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Thesalonika

from The children of the sea by John Meed

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lyrics

I was thirteen when the Nazis came to Thesalonika
So I put away my dolls and I went to join the war
And my father and I fought side by side
On the Kilkis mountain we sang the International with pride
Liberation came in ’44
But the army carried on with the war
With allied money for their guns and for their planes
They left me for dead in a ditch in the rain

Where can I go?
Where can I call home?
Oh my Thesalonika
Where are you now?

I woke up in hospital in Bulgaria
Found exile and a husband in Czechoslovakia
And my children grew up far from the mountains an the sea
But after all the fighting they had some security
Springtime came to Prague in ’68
And my daughter joined the students who came to demonstrate
But the tanks have never been far away
In my European century

We finally returned after 30 years away
But as for Odysseus the homecoming was tinged with dismay
Now my winters may be warmer but my bones still feel the cold
And the streets are paved with promises but never with gold
People ask me if I feel more at home back here
Has my country changed in all these years
I say my home is wherever I can be me
And my land is any land where the people are free

credits

from The children of the sea, released December 1, 2005

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John Meed Cambridge

John Meed is a singer-songwriter who lives in Cambridge, UK, and writes and performs in the folk and acoustic traditions. His songwriting has been compared to that of Al Stewart, Leonard Cohen, Christy Moore, Jacques Brel and Richard Thompson. He has released eight albums and his music has been played on national and local radio. See johnmeed.net. ... more

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