Josh Garcia

To See A Man

Hello. My Name is Joshua Garcia. People used to call me J.R. But now I just go by Josh. I was born on April 14, 1989, one-hundred and twenty-four years after Abraham Lincoln was shot in Ford's Theatre, seventy-seven years after the sinking of the Titanic, fifty-four years after "Black Sunday," the worst dust storm in U.S. history. I was born in Los Angeles, and I lived there my whole life. Sometimes I feel like I just walked straight up out of the ground and started living. I wouldn't say my life has been rough, but it's been tough. Wrestled a rosebush at the age of 5, no one ever saw that bush around town ever again. Fist-fought a bully when I was 10, and like Shel Silverstein might say, "He kicked like a mule, and he bit like a crocodile." But I was all right. I'm always doing all right. Can't nothing bring me down. Flew through school like that runaway freight train bound for glory, got friends all over the world. I guess I'd have to say that my best experience would be riding up to San Francisco with a buddy of mine and tracking down Folk legend Ramblin' Jack Elliott, sittin' in an old freight yard on the city line, drinking whiskey and swapping old songs we'd picked up over the years. But hey, being at Brown sure is something. I'm a sophomore right about now, and things are only looking up. So here I am. But I guess I've got to be going now, so I'll leave you with a simple quote by Woody Guthrie that embodies what I've learned throughout the 19 years of my life: "Take it easy, but Take It!"

Lyrics

To See A Man — Josh Garcia

If a man set to die just once thought "I forgive"
Would you give, would you give
To him another chance to live
If a man set to die just once thought "I forgive"
Would you kill, would you kill
Would you cast him down to hell
Would you kill a man for doing what he can?

If a worker in the fields just once looked to the sky
Would you deny, would you deny
From him what's rightly yours and mine
If a worker in the fields just once looked to the sky
Would you fire, would you fire
Would you kill him with desire
Would you fire a man for doing what he can?

If a soldier in a war refused to fire on command
Would you judge, would you judge
Would you even hold a grudge
If a soldier in a war refused to fire on command
Would you call out treason, call out treason
Do you think you'd have a reason
To call out a man for doing what he can?

If a hard working man deserved an honest wage
Would you bet, would you bet
That this man ain't worth his sweat
If a hard working man deserved an honest pay
Would you pay, would you pay
Or would you bet his work away
Would you pay a man for doing what he can?

If all the men in the world set out to do what could be done
What would you do, What would you do
And would you even have a clue
If all the men in the world could do what could be done
Then would you see, would you see
Would you even care to dream
To see a man for doing what he can?