Willie Nelson

Tommy Boyd gives us his version of “A Peaceful Solution“ with a charming mix of down home Americana and a critical view of our current global order. His voice sings out with grievances against our current global order, a voice from the heartland of America.

I feel he exemplifies the path of a contemporary Prince of Peace because he advocates change with three characteristics.

1. The change must be peaceful.
2. The change must be individualized. In other words, the change must be a permanent one in the heart of each individual.
3. The change must originate from the ground up. Top-down hierarchical leadership benefiting from the status quo cannot lead us to a meaningful change.

You are freedom.
You are peace.
You are love.
You are truth.
You mustn’t wait for anyone else.
You mustn’t be afraid.

You mustn’t worry that crime is committed upon a global scale. It will continue for awhile. But we needn’t continue along with it.

Walk away. It will feel better when you do it in your own way, not the way some abitrary leader tells you to.

If you are willing, you too can be a Prince of Peace.

Tommy Boyd seems to be and having a good time while doing it. You can join the party any time.

* * * * Artist’s Statement * * * * *

I think Willie Nelson’s song speaks for itself.

I feel these 2 songs fit in with the general message of Willie Nelson Peace Research Institute. The first is a protest song. It has been on Neil Young’s Living With War Today Protest Videos page for about 3 weeks. As of October 23 the song and video has been in the top 10 list, out of 610 other videos. The song is called – I’ve Been Fighting For Along Time by – T Boyd.

It’s a perspective of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. The video is my song and photos of Iraq I got from my friend John W. Conroy. John is a Veteran of the Vietnam War 1966 – 1967, and was embedded with the troops in both countries several times as a photo – journalist. My 19 year old niece Jessie summed up the video best …. Excellent footage of soldiers as well as regular people, especially the children. A long time is right !!

The second is a very very simple song I wrote. Hoping to convey the lack of empathy and compassion in our society today, for some people that live under dire circumstances … for what ever reason. Unfortunately, a lot of people in America seem to blame the weakest and least powerful among us, for their perceived problems in this country. The song is called … For Some … and can be found on YouTube by searching …… T Boyd – For Some …

My friend Meadow Elizabeth Erskine sings on the second half of the song. She has a much nicer singing voice than I do.

It was a lot of fun trying to come up with my own version of Willie’s song. I tried using acoustic and electric guitar, just mandolin, some harp, fast or slow. I decided on this version and hope people will find something they like about the video.

Thanks so much for featuring it on Willie’s PEACE site. Many thanks to Willie and Amy Nelson. To Liz for all her kind, thoughtful, and generous comments to all the people that sent their music or videos in. Lastly, Thanks to all the folks that work or contribute to the Willie Nelson Peace Research Institute. Keep up the good works ………
Tommy (I’m ready to receive it) Boyd

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