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We Know Dignity for All Humanity
On this minuscule and lonely world
We drift through vast and casual space
Aloof stars look silently on
Indifferent suns burn far away
How small we are in this nocturne
A brave and truth we must learn
When we come to it, in a considered way
Lay down our anger, let open hands stay
Love in our hearts, kindness in our eyes
Humility beneath one endless sky
Different flags moving in one gentle breeze
Songs rising softly into peace
All different, together and free
Then we know dignity for all humanity
Through ages we close our hands in fists
Placing mankind in crippling fear
To draw mock lines and guard the ground
And keep away people of different hues
We must free our hands from fists of hold
And let pure air cool palms grown bold
When we come to it, in a considered way
Lay down our anger, let open hands stay
Love in our hearts, kindness in our eyes
Humility beneath one endless sky
Different flags moving in one gentle breeze
Songs rising softly into peace
All different, together and free
Then we know dignity for all humanity
The minstrel show of hate plays on
Scorn staining faces in love and futile war
Battles rage in coliseums of the world
Our sons and daughters are taken from their place
Each one unique, yet lost en masse
They lie alone in plots of bloody grass
When we come to it, in a considered way
Lay down our anger, let open hands stay
Love in our hearts, kindness in our eyes
Humility beneath one endless sky
Different flags moving in one gentle breeze
Songs rising softly into peace
All different, together and free
Then we know dignity for all humanity
We raise our prayers beneath different names
And sacred faith once Holy is weaponised
Stormed temples and churches fall in screams
The flags and banners of the world divide
God’s children suffer upon the deadly ground
And no shared dignity can be found
When we come to it, in a considered way
Lay down our anger, let open hands stay
Love in our hearts, kindness in our eyes
Humility beneath one endless sky
Different flags moving in one gentle breeze
Songs rising softly into peace
All different, together and free
Then we know dignity for all humanity
As we travel through time and space
Our colours and tongues cause divisive hate
War is caused in the name of faith
Yet we all lie still on identical plots
We must come to know and come to it
When we come to it, in a considered way
Lay down our anger, let open hands stay
Love in our hearts, kindness in our eyes
Humility beneath one endless sky
Different flags moving in one gentle breeze
Songs rising softly into peace
All different, together and free
Then we know dignity for all humanity
ABOUT THIS SONG
Written and produced by Tasmanian songwriter Jason Bresnehan, We Know Dignity for All Humanity is a musical arrangement in the Adult Contemporary genre with a female vocal. Inspired by Maya Angelou’s A Brave and Startling Truth, the song explores Identity Truth at the level of humanity itself, asking what becomes possible when people recognise their shared human dignity while retaining the identities, cultures and faiths that make them different.
The lyrics begin by pulling the perspective far beyond Earth, presenting humanity on a minuscule and lonely world drifting through space beneath aloof stars and indifferent suns. From that perspective, the divisions over which humanity fights begin to look very small. The verses move through hostility, racism, war and religious conflict before the chorus offers another possibility: different people and different flags moving together in one gentle breeze. “When we come to it” represents the point of collective recognition, while “we know” marks the discovery itself. Humanity does not need to become the same. Its collective Identity Truth can accommodate difference while recognising dignity for all humanity. Love, kindness and humility become the means through which that shared dignity is expressed.
The artwork depicts an intimate performance in a richly furnished room dominated by deep red curtains, warm lighting and a grand piano. A vocalist stands beneath a focused overhead light while a pianist and drummer provide accompaniment, giving the scene the restrained sophistication of an Adult Contemporary performance rather than the scale of a conventional anthem. That intimacy reflects the song’s approach to an enormous subject: humanity, conflict and dignity are explored through a thoughtful musical setting that invites reflection rather than spectacle.
This song forms part of the Identity Truth Inspired by Famous Poems Collection by Seventh Ribbon Music.
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Jason Bresnehan is a Songwriter, Author and Consultant: Business & Recovery