem so far away

Angela's Ashes

angela's ashes sit cold in the fire
that consumes all there is and calls life a liar
and if there is no heaven then God ain't worth a whit
for angela's ashes need some stirring with an angel's stick

its strange how things turn out
never what you would expect
the dream of the child becomes the cry of the sick
for the fire of the furnace burns all that comes inside
to life's great mysteries and a bumpy rocky ride

angela's ashes sit cold in the fire
that consumes all there is and calls life a liar
and if there is no heaven then God ain't worth a whit
'cause angela's ashes need some stirring with an angel's stick

the poor know true kindness is rarely in the rich
the priest knows the tickle is actually an itch
and both pretend to know life can be so hard
but they both stir angela's ashes with a sharp and deadly shard

the flea and louse both know the truth of ashes in the flame
the countless men and women with lives of grit and pain
an endless line of people travel down through time
stirring angela's ashes with hopes for a better time

when nothings there a couple beers or thrusting of the loins
is all that keeps the furnace warm some life within the flames
so angela takes what she can and who are you to say
that what she does is worse than what you do in your secret shame

The Poignant Tragedy of Being Human

don't you ever wonder 'bout the way things could be?
the stories you've heard but no longer believe

the prayers of the child that rise over the dirt
wondering why God doesn't make it come back
the quiver of the teen yearning for that first kiss
the young adult's quest for what they think is success
the middle aged dream crushed by unplanned events
waiting for death never having had life

how to respond to the cries all around?

don't you ever wonder 'bout the way things could be?
the stories you've heard but no longer believe

did you respond with a drink and a pill?
try to get laid or eat till you're filled?
or did you grab a credit card and go hit the mall?
fill up your house try to have it all?
or did you live with lofty thoughts and a cause that was right?
take it to the streets and get out and fight?

how to respond to the cries all around?

you can choose to always look away
you can choose to just pretend
you can choose to turn and walk away
you can choose to just pretend

but all the nights crying
seem to catch up with you
you start to look 'round
and wonder what you could do

you're tempted
to fall on your knees
and let out a wail
and try to believe

you're tempted
to fall on your knees
and let out a wail
as you try to believe

Who will respond to the cry of your heart?

The Shaykh's Song (instrumental)

Night Journey

Who did you see on your night journey?
did you see beyond the mountains to the foundations of the world?
did you see the ancient mysteries?
the angels turn and whirl around the Throne of Light

you awoke to find you were flying over the land
flying so high
as if you were mounted on a steed
made of power
following a guide
seemingly constructed of Transcendent Light

flying up to The One
flying up to the throne of The Transcendent One

House of Special Things

i wanna come in
i wanna come in to the house of special things
i wanna hang out
i wanna kick back
i wanna relax inside the house filled with special things

hey! won't You let me come in?
i know i'm not clean and i'm kind of in sin
but hey! hear me knock on the door
if You let me come in something just might rub off

take me
punching holes through the sky
breaking on through to the other side
never coming down again

an awesome Presence descends to the horizon
surrounds him with the fullness of meaning
crushing him under the weight of its import
he can't escape the overwhelming evidence
words that contain the secrets of the universe

transcendence manifests as The Reality
declaring its a Who, its The Unity
declaring a Unique Creativity
caught within a phrase that all can comprehend
words that contain the secrets of the universe

la ilaha ila 'Llah

ashaduan la ilaha ila 'Llah
ashaduan Muhammadan rasool Allah
subhan Allah!

the words carry meaning like thunder
rumbling from above and below
depths hidden from those who won't pursue
The Truth all around in all that you experience
words that contain the secrets of the universe

time seems to come to a standstill
my room opens up to The Infinite
the plants bow low in acknowledgement
the animals hear, turn, and join in a chorus
of words that contain the secrets of the universe

i wanna come in
i wanna come in to the house filled with special things
i wanna hang out
i wanna kick back
i wanna relax inside the house filled with special things

hey! won't You let me come in?
i know i'm not clean and i'm kind of in sin
but hey! hear me knock on the door
if You let me come in something just might rub off

Duruud Shariif

Allahuma sali ala Sayiddina Muhammad

Jerusalem

let's not fight over the holy land
aren't you afraid of what God might send?
y'know He can't be pleased over what we do
fighting over holy land

Oh Jerusalem!
Jesus weeps for you
and I do too

Oh Jerusalem!
your people are gone
and will they ever return?

we say love's for all the family of Adam
brothers, sisters, cousins, all descended from him
we're gathered in a sacred spot so what do we do?
fight over holy land
killing each other over holy land

you say that you own it want to raise your own flags
not seeing irony within that stance
cause you're taking something that's only on loan
a space to share the message and guide the people home

but you don't believe it and you don't hear the call
the nation-state's your idol and power your god
you don't really think the ancient stories are true
and yet they're why we call it a holy land
they're the reason its a holy land

Oh Jerusalem!
Jesus weeps for you
and I do too

Oh Jerusalem!
your people are gone
and will they ever return?

jew christian muslim sort 'em out in the end
no one has the right to think that they are the ones
cause its obvious you're not when you do what you do
fighting over holy land
killing each other over holy land

1 Samuel 8:4-22

rock the casbah

the city for all!
make the city for all!

God sends the rain upon sinner and saint
the flowers are clothed and birds are held up in flight
and all sing the praises of The One Who Creates
except unbelievers fighting in the holy land
arms dealer profits in the holy land
cain and abel in the holy land

A Mighty Fortress is Our God
Words by Martin Luther, 1529.
Public Domain.

A mighty Fortress is our God,
A Bulwark never failing;
Our Helper He amidst the flood
Of mortal ills prevailing:
For still our ancient foe
Doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and pow'r are great,
And armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.

And though this world, with devils filled,
Should threaten to undo us;
We will not fear, for God hath willed
His truth to triumph through us:
The prince of darkness grim,
We tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure,
For lo, his doom is sure,
One little word shall fell him.

That word above all earthly pow'rs,
No thanks to them abideth;
The Spirit and the gifts are ours
Through Him Who with us sideth:
Let goods and kindred go,
This mortal life also;
The body they may kill;
God's truth abideth still,
His Kingdom is forever.