Original song by Tony Parisi
Original artwork by Marina Berlin
MINTING NOW on Manifold
Cradle to Grave is a song I wrote about mass shootings and reproductive oppression – America’s twin obsessions. I wrote it last year and finally recorded after several months. I am releasing it as my genesis NFT, minting on Manifold starting today– the first anniversary of the Uvalde mass shooting.
On May 24, 2022, a mass shooting occurred at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. A former student at the school fatally shot nineteen students and two teachers. Gutted, disgusted, I wrote a song about it. Years and years of mounting gun violence in America, and no end in sight. And at the same time, reproductive rights were under siege in several states around the US, including Texas.
Let’s make more babies, and give each one a gun.
Twenty-one people, gone. Nineteen of them, children. How can we live like this? How can we go on?
A few months after I wrote the song, my better half Marina Berlin premiered a sculpture with the same title at the Infinity Festival in Los Angeles in November 2022. It’s a haunting mobile consisting of wire babies and guns, in playful schoolhouse colors. I originally planned to release my song as a companion to that piece. However, circumstances intervened and I didn’t get around to recording it.
Cradle to Grave at the Infinity Festival, Los Angeles
That is, until a few weeks ago, when another mass shooting took place in Texas, and I was reminded that none of this is getting better. It just gets worse and worse. And I realized that we were approaching the one-year anniversary of the tragic Uvalde massacre– an event that so many people thought would finally get us to end the madness. Sandy Hook, Parkland, Las Vegas, so many other events didn’t change anything, but surely now, we all thought, common sense and decency would prevail. But we just got more of the same: thoughts and prayers, insane suggestions about arming teachers– even students– and of course active shooter drills. One year later, and still nothing has changed.
America is broken. We’re a death cult.
I support the Second Amendment. But we need to have sensible gun ownership, now.
Until then, I guess I’ll keep singing and crying about it. I finally recorded the song, and Marina made a fantastic cover image, and we are dropping the NFT today. If you want to make a statement with me, mint a copy. Supplies are limited.
May peace and sanity prevail in our land, soon.