I am Willing

Give me an ocean to hold my tears

Welcome to new subscribers and regular readers! Thank you for joining me for today’s song from 2006, “I am Willing” by Holly Near. If you’d like to hear the song before you read about it, I’ve included a YouTube video below the article.
Below, you’ll find my comments about the lyrics which are written in italics. For Japanese students, vocabulary words in bold are provided in Japanese below. TOEIC (PBT) 450+, Eiken 2, CEFR B1.

Westward view of the Hurst Fire taken at 10:26 p.m. from the Oakridge Manufactured Home Park, January 7, 2025.(Photo: P. Rvas, Wikimedia Commons)

(277 words)
It seems that the problems of the world will not end in 2025. Today’s song sends a message of hope to people affected by conflicts, injustice, or natural disasters such as flooding or fires, ice storms or earthquakes. To people in our own communities, in the communities of friends or family, or in the communities of people we have never met, stay strong.

The lyrics ask us to think about others in the past who have had similar experiences as what we are going through now. Many, many of those people held strong and were resilient. If we give up now, it would not be showing respect for what they went through.

I am open and I am willing
For to be hopeless would seem so strange
It dishonors those who go before us
So lift me up to the light of change

There is hurting in my family
There is sorrow in my town
There is panic in the nation
There is wailing the whole world round

The song offers a prayer:
May the children see more clearly
May the elders be more wise
May the winds of change caress us
Even though it burns our eyes

We can find strength in the support of our friends. We can find strength in the stranger who shows kindness to us. We can find strength in helping others. We can also find strength in taking a little time to be alone to heal.

Give me a mighty oak to hold my confusion
Give me a desert to hold my fears
Give me a sunset to hold my wonder
Give me an ocean to hold my tears

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In response to the fire disaster in Los Angeles, if you are able to do so, please consider making a donation to:

World Central Kitchen (provides food to disaster areas around the world) https://wck.org/donate

Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation (to equip firefighters with water backpacks, tools, and emergency fire shelters) https://supportlafd.org/

The Pasadena Humane Society (a shelter caring for pets and other animals in need due to the fires) https://pasadenahumane.org/give
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Vocabulary

resilient 強い（回復力）
hopeless 絶望　
dishonor 名誉を汚す
wail 嘆き
elder 年長者
wise 賢明な
caress 撫でる
oak 樫の木
confusion 混乱
wonder 感嘆、驚き

To learn more about Holly Near and her music, please visit her website at:

https://hollynear.com/

Other articles on songs by Holly Near:

https://louisehaynes.substack.com/p/are-you-kidding-me

https://louisehaynes.substack.com/p/it-could-have-been-me

https://louisehaynes.substack.com/p/rise-from-your-knees

https://louisehaynes.substack.com/p/women-who-disappeared-and-were-disappeared

https://louisehaynes.substack.com/p/no-more-genocide