Chapter 12: Shock and Awe
Division and destruction create chaos, but Maeley holds onto hope.
Shock and Awe
This wrestling for the White House
Has much of us in dismay
They’re in the ring ’til a knockout
Then we’re all stuck either way
Might be dumb but we’re not blind
Half of us see at least half of the lies
I’ve asked around about the White House
Seems either side feels the same
No real choice, still we turnout
To pick the one we least disdain
They’ve thrown the game, it’s no surprise
Our camel is lodged inside the eye
Shock and awe
Leaders above the law
We’re all in shock and awe
And our hope is nearly gone
Say what they need
Not what you mean
It’s all so slippery
Fear as a fuel
Anger the tool
Writing this history
A finger to blame
Need someone to pay
So we can build a wall
Dividing liberty for all
In two, us and you
Left, right, black, white
Christian, Muslim
Race and custom
Science, religion
Have we forgotten
We each have children
We are God’s children
Perhaps we are all dumb and blind with
Shock and awe
Leaders above the law
We’re all in shock and awe
And our hope is nearly gone
Caught in the lies a world in demise, is in for a big surprise
We sit paralyzed, while currents and tides warm
Just two of the signs
Have we gone insane
The ring’s just a game
We fall in the golden hall
To the destruction of us all
The ocean is dying
Forests are falling
Species expiring
But they’re still denying
Rivers are drying
Sea levels are rising
With temperatures climbing
When will we start trying to change
Perhaps we are all dumb and blind from
Shock and awe
Leaders above the law
We’re all in shock and awe
The people petit bourgeois
We’re lost in shock and awe
And our hope is nearly gone
But hope is alive in me
Hope is alive you’ll see
Hope is alive in me
Hope is alive you’ll see
There’s always hope
Just a fool’s hope
But there’s always hope
Hold onto hope
Hold onto hope
Hold onto hope, hold onto hope
Hold onto hope
Credits
Lyrics and music by Emily Richards
Produced by Stephen Edwards, Emily Richards
Vocals, piano by Emily Richards
Guitars by Jason Brock
Programming, percussion by Stephen Edwards
Orchestral arrangement by Stephen Edwards, performed by the Moscow Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Vladimir Podgoretsky
Transcribed by Daniele Trucchio, Orchestrated by Charles Fernandez, Copyist Caryn Rasmussen
Vocals engineered by Emily Richards at Refuge Studio (Los Angeles, CA)
Piano, programming, percussion engineered by Stephen Edwards at Birdfly Studios (Pacific Palisades, CA)
Orchestra engineered by Gennady Popin at Mosfilm Studio (Moscow, Russia)
Guitars engineered by Jason Brock at The WAV Studio (Ventura, CA)
Orchestral composite editing engineered by Jeff Vaughn at Seven Palms Studio (Granada Hills, CA)
Guitars composite editing engineered by Stephen Edwards at Birdfly Studios (Pacific Palisades, CA)
Mixed by Jeff Vaughn, Emily Richards, Stephen Edwards at Birdfly Studios (Pacific Palisades, CA)
Mix balancing by John Jones, Emily Richards at Orange Studio (Beverly Hills, CA)
Mastered by Bernie Grundmann at Bernie Grundman Studios (Hollywood, CA)
Executive production by John Nogawski