STOP THE HUNTING

On the 1st of July 2015, Cecil, a well-known Hwange lion was illegally shot by Minnesota Dentist, Walter Palmer. Mr Palmer had paid $50,000 for the "pleasure" of hunting the great animal.

Cecil was lured out of the protected environment of the Hwange National Park and hunted with a bow and arrow. This blow didn't kill him, however, and he was eventually tracked down some 40 hours later and finished off with a gun.

All proceeds from the song and the video are being donated to the AWARE Trust of Zimbabwe

The wonderful photographs were provide by Ann Warner


lyrics

This is a story of shame and hope
This is a story of sport gone wrong
50,000 dollars and a 13 year old lion
A lesson we should have learned
Many years ago

Stop the hunting stop the killing
Lets protect the beauty here
They're not ours to abuse
But only placed in our care
To be preserved

A southwest lion mature and so assured
Tempted down from his place of rest
Brought down so easily with bow and arrow
Has shone a spotlight on a pastime so absurd

A worldwide awakening
not too late to change

Tracks:
Bass 535
Drums Nashville pop 16 swing
Guitars 2441, 1581 and 1582
Fiddle 1111
Loops Tamborine

America has a solid hunting culture -- but trophy hunting is pretty much has to go. It has never made any sense except to feed the ego of some weird folks. If the lions need to be culled to reduce local over-population, let the rangers do it.

Good song, well crafted!

A pretty and moving song Joanne! This is a tragic story. I don't know why it is ever legal to hunt lions, or many other animals. It's great that you're speaking out against it. Take care. Greg

The story of this trophy hunt is beyond pathetic and makes me angry to even think about it.

Nice topical song. Hope it helps.

Hello Joanne,

A good song about a sad story....
It was all over the news here in Holland too.
We like the acoustic basis of the song, a very good use of the acoustic guitar realtracks.
As usual, vocals and backing vocals are very well done.

Rob & Anne-Marie

An excellent write, performance and production Joanne. It is so sad to what happened to the lion. No excuse nor redemption.

Charlie

Hope this helps.
I was a Dentist years back and so have been getting a few comments from people. So I pointed them to PERFECT FRIENDS Now I shall refer to this sad, but beautiful, song.
I don't understand humans at all.

Alyn

Hi Joanne,

I'm sorry this youtube video is not
available in Germany. Is there an alternative?

Guenter

Hi guenter. Will send you a link to drop box..

Another good song for yet another important cause, Joanne.

Keep it up!

floyd

A great song and performance.

I liked your video, too.

Thanks for the music,
Dan

Great song, great video, beautiful photographs. Your vocals are just outstanding on this one!

Steve

Phew. Things have been hectic. Am finally getting round to responding to all your posts. The video is having a bit of a run on Facebook with the emotions all running quite high around Cecil.


Kevin, thanks so much. Glad to see you around again. I know I keep asking you this but when are we going to see you on the jelly again?



Greg, thank you. It should not be legal to hunt. There has to be another way to raise money for conservation. Plus the money generated from hunting has a way of ending up in other people’s pockets!

Josie, me too. The fact that somebody can pay $50,000 to hunt a lion is appalling. It is even more frightening to think about where this money went (or rather could have gone because one would hope that it has now been seized). My feeling is that this particular story came to light because the correct palms were not greased in Zim.



Rob and Anne-Marie. Thank you so much for your kind comments and also for commenting on Facebook. It is appreciated.

Joanne, When I first heard this story, I immediately thought of you. Good job getting on it right away. These are such beautiful and majestic creatures, all trophy hunting should be banned. Turns out that dentist has a home here in Fl. Yesterday someone spray painted LION KILLER on his garage door. It's good to see so many people pissed off and speaking up for a such a worthy cause. Your productions are definitely getting stronger each time. Good job! Tom

Hi Joanne,

thanks a lot for the link. I'm glad I didn't
miss it. Great song and video.

Guenter

super job on the harmonies and a wonderful tribute!

Plus two!

Thank you for doing this Joanne. It is truly incomprehensible.

J&B

Hello Josie.

every day a sad news.
I like your song as sad as the news.

for this story days ago I signed a petition on this site

https://www.change.org/p/giustizia-per-cecil-il-leone-simbolo-ucciso-da-un-cacciatore-di-trofei-in-zimbabwe?source_location=trending_petitions_home_page&algorithm=curated_trending

I do not know whether it can serve but it's what I can do from here.

Hello

hi Josie well done this tells it some hearts are dark thanks eric

Finally have time to get back to all you wonderful folk who commented on my song.


Definately...no excuse nor redemption. It is quite interesting that I am getting comments like "what about all those girls that were kidnapped in Nigeria. Shouldnt the money go to them?" There is so much wrong in the world it is difficult to tackle all of it.



Thank Alyn
So sorry to hear of your health problems. I do hope you are bearing up.


Thanks Floyd. I have been a bit disappointed in not being able to find a sponsor for the Rhino project but have not yet given up on it yet.

Hi Dan.Thanks so much for listening and commenting.



Steve. Thanks so much. That means alot to me coming from you who really knows how to sing. Thank you!


Hi Tommy. Thanks. I wasnt going to do anything. I thought about it for a bit but was really too depressed about the whole story to write. Then a lady who had seen my Peace Dream video came up to me at the market and said "I hope you are doing a song and video about Cecil". So I sat down and wrote it last Sunday. It is enjoying a bit of a run on Youtube with loads of shares on Facebook. I put it on Bandcamp and a few people donated 5, 10 and 15 dollars to the Aware Trust. So that is good. Thanks for noticing the work I am doing on my productions. I think the monthly Dueling Mixes thing is opening my eyes a bit.

Glad you got it Guenter. I keep forgetting about the Youtube thing in Germany.


I appreciate that Lawrence



Incomprehensible indeed. Thanks for listening and commenting.


Sergio. I think every bit of awareness that is generated is a good thing. Thank you for taking the time to sign the petition as well and listening and commenting on this song.


Some dark hearts indeed. The weirdest thing is that some hearts dont even think they are doing anything wrong. Thats what I dont get.