Push On Through 2020 by Nan Brooks




Funny how things change but don't change.  I wrote a performance piece I thought was a whimsical but not the least bit profound some 35 years ago. Audiences liked it at that was nice, but what startles me is that friends quote it still and tell me it gets them through tough times. After several such conversations lately, I updated it. I hope it helps you, too.

PUSH ON THROUGH

Oh there’s nothin’ to do but to push on through
When you think you’re at the end of line.
Course it’s easy enough to say this stuff
when everything is going fine.
When things go well and you’re feelin’ swell,
Then you know you’re an Amazon.
When life turns on a dime
with no reason or rhyme.
That’s when you think your strength is gone.

Well it’s easy enough to say this stuff
When everything is goin’ fine
But there’s nothin’ to do but to push on through
When you think you’re at the end of line.

There’s a medical test that gives you no rest
and a loved one is troubled and mad
What used to distract won’t cover the fact
that the news is increasingly bad
There are children in cages
and the far right rages
and the women are crying “me too!”
People are shooting in churches
Every news cast lurches
from tragedy to tragedy, true.

Well it’s easy enough to say this stuff
when everything is goin’ fine
But there’s nothin’ to do but to push on through
when you think you’re at the end of line.

You wake in the night in a state of pure fright
and your poor heart pounds like a drum
Your job disappears, the bills are all in arrears
and who knows when some money will come
The pandemic is here, the future’s not clear
and you’re wishing for a cure for it all
And you the remember you know from not that long ago
How to keep from a long hard fall.
Do the next right thing and then the next right thing
You can take it one step at a time.
So you get on the phone and learn you’re not alone
Even when you can only just whine.


Well it’s easy enough to say this stuff
When everything is goin’ fine
But there’s nothin’ to do but to push on through
When you think you’re at the end of line.

The telephone rings or a child nearby sings
and something begins to shift
Someone brings you a treat, something tasty and sweet
and your spirit is starting to lift.
Next day’s early light, songbirds are in flight,
their music prettifying the air
Coffee is ready, you’re beginning to steady
and your thinking’s increasingly clear

So from under your fear you start to reappear
and your spirit is feelin’ a glow
You are perkin’ along, you remember you’re strong
And you realize what you know:
That everything changes
Everything always does
And the circle goes round and round
And just when you think you’ve lost yourself
Take a look at the wisdom you’ve found
And it’s yours

Well it’s easy enough to say this stuff
when everything is goin’ fine
but there’s nothin’ to do but to push on through
when you think you’re at the end of line.

Yeah, sister
There is nothin’ to do but to push on through
when you think you’re at the end of line.

Sshhhhhoooo!



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