I have had two profound experiences with this song.
The first experience came near the beginning of my two years as a Peace Corps Volunteer. Not long before that, I said goodbye to my parents, knowing that it would be years before I saw them again. I had grown up with them, and they were pretty much always around, always in my life. They told me occasionally that they loved me, but I never really believed them. A few days after I arrived at my Peace Corps site, I was lying around one hot afternoon. My site was a school compound. My assignment was to teach Science at Uesiliana College. The school had been destroyed by the recent Cyclone Val. My house was also damaged by the cyclone. When I arrived at the school site, I stayed temporarily at the house of the family of the school principal. There was not much shade because most of the vegetation on the island was destroyed by the cyclone. As I rested in the shade, I was listening to the radio. There is one radio station in Western Samoa, and my principal’s family had a radio with batteries. The song “Teach Your Children” came on the radio. For some unknown reason, it touched me deeply. Somehow, while listening to the refrain of the song at that moment, I realized that my parents actually do love me. Somehow, I suddenly understood that their reasons for doing the things that they did was really because they were willing to sacrifice themselves for me as a result of their deep love for me. I was overcome with a deep sense of gratitude and love for my parents. Of course, I recognized a huge irony in the timing of my realization. I felt regret that I hadn’t had this realization a short time earlier, so that I could communicate this with my parents. The combination of intense emotions swirled in me, and I cried for hours.
The second experience came recently while recovering from a bicycle spill with several minor injuries. While meditating, several realizations came to me. One realization was related to this song. An understanding of the song came to me from the perspective of God the father. I was overcome with gratitude and love for God which brought me to tears. Based on this new perspective, I changed some of the words of the song. On the right side below the song are my altered lyrics in red.
TEACH YOUR CHILDREN
| You who are on the road Must have a code that you can live by And so become yourself Because the past is just a good-bye. Teach your children well, Their father’s hell did slowly go by, And feed them on your dreams The one they fix, the one you’ll know by. Don’t you ever ask them why, If they told you, you will cry, So just look at them and sigh And know they love you. And you, of tender years, Can’t know the fears that your elders grew by, And so please help them with your youth, They seek the truth before they can die. Teach your parents well, Their children’s hell will slowly go by, And feed them on your dreams The one they fix, the one you’ll know by. Don’t you ever ask them why, If they told you, you will cry, So just look at them and sigh And know they love you. |
You who are on the road Must have a code that you can live by And so become yourself Because the past is just a good-bye. Teach your children well, Their father’s hell did slowly go by, And feed them on your dreams The one they fix, the one you’ll know by. You should always ask God why,
And it’s OK if you cry. So just look at God and smile And know God loves you. I should always ask God why,
And it’s OK if I cry. So I’ll just look at God and smile And know God loves me. |