This song was written by Emma about her experience as an Ecumenical Accompanier in Jerusalem this Spring. She filled the church of St Andrews with her moving rendition of this song during the handover ceremony of group 56. We thank all our EAs, especially those who just returned home, for their unique contributions and work towards a just peace and reconciliation in the Holy Land.
Come and take a walk with me
Through the streets of old Jerusalem.
Tell me what you see and then
I’ll tell you what I do.
A farmer in the field, a soldier on the hill
A mother at a checkpoint, with a child that’s fallen ill.
A walk becomes a protest, a meal a heartfelt prayer
That one day, soon, God willing, all sides will flourish there
Come and take a walk with me
Through the streets of old Jerusalem.
Tell me what you see and then
I’ll tell you what I do.
Children bearing guns, facing children bearing stones
People from another land, taking land that someone owns
A faith that can’t be broken, a hope that won’t be stirred
After fifty years of waiting, will justice now be heard?
Come and take a walk with me
Through the streets of old Jerusalem
Tell me what you see and then
I’ll tell you what I do.
A land whose heart was broken on memories of the past
Years of fear and hatred, and peace that did not last.
A city once divided, united now and shared
Years of fear forgotten? If only people dared.
Come and take a walk with me
Through the streets of old Jerusalem.
Tell me what you see and then
I’ll tell you what I do.
A war that’s fought in olive groves, in fences and in fields
A well, a pipe, a house destroyed, and still they do not yield.
In every home a welcome, in every heart a smile
For those who come to listen and talk of peace a while
Come and take a walk with me
Through the streets of old Jerusalem.
Tell me what you see and then
I’ll tell you what I do.
Please see accompanying note sheet here.
Congrats, Emma, for this very meaningful song of historic-Palestinian reality. Also, a song of continues resistance till Palestinian people get back their land, freedom, and just peace. Pls let me share this in our own struggle and advocacy for both, the Filipino and Palestinian people.