We Are All Connected by Kevin Dickerson Lyrics
I woke up and lay in bed for a minute trying to figure out how to get some new guitar tones
I need to have a conversation with Dan and Beau
But I gotta get paid before I have people building extended range guitars for me
As my bank account is pretty low
It’s November 26, last night we ordered Indian food and stayed in
And watched some show on Netflix with a bunch of swords and a lot of skin
You don’t need a holiday when you’re thankful all the time
And I just read that Fidel Castro died last night
In 1961 my uncle was at the bay of pigs, I visited him
In Cridersville in the mid-2000s, I drove from Pittsburgh with my blonde ex girlfriend
My aunt superglued her tooth, there were Mack trucks and a dog named Tom in the yard
Grandfather was late-stage and rocked a doll like a real child in his arms
I was struck by how similar everything looked to the way things were back home
The two were brothers, they were connected, and it showed
My dad was teased by my uncle until he knocked him out cold one day with a two by four
And thought grandma’d be mad but she laughed; it was the last time they ever quarreled
Glen was buried with a military funeral, it helped out
My mom emailed me, the subject read, “Your uncle Glen - SAD”
She wrote to me
Dear Kevin
Uncle Bill just called Dad and I to let us know that your uncle Glen has passed away
He died today from a stroke and could not be revived
Uncle Bill is contacting family members right now
Dad says Glen just would not listen to anyone about eating all those donuts
He was about 350 pounds
Preventable death
Makes me so sad and angry at the same time
I'll let you know more when we find out
Bill was going to call Grandma after he talked to us
Take care
Love, Mom, X-O
Well Fidel, you did it
You outlasted Glen and some family I never got to know
And what’s this, Gloria Estefan just put out a touching photo
Of her family on a raft to America on the internet
My girlfriend’s up now and she just brought me coffee and I’m going to take a break and drink it
“May freedom continue to ring in the United States, my beautiful adopted country”
Now I’m drinking my coffee looking out my apartment window
At a palm tree waving in the Mission breeze
Thankful for everything I have and everything I’m allowed to be
Gloria Estefan’s sentiment rings true to me
We are all connected
Freedom will continue to ring, Gloria Estafan
Regardless of whether you’re in the Great White North, Florida, or Northern California
Remember, if someone tries to push you around, you gotta push back
My girlfriend and I took a walk over to the Castro to get some good coffee beans cuz we were out
We stopped by the bookstore where my dad bought a Cher biography
But I was lost in thought as we walked around
Past the tree below which Ronald Merritt Junior’s body was lying on the ground
Covered by a medical examiner’s body bag, a blood stain near his head where he bled
The same colors as a holiday ribbon tied silver and red around that tree
His sister sent me a photo of the two of them as kids, she kissed her brother on the cheek
She said
I am the sister of the deceased, Ronald T Merritt, Jr
I would love to talk to you as of the image you remembered
It appears that my brother had a meeting at the Safeway across the street for the “Feed the Need” food drives that are taking place throughout the Bay Area
Eradicating homelessness is what got Ronnie up every morning
Although he called us every Thanksgiving, he never came during Thanksgiving because of his volunteer work to serve the homeless on that day. So we always set a placemat at the table as to his honorable deeds. It was well known about Ron's life-long passion for helping the needy, and the disenfranchised
“We are all connected” is not just a song by Voivod
“We are all connected” is not just a Neil Degrasse Tyson quote
“We are all connected” is not just a vapid yoga affirmation
We are all connected, and this planet, there’s only one of them
Even though there are terrifying things in it
Sometimes rich men in fatigues or red ballcaps may frighten you
And make you promise you’re moving to New Brunswick
While they make false promises all day long to lure the downtrodden and the disenfranchised
Just think of people like Ronald Merritt, Jr
Who cared so deeply about people who have no voice
Who cared for the homeless, and the disenfranchised
Who died tragically in an accident in front of a Whole Foods, and his sister needs to understand it but can’t
What happened to my mom’s long lost brother Christopher?
Did he die in Washington in Vancouver?
Was he by himself, alone and marginalized?
Or was there someone there for him by his side?
