Walls And Bridges
Credit: words and music by Sarah Pirtle (c) 1993 Discovery Center Music (BMI)
Album: Love Makes A Family
Lyrics: An inspiring story about overcoming racisim.
(Chorus:)
Why do we make walls? These walls divide us
Why do we make walls? These walls just hide us
Why do we make a fist? We could reach out our hands
I wanna make a start, building a bridge from heart to heart
Building a bridge from heart to heart.
Jackie came to my school
Art class is where we met
We both liked to draw people’s faces
I drew her; she drew Malcom X
Everyone knew we’d be best friends
They heard us laughing in the hall
But when I invited Jackie home,
we bumped into a wall
We bumped into a wall.
Jackie came to my house
My mom was standing at the door
She had a look upon her face
that I’d never seen before
All night she kept on scowling
Later we had a fight
She said, "Don’t bring Jackie back again,
'cause she’s black and you’re white
She’s black and you’re white.
(Chorus)
I went to Jackie’s house
Her mom was working on a song
We stood around the piano bench
She asked me to sing along
Week by week I came to visit
One day we made a casserole
I took them over to my house
My mom’s face froze
My mom’s face froze.
Jackie’s mom reached out her hand
Jackie’s mom broke on through
She said, "Our daughters are best friends,
I’d like to know you, too
I’d like to know you, too."
(Chorus)
How do you make a bridge?
It’s built of many days
Starts with a single step
Even when you are afraid
Starts when you’re speaking up
Starts when you’re standing tall
Build a strong bridge, my friend
No-one can make you build a wall
No-one can make you build a wall.
(Chorus)
(Chorus:)
Why do we make walls? These walls divide us
Why do we make walls? These walls just hide us
Why do we make a fist? We could reach out our hands
I wanna make a start, building a bridge from heart to heart
Building a bridge from heart to heart.
Jackie came to my school
Art class is where we met
We both liked to draw people’s faces
I drew her; she drew Malcom X
Everyone knew we’d be best friends
They heard us laughing in the hall
But when I invited Jackie home,
we bumped into a wall
We bumped into a wall.
Jackie came to my house
My mom was standing at the door
She had a look upon her face
that I’d never seen before
All night she kept on scowling
Later we had a fight
She said, "Don’t bring Jackie back again,
'cause she’s black and you’re white
She’s black and you’re white.
(Chorus)
I went to Jackie’s house
Her mom was working on a song
We stood around the piano bench
She asked me to sing along
Week by week I came to visit
One day we made a casserole
I took them over to my house
My mom’s face froze
My mom’s face froze.
Jackie’s mom reached out her hand
Jackie’s mom broke on through
She said, "Our daughters are best friends,
I’d like to know you, too
I’d like to know you, too."
(Chorus)
How do you make a bridge?
It’s built of many days
Starts with a single step
Even when you are afraid
Starts when you’re speaking up
Starts when you’re standing tall
Build a strong bridge, my friend
No-one can make you build a wall
No-one can make you build a wall.
(Chorus)