Sketch (1995)

Listen:

I drew this picture of you, just for fun, just to be cruel
I felt sort of badly, but then when my friends all laughed I drew it again
So you drew this picture of me, and I felt so small when they all laughed at me
And I was too proud to explain that I never meant to cause you pain

But then I drew it again

It’s a sketch, lines on paper—It’s a sketch, not real flesh and blood
But when I look at it instead of you, it’s hard to remember you’re human too

We draw these pictures again to draw the difference between us and them
Religion/sexuality/race: we draw whole nations with evil faces
They draw their pictures of us and we’re so insulted, kick up a fuss
And everything runs for the gun because target practice is so much fun
With human silhouettes

It’s a sketch, lines on paper—It’s a sketch, not real flesh and blood
But when I look at it instead of you, it’s hard to remember you’re human too

It starts when cartoons are confused with reality
Cartoons are just fine but not when they’re all that we can see
Look for three dimensions, look for the colors and the greys
People are worth more than funny papers on the bottom of a birdcage

Let’s draw a picture of us working together, helping each other
Fill in the shadow and the line
Draw us in color so we can see each other—Take the trouble, take the time

So we’re more than a sketch, lines on paper
More than a sketch, we’re real flesh and blood
Let there be nothing between you and me but our common humanity

Composed: Waverly, Iowa, July 1995

First public performance: Fremont, California, August 1995

Recordings: Lee Krähenbühl & David Frantz, Love Unexplored: Acoustic Stories and Unlikely Spirituals (Living Room Music, 1996)

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