Now I’m finishing up some words about a someone I once knew
Her name was Lindsay, and she killed herself in the mid-2000s
We weren’t the closest of friends, we never kissed or held hands
But I wonder if anyone this year set an empty placemat
I need to have a conversation with Dan and Beau
But I gotta get paid before I have people building extended range guitars for me
As my bank account is pretty low
It’s November 26, last night we ordered Indian food and stayed in
And watched some show on Netflix with a bunch of swords and a lot of skin
You don’t need a holiday when you’re thankful all the time
And I just read that Fidel Castro died last night
In 1961 my uncle was at the bay of pigs, I visited him
In Cridersville in the mid-2000s, I drove from Pittsburgh with my blonde ex girlfriend
My aunt superglued her tooth, there were Mack trucks and a dog named Tom in the yard
Grandfather was late-stage and rocked a doll like a real child in his arms
I was struck by how similar everything looked to the way things were back home
The two were brothers, they were connected, and it showed
My dad was teased by my uncle until he knocked him out cold one day with a two by four
And thought grandma’d be mad but she laughed; it was the last time they ever quarreled
Glen was buried with a military funeral, it helped out
My mom emailed me, the subject read, “Your uncle Glen - SAD”
She wrote to me
Dear Kevin
Uncle Bill just called Dad and I to let us know that your uncle Glen has passed away
He died today from a stroke and could not be revived
Uncle Bill is contacting family members right now
Dad says Glen just would not listen to anyone about eating all those donuts
He was about 350 pounds
Preventable death
Makes me so sad and angry at the same time
I'll let you know more when we find out
Bill was going to call Grandma after he talked to us
Take care
Love, Mom, X-O
Well Fidel, you did it
You outlasted Glen and some family I never got to know
And what’s this, Gloria Estefan just put out a touching photo
Of her family on a raft to America on the internet
My girlfriend’s up now and she just brought me coffee and I’m going to take a break and drink it
“May freedom continue to ring in the United States, my beautiful adopted country”
Now I’m drinking my coffee looking out my apartment window
At a palm tree waving in the Mission breeze
Thankful for everything I have and everything I’m allowed to be
Gloria Estefan’s sentiment rings true to me
We are all connected
Freedom will continue to ring, Gloria Estafan
Regardless of whether you’re in the Great White North, Florida, or Northern California
Remember, if someone tries to push you around, you gotta push back
My girlfriend and I took a walk over to the Castro to get some good coffee beans cuz we were out
We stopped by the bookstore where my dad bought a Cher biography
But I was lost in thought as we walked around
Past the tree below which Ronald Merritt Junior’s body was lying on the ground
Covered by a medical examiner’s body bag, a blood stain near his head where he bled
The same colors as a holiday ribbon tied silver and red around that tree
His sister sent me a photo of the two of them as kids, she kissed her brother on the cheek
She said
I am the sister of the deceased, Ronald T Merritt, Jr
I would love to talk to you as of the image you remembered
It appears that my brother had a meeting at the Safeway across the street for the “Feed the Need” food drives that are taking place throughout the Bay Area
Eradicating homelessness is what got Ronnie up every morning
Although he called us every Thanksgiving, he never came during Thanksgiving because of his volunteer work to serve the homeless on that day. So we always set a placemat at the table as to his honorable deeds. It was well known about Ron's life-long passion for helping the needy, and the disenfranchised
“We are all connected” is not just a song by Voivod
“We are all connected” is not just a Neil Degrasse Tyson quote
“We are all connected” is not just a vapid yoga affirmation
We are all connected, and this planet, there’s only one of them
Even though there are terrifying things in it
Sometimes rich men in fatigues or red ballcaps may frighten you
And make you promise you’re moving to New Brunswick
While they make false promises all day long to lure the downtrodden and the disenfranchised
Just think of people like Ronald Merritt, Jr
Who cared so deeply about people who have no voice
Who cared for the homeless, and the disenfranchised
Who died tragically in an accident in front of a Whole Foods, and his sister needs to understand it but can’t
What happened to my mom’s long lost brother Christopher?
Did he die in Washington in Vancouver?
Was he by himself, alone and marginalized?
Or was there someone there for him by his side?
Now I’m finishing up some words about a someone I once knew
Her name was Lindsay, and she killed herself in the mid-2000s
We weren’t the closest of friends, we never kissed or held hands
But I wonder if anyone this year set an empty placemat