Thirteen Pianos from Thirteen Pianos by Maria Quinn

Thirteen Pianos

Well I read this in the news today
So I don’t know if it’s true
It struck a chord and it made me think
So I’m sharing it with you.
They counted all the pianos in Gaza
From the border to the sea
They searched houses, hotels and the music school
And they only found thirteen

In a dark, forgotten theatre
From a brighter, bygone age
There are shards of shattered ceiling
Scattered on the stage
And among the piles of rubble
In that aching no-man’s-land
With strings all rusted and out of tune
Is the only concert grand

There’s a guy who lives along from me
He came knocking at my door
He asked me, did I understand?
And it never mattered more
So we stepped outside for an evening stroll
And the streets were so serene
Counting pianos in our neighbourhood
Well d’you know, we found thirteen

When will the wind stop blowing in the east?
When will the wind stop blowing in the east?
When your bones have turned to dust
In a soil that doesn’t care
And humanity prevails over belief

Now I’m sitting here in my music room
And I don’t know if it’s true
A spark just flew from the open fire
With another point of view
But I’m thankful for my neighbour
And I’m thankful for my hands
And I’ll play this tune for the Gazan folk
And their silent concert grand

• Acoustic
• Gaza
• Gaza Strip
• Palestine
• eclectic
• folk
• jazz
• piano
• singer-songwriter
• Glasgow