Work-in-progress “They Tried To Bury Me But They Didn’t Know I Was A Seed,” (Sinéad O’Connor). 36 x 48" oil and collage on wood panel.  I’ve been finishing up the collage. I wrote Sinèad‘s revised lyrics to Bob Marley’s song “War” on the collar of her crew neck, from the song she bravely sang  at SNL where she used her spotlight to shine light on the child abuse at the hands of religious leaders, by tearing up a photo of the pope. Then all hell broke loose. The public misunderstood her statement and cancelled her heartlessly.

At 15, she was left by her mother, enslaved to the horrors of the Irish Magdalene Laundry, “The Sisters Of Our Lady Of Charity,” where she only got out because of her talent at singing and songwriting. She was familiar with child abuse first hand from those days. 

Anyways, while being invited to sing a couple weeks later at a Bob Dylan Tribute, she was intensely boo’d in reaction to the SNL appearance. It was a brutal visual, this thin young woman standing before a bunch of angry ppl trying to boo her off stage. She stood strong and defiant. The band tried to start the song to end the crowds harassment but she waved the band off until the booing mellowed slightly, absorbing it all, then bravely sang a cappella the lyrics to Bob Marley’s “War/No More Trouble” making a slight change, adding child abuse to the subject. Here are her lyrics: 

“Until the philosophy which holds one race superior and another inferior is finally and permanently discredited and abandoned, everywhere is War.

Until there’s no longer first class or second class citizens of any nation, until the color of a man’s skin is no more significant than the color of his eyes, I’ve got to say War.

Until the basic human rights are equally guaranteed to all without regard to race, I say War.

And until the ignorable and unhappy regime which holds all of us through Child Abuse, yeah, Child Abuse, yeah, subhuman bondage has been toppled utterly destroyed, everywhere is War.”

Well I tried to cover some of her political views and compassion in collage here. I hope I did her justice. Still lots to do. More soon.