‘Tomorrow Begins Today’ – A new album of songs to challenge the senses and minds while supporting the Ukraine DEC appeal
Tomorrow Begins Today’ is an album of twelve eclectic songs commenting on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, supporting the Ukrainian people, and contributing to the restoration of their country (via the DEC Appeal). These songs challenge both the senses and minds as they spotlight the pain, travesty (and sometimes hilarity) of Putin’s campaign. The tracks include ‘Damn You’, a heart-felt take on the blowing up of the Nova Kakhovka Dam and ‘Fox in the Chicken Coup’, a satirical take on Yevgeny Prigozhin’s march to Moscow.
What does ‘Tomorrow Begins Today’ mean? To have a prosperous tomorrow, we all need to work on it today and not simply sit back and trust luck. ‘Today’ and ‘tomorrow’ refer to the present and the future. It is fitting that the release of the album coincides with what appears a significant Ukrainian break-through of the Russian defences. The album launches on Monday 9th October 2023.
The song lyrics are by John Eaton and this is his third collection supporting the DEC Ukraine appeal. The music is written by twelve amazing artists who sing the songs in either or both English and Ukrainian: Roxiie Reece (USA), Surya Vgaur (India), Leandro Bastos (Germany), Guillaume (France), Pete Dymond (UK), and Ukrainians: Anna Kipyatkova, Jenny Saba, Malik Memetov, Max Rayvan, Alex Breezer, Volodymyr and Vladyslava.
‘Too Wise’ pays homage to Vladimir Zelenskyy who has two Ys in his surname. Many media outlets write his surname with only one Y with exceptions like the Guardian, which use both Ys. So, it seems that the Ukrainian President has grown in stature, so much that the Time magazine featured Zelenskyy as their 2022 Person of the Year. As the last line in the song says, ‘You can never be too wise’. This song is sung in English by Roxiee Reece and in Ukrainian by Jenny Saba.
‘War and Money’ highlights the cynical relationship between war and money. The motivator to land grab is ultimately monetary. Someone also has to pay with their life and someone with cash. The wrecks of old military equipment littering Ukrainian battle fields suggest that even worn-out military hardware has a value. Those offering ancient weaponry are often getting rid to buy newer and more formidable weapons for themselves. Self-interest plays a leading role. This song is sung powerfully in English by Leandro Bastos. And in Ukrainian by Max Rayvan.
‘Didya’ means did you? Did President Joe Biden hear Putin state there would be no war if assurances were given that Ukraine would never join NATO? On and around December 8, 2022, it is said that Putin wrote to Biden to say that he would not invade Ukraine if NATO agreed to ensure that Ukraine would never join that organisation. NATO in Ukraine was a ‘red line’ to Russia, let alone Putin. President Biden didn’t accept Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s ‘red lines’ on Ukraine during their high-stakes video call that came as Russia’s military continued to build up its presence on the Ukrainian border. This, in turn, meant that Washington would not accept Putin’s demand that Ukraine be denied entrance into the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, the world’s most powerful military alliance. As it stands, Ukraine is not in NATO and nor will be for the foreseeable future. Biden and Ukraine’s Western allies have unleashed enormous economic and political countermeasures against Russia but will not get directly involved. This song is sung in English by Surya Vgaur, and in Ukrainian by Malik Memetov.
‘Lad the Bad’ is a song and pun caricaturising Vladimir Putin as Russian mystic and self-proclaimed holy man Grigori Rasputin. It is a take on the 1979 Boney M song ‘Rasputin’. It features all the qualities that make Putin the man he is, at least in Western eyes. These lyrics are written not to prolong other words about this man. This song is sung by Leandro Bastos in English and Ukrainian by Malik Memetov.
‘No More’ tells the story of a man burying his son who was killed in this war. While kneeling at his newly dug grave, a woman who doesn’t know him, walks by, sees him and tries to soothe him. But he is angry with God for taking his son. His wife died a few years before, and he is bereft. Funnily enough, God seems to be on both sides, and the man looks to the sky and says, “God just takes sides when there are two divides. Then when we pray for forgiveness, he says it’s none of his business”. Then goes on, “That is what war is for; the good die in vain, we will never see them again.” It is a mournful song sung in English and Ukrainian by Anna Kipyatkova
‘Children’ is a song about Ukraine’s lost generation. It is horrifying that 16,000 children were taken by the Russians and ‘re-educated’ at the Russian School of History. The children were held for over a year, and it is hard not to see a criminal version of the Pied Piper in this context. The only difference is that some children have returned home. As a result, the International Criminal Court in The Hague has indicted both Vladimir Putin and the Russian children’s commissioner, Maria Lvova-Belova, for the mass abduction of Ukrainian children. This means there is now an international arrest warrant out for Putin. This song is sung in English and Ukrainian as an acapella by Max Rayven.
‘Bahkmut’ is a song about the determination of Ukrainian fighters in the town of the same name. For some months, post the Mariupol encirclement, this was the epicentre of the war. Shelling of Bakhmut by Russia began in May 2022. While experts say that Bahkmut had little strategic value, they encountered firm Ukrainian resistance. Ukraine’s tactics stalled Russian advances.
Most Russian troops, were mercenaries recruited to the private Wagner group from Russian prisons. The US Government estimates that 50,000 Wagner mercenaries were sent to the war and that 30,000 have been killed or injured. Wagner’s leader, Yevgeny Viktorovich Prigozhin, was a Russian oligarch and a one-time close confidant of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Prigozhin was called ‘Putin’s chef’, as he owned restaurants and catering companies providing services to the Kremlin. On October 8, 2022, together with Army General Sergei Surovikin, it was decided to launch the operation ‘Bakhmut meat grinder’ – an assault on the village of Bakhmut to provoke Vladimir Zelenskyy to use as many forces as possible to hold Bakhmut. The song highlights the determination of the Ukrainian troops to fight at all costs and not give in. It has a heart-stopping build-up to simulate the tension in battling and dying in waves like on a World War One battlefield. Prigozhin was rewarded for his military efforts by being killed in his own private jet after an explosion while flying from Moscow to St. Petersburg on 23rd August 2023. This song is sung in English by Leandro Bastos and in Ukrainian by Volodymyr.
‘Wham Bam’ is a pre-battle party song. In the second week of June 2023, Volodymyr Zelenskyy acknowledged that counter-offensive operations were taking place across his country.
The song has an upbeat, up-tempo sound for singing and dancing. Why? Because many of those going into battle, having terrible injuries, or dying are young people with their lives before them. Yet