Hiroshima

As I write this, it is seventy-five years since the Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima, unleashing a destructive power unlike anything seen before – or since, thankfully, but for its terrible echo in Nagasaki two days after. A year or so after the bombing, John Hersey, an American journalist, wrote a large piece for The New Yorker, out of stories he gathered in talking with six survivors of the blast. It was the only time the magazine ever devoted its entire issue to a single piece, and was later published as the little book, Hiroshima. When I read the book some years ago it impacted me deeply, and led to my song, “Hiroshima”. It will be on an album to be released in a few months, but I wanted to share this rough mix because of its relevance to this date, with apologies to the many fine musicians whose work is anonymous here but will be identified when the recording is officially released. The second verse refers to the Cuban Missile Crisis, which many of us remember well. The call to nonviolence, enunciated so well in the life (and death) of John R. Lewis, has never been more urgent or timely. Lord, hear our prayer!