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
