Not another gun for another damn fool HEAR ‘Not Another Gun’ We need to harness up the power of the water, wind and sun We must declare our independence from petroleum They can’t help a seed grow tall into the sky ‘Cause guns don’t hammer and guns don’t saw We need to dredge up the poison where the Hudson runs Well, we need to clean the river of the pollution We’ve got enough guns for a thousand years We need better schools for our daughters and our sons Well, we need education for our younger ones It takes a lot of work to get the job done Well, we need more food for our hungry ones Words and Music by John Fisher & James Durst

His eldest son, singer/entrepreneur Duy Quang preceded him in death in December 2012. (UPDATE 5/13) Renowned poet/composer Pham Duy passed from this life in January, 2013. Together with his two oldest sons, Quang and Cuong - also respected musicians in their own right, he continues to fill the air - and our hearts - with wonderful music. After living 30 years with his family in Southern California, he returned to Saigon in 2005 to live out his days. The distinguished red-jacketed gentleman seen briefly in the front row is Pham Duy. I’ve recorded several of these translations and used two in my musical, Hue Manatee’s Quest. Someone at the party had actually found a copy at a used book store. Our friendship led to a collaboration where each of us translated ten of the other’s songs into our own language and then published together a bi-lingual song book, Songs/Ca Khuc, under the auspices of the Vietnamese American Association. He is that nation’s ‘Pete Seeger/Woody Guthrie’, singer/composer of poems, operas, symphonies and thousands of songs, and we had toured together throughout South Vietnam in the spring of 1974 at the invitation of the US Information Service. Even though Pham Duy was born October 5, 1921, the Vietnamese begin counting “one” at birth. After 37 years, in October of 2011 I returned briefly to Vietnam to honor my friend Pham Duy on the occasion of his 91st birthday.

Mbube wimoweh year