View from the Mountain
Moses has always seemed to me to be a tragic figure, working his whole life toward something, coming right up to the very edge of it, but not quite getting there. I wrote this for Passover 2024. The audio is a plaintive rendering of the melody, with a simple accompaniment.
View from the Mountain
Moses on the mountaintop See what he could see Looks down in the valley Looks way out to sea He looks and looks and looks again Not sure he can believe With eyes cast down he sheds a tear Says none of this for me A baby on a riverbed Floating in the reeds Pharaoh's daughter rescues him One day he will be free He kills a guard and flees the land With us his faithful band Fierce and strong and true and brave Never more be slave With tricks and twists he does deceive But doubt does ebb and flow He sees the bush then really sees His faith from there does grow We walk and walk through wilderness For all of forty years Says always keep your gaze upturned Nor yield to doubt or fear He leads us through the desert land So hot and parched and dry Then crosses o'er that ruby strand With help from way on high He stuck it out, but then lost out His flock he did revere On to The Promised Land they went So lovely and so dear He views them all as they descend A smile upon his face Though sad a bit that he did spend His life to save his race He settles down against a tree And gazes toward the sky I wonder what's become of thee And then he shuts his eyes Moses on the mountaintop See what he could see Looks down in the valley Looks way out to sea He looks and looks and looks again Not sure he can believe With eyes cast down he sheds a tear Now I shall be free