Mighty Wings
Players:
Jim Gawne - Mandolin
Mike Ward - Fretless Bass
Bob Ryan - Guitar & Lead Vocals
Recorded live-to-cassette in 1981 at "Brock and Friends Coffeehouse" in Kelowna BC Canada
(Lyrics)
Words & Music by Bob Ryan (C)1981
We'll leave behind this dark night
Step into the light of the Sun
Where the blind gain sight
And wrongs get right
And freedom spreads its might wings
How my heart sings
How my heart sings
You've got to look up
to see the spring sun
Look away from the dust and clay
You'll find new life
Get you free from strife
And peace will spread its mighty wings
A celebratory song.
A celebration of the phenomenal period of history we are now in. As difficult as it may be - and the challenges are many - this is a time of unalloyed joy. As a Baha'i, the following words of Abdu'l-Baha (the son of Baha'u'llah, the Prophet/Founder of the Baha'i Faith) speak to me of the spirit of the song:
"From every standpoint the world of humanity is undergoing a re-formation. The laws of former governments and civilizations are in process of revision, scientific ideas and theories are developing and advancing to meet a new range of phenomena, invention and discovery are penetrating hitherto unknown fields revealing new wonders and hidden secrets of the material universe; industries have vastly wider scope and production; everywhere the world of mankind is in the throes of evolutionary activity indicating the passing of the old conditions and advent of the new age of re-formation. Old trees yield no fruitage; old ideas and methods are obsolete and worthless now. Old standards of ethics, moral codes and methods of living in the past will not suffice for the present age of advancement and progress.
This is the cycle of maturity and re-formation in religion as well. Dogmatic imitations of ancestral beliefs are passing. They have been the axis around which religion revolved but now are no longer fruitful; on the contrary, in this day they have become the cause of human degradation and hindrance. Bigotry and dogmatic adherence to ancient beliefs have become the central and fundamental source of animosity among men, the obstacle to human progress, the cause of warfare and strife, the destroyer of peace, composure and welfare in the world.
While this is true and apparent, it is likewise evident that the Lord of mankind has bestowed infinite bounties upon the world in this century of maturity and consummation. The ocean of divine mercy is surging, the vernal showers are descending, the Sun of Reality is shining gloriously. Heavenly teachings applicable to the advancement in human conditions have been revealed in this merciful age. This re-formation and renewal of the fundamental reality of religion constitute the true and outworking spirit of modernism, the unmistakable light of the world, the manifest effulgence of the Word of God, the divine remedy for all human ailment and the bounty of eternal life to all mankind."
(Abdu'l-Baha, Foundations of World Unity, p. 9)