Category: Thoreau-Back Thursday

A Nation’s Strength — Emerson

Dr. Dean
What makes a nation’s pillars high
And its foundations strong?
What makes it mighty to defy
The foes that round it throng?

It is not gold. Its kingdoms grand
Go down in battle shock;
Its shafts are laid on sinking sand,
Not on abiding rock.

Is it the sword? Ask the red dust
Of empires passed away;
The blood has turned their stones to rust,
Their glory to decay.

And is it pride? Ah, that bright crown
Has seemed to nations sweet;
But God has struck its luster down
In ashes at his feet.

Not gold but only men can make
A people great and strong;
Men who for truth and honor’s sake
Stand fast and suffer long.

Brave men who work while others sleep,
Who dare while others fly…
They build a nation’s pillars deep
And lift them to the sky.

ALL Things Are Current Found 

Dr. Dean

ALL things are current found 
On earthly ground, 
Spirits and elements 
Have their descents. 

Night and day, year on year, 
High and low, far and near, 
These are our own aspects, 
These are our own regrets. 

Ye gods of the shore, 
Who abide evermore, 
I see you far headland, 
Stretching on either hand; 

I hear the sweet evening sounds 
From your undecaying grounds; 
Cheat me no more with time, 
Take me to your clime.

Simplify

Dr. Dean

As lead vocalist Trey Privott explains, “Simplify” is about “the beauty of existence after ridding yourself of everything and understanding yourself more so after.” The song was inspired in part by a Henry David Thoreau quotation (“Our life is frittered away by detail — simplify, simplify.”), and is one of several Samsara tracks addressing the pitfalls of capitalism. Sonically, “Simplify” coalesces the band’s myriad influences, like funk, soul and gritty rock and roll. (American Songwriter)