Styx – Show me the way (Desert Storm Mix)
Every night I say a prayer in the hopes that there’s a heaven
and everyday I’m more confused as the saints turn into sinners
All the heroes and legends I knew as a child have fallen to idols of clay
And I feel this empty place inside so afraid that I’ve lost my faith
Show me the way, show me the way
take me tonight to the river and wash my illusions away
Please show me the way
And as I slowly drift to sleep, for a moment dreams are sacred
I close my eyes and know there’s peace in a world so filled with hatred
That I wake up each morning and turn on the news to find we’ve so far to go
And I keep on hoping for a sign, so afraid that I just won’t know
Show me the way, show me the way
Bring me tonight to the mountain
and take my confusion away
And show me the way
And if I see a light, should I believe
Tell me how will I know
Show me the way, show me the way
Take me tonight to the river
and wash my illusions away.
Show me the way, show me the way
Give me the strength and the courage
to believe that I’ll get there someday
and please show me the way
Every night I say a prayer
In the hopes that there’s a heaven…
Old memories. However, how the special mix came to be is a different story:
Styx’s song “Show Me the Way” is about the singer’s struggle to find faith, but A & M Records’ “Desert Shield Mix,” widely played on radio stations, invites listeners to overcome private misgivings — a little girl’s voice says, “I want my daddy to come home!” — and join a nearly holy war. “Give me the strength and the courage to believe,” the singer belts, just before a newswoman announces the approval of a Congressional resolution backing the use of force against Iraq.
Source: POP VIEW; Caution: Now Entering The War Zone
During the chart run of “Show Me The Way,” the United States was involved in the Persian Gulf War. This inspired two radio stations – one in Washington, D.C., one in Knoxville – to create their own “Desert Shield” versions of “Show Me The Way”, by adding soundbites from George Bush, Norman Schwartzkopf and Colin Powell, all inserted into the instrumental portions of the song.
“I was surprised by it,” said Dennis DeYoung. “because the song had nothing to do with Desert Storm, and it happened about 4_5 months after the record came out. I let them play that version on the radio, but I said I didn’t want to sell that version. To me, that was like selling war. You can’t do that. Guys who were in Desert Storm come up to me all the time and tell me what that song meant to them. And that’s great, and that’s how it should exist for those people and in that way, if they so choose.”
“There was little sound bites,” said JY, “some of George Bush and some of others, and the one little tear_jerking moment is when a little girl says, ‘I want my daddy to come home.’”
“When we play that song on stage today,” said Chuck Panozzo, “Dennis will say that the song became connected with the Gulf War, but that’s about all he’ll say about it. But we played in Germany, and I saw all of the American GI’s, all very young people. That made me feel a lot differently about the song.”
