That Was My Family

by Jess Klein

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Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of L.O.V.E., Jess Klein & The Berlin Brothers Vol. 1, When We Rise, That Was My Family, Never Gonna Break Me, My Own Beating Heart (single) , Another Man Done Gone - 100% of proceeds to NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Back to My Green , and 13 more. , and , .

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about

My people are Jewish and in Russia where they came from, that meant persecution, violence & death. When I see what folks trying to get to safety across the southern US border are facing today, I feel a kinship and a responsibility to use my voice. The chorus of the song translates to "That was my family/This IS my family." Because our stories are connected. Thanks to Gil Ramos for his help with the Spanish translation of the lyric

lyrics

That Was My Family - copyright Jess Klein/ASCAP House of Leo Music 2023

Little girl wrapped in a cloth at her mama’s breast
Feels her mama’s heart
Beating fast
Looks into her eyes, her mama tells her not to cry
She can tell from the whisper
It’s do or die

Yelling outside, the soldiers came round again
They carry machine guns now
It was rifles then
Hush little baby, mama’s gonna find us a way
Go to a better place
Somewhere safe

That was my family
Esta es mi familia
We came here on our knees
Vinimos de rodillas
Stood up strong again
In the arms of freedom
That was my family
Esta es mi familia

Gave everything they had to buy their way onto a boat
Looked to a promise to keep them afloat
Praying to San Alban walking through the desert at night
Bring us water with the morning light

Whooping cough echoes, questions in another tongue
Hoping with all their hearts they didn’t answer wrong
Soldiers in SWAT gear, stories of children lost
What kind of freedom brings such a cost?

That was my family
Esta es mi familia
We came here on our knees
Vinimos de rodillas
Stood up strong again
In the arms of freedom
That was my family
Esta es mi familia

When will we hear our own hearts beating?
Or must we return to the silence
When will we see our children free
And know they are safe from the violence

Cuando escucharemos nuestros propios latido
O debemos volver al silencio
Cuando veremos ha nuestros hijos libres
Y a salvo de la violencia

When we look forward, who do we want to become
Will we remember where we came from
Will we look back and honor our ancestors’ tears
That drove them to find a place
To let go their fears

That was my family
Esta es mi familia
We came here on our knees
Vinimos de rodillas
Stood up strong again
In the arms of freedom
That was my family
Esta es mi familia

credits

released June 30, 2023
vocals & acoustic guitar - Jess Klein, bass, glockenspiel - Mark Addison, electric guitar - Billy Masters. Produced by Mark Addison. Mastered by Mark Addison.

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about

Jess Klein Hillsborough, North Carolina

Rochester, NY native Jess Klein is known for staking out brave lyrical and musical territory with such albums as Wishes Well Disguised (1998), Draw Them Near (2000), Strawberry Lover (2005), City Garden (2006), Bound to Love (2009), Behind A Veil (2012) and Learning Faith (2014) which Folk Radio UK calls “unquestionably the finest album of [her] impressive career.” ... more

Recommendations

shows

Apr 28

CMPND

Winston-Salem, NC
May 5

Muddy Creek Music Hall at Old Salem

Winston-Salem, NC
May 9

Serfa

Asheville, NC
May 24

Muddy Creek Cafe & Music Hall

Sparta, NC
Jun 6

Reeves Theater & Cafe

Elkin, NC
Jun 20

Moccasin Creek Festival

Effingham, IL
Aug 2

3rd Street Coffeehouse

Roanoke, VA
Sep 5

Antlers & Acorns Festival

Boone, NC

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