» highest in charts:   # 1279   (128,021 songs currently listed in Acoustic)
» highest in sub-genre:   # 105   (10,386 songs currently listed in Acoustic > Folk)

I originally wrote this song in Jan. 2003 when we were on the verge of going to war in Iraq. I updated it a little in 2005 to reflect our current situation.

Rain and snow fall softly in a silent blend
A new year falls upon this gathering of friends, and we sing Auld Lang Syne

We sit and laugh at our respective resolutions
We’ll change our weight, change our habits, change our fortunes
But we all know that there are greater things that need to change
But we push them all aside and say they’re way beyond our range
We analyze the problems, but still everything’s the same
But who’s to know the good that could be done
If we’d become Instruments of Peace in this New Year

Now this war invades our hurried daily lives
Pandora’s box has opened, spilling hate and battle cries
And as we pledge allegiance and we speak of love and tolerance
Our politicians market war as just preemptive self-defense
And if I disagree I might be charged with lack of common sense
But I think all the battles could be won
If we’d become Instruments of Peace in this New Year

Somehow we’ve all learned to play this modern game
To criticize and find somewhere else to place the blame
And in our land of opportunity we feel this great distress
When things don’t measure up to our perceived entitlements
But somehow we must try to turn our gaze around
And look first deep within ourselves for that fertile ground
Where we plant the seeds of change and come to see
That we can be Instruments of Peace in this New Year