A Lover's Quarrel with the World

 

When someone asked Robert Frost what he wanted on his tombstone his answer was: He Had A Lover's Quarrel With The World. The songs and stories you’ll find in this room are part of my lover’s quarrel with the world including what I call Remembering the Dream, 21 videos sharing songs and stories from the Civil Rights Movement of the 50’s and 60’s and how those songs and those stories connect with and help us understand the times we are living in now.

Songs with Stories

  • Once We Cross That Bridge

    It was my good fortune to have visited sites, heard stories, and sung songs of the Civil Rights Struggle of the 50's and 60's half a dozen times.

  • What We Leave Behind

    This video is from my college graduation in 2019, 54 years after I took my first class at the University of Washington.

  • The March for Jobs and Freedom

    Among the most important musical and personal experiences of my life were singing and doing social work in New York in 1968 and then years later adding music to tours visiting sites, singing songs and hearing stories of Civil Rights Movement.

  • When Johnny Comes Marchin' Home

    It's interesting to try to decide what story to write about this song. In high school I was inspired by Chad Mitchell's version of this song. Then in college I was inspired to sing this song as the Viet Nam war was escalating.

More from Songs with Stories

Remembering the Dream 2020

  • Remembering the Dream: An Introduction

    Remembering the Dream was inspired by six visits I made to the American South as a part of intergenerational, interracial groups who got on a bus and visited sites, heard stories, and sang songs important to the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950’s and 60’s.
    Mike Kirkland ~ Songs & Stories From Home Episode 36 ~ Mark Pearson Music

  • Emmett Till

    The Civil Rights Movement of the 1950’s and 60’s became part of the American consciousness 55 years ago when a 14-year-old boy, Emmett Till, was kidnapped, tortured, and killed by two white men.
    Mike Kirkland ~ Songs & Stories From Home Episode 37 ~ Mark Pearson Music

  • Little Rock

    The Civil Rights Movement of the 1950’s and 60’s needs to be studied and celebrated and remembered by all Americans because as much as any time in our history that moment helped bring us closer to who, I believe, we were meant to be...
    Little Rock ~ Songs & Stories From Home Episode 38 ~ Mark Pearson Music

  • Montgomery Bus Boycott

    This great American Story, the story of the Civil Rights Movement, is about making the American Dream more real for all Americans. It’s about the continued desire for true economic justice and meaningful racial justice. 

    Montgomery Bus Boycott ~ Songs & Stories From Home Episode 39 ~ Mark Pearson Music
More from Remembering the Dream 2020

On the Wings of a Dream 2020

  • On the Wings of a Dream

    Welcome to Songs and Stories from Home. It’s October of 2020. An election is upon us, and I would urge everyone that’s eligible to register to vote and then to vote in person or by mail. What voting can do is gives us, we the people, a voice so that together we may continue to give voice to the ASPIRATIONS OF A NATION.
    On the Wings of a Dream ~ Songs & Stories From Home Episode 57 ~ Mark Pearson Music

  • With Liberty

    What do we mean when we end the Pledge of Allegiance with the words Liberty and Justice for All? When it comes to liberty we are a country steeped in myths of hearty individualism and personal freedom, ideas we often express loudly and boldly.
    With Liberty ~ Songs & Stories From Home Episode 58 ~ Mark Pearson Music

  • Justice for All

    I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. A pledge totaling thirty-one words that many if not most of us first recited in grade school standing next to our desks with our hands over our hearts.
    Justice for All ~ Songs & Stories From Home Episode 59 ~ Mark Pearson Music

  • Liberty and Justice for All After All

    We are on the eve of a truly significant election. How this county will approach the Pandemic going forward, how we’ll deal with Global Warming, Systemic Racism; these are all on the ballot. We’re deciding whether character in our leaders still matters. 
    Liberty and Justice for All After All ~ Songs & Stories From Home Episode 60 ~ Mark Pearson Music
More from On the Wings of a Dream 2020

In This Room