Apathy

Lyrics

You closed the talking,
Closed the book,
Closed your eyes
Refused to look;
You masked your feelings
To hide your guilt,
You hid the will
To help them out

Apathy please stop knocking on my door
Apathy, don’t come round here no more,

Ignored their cries,
Ignored their pain,
Ignored the killing
Showed no shame
You let it happen,
You let it be,
You let them die, from your apathy.

Apathy please stop knocking on my door
Apathy, don’t come round here no more,

Song Description

John wrote ‘Apathy’ in 2016 in response to what he saw as the inaction of the UN in relation to a whole series of world conflicts – Srebrenica, Rwanda, Syria,Myanmar, Gaza and the West Bank, Lebanon. As I sing it now, my thoughts are mainly with the present situation in Palestine and the deliberate, ongoing slaughter there. But apathy here is surely only part of a story that is shrouded in a terrible and inherent racism. It’s impossible to believe that if the Gaza and West Bank victims were western, European and white that the outcry and response would be so weak. It is shameful.

The lines ‘Apathy please stop knocking at my door’ and ‘Apathy don’t come round here no more’ were added by me to create a chorus for when the poem became a song.

Apathy Appears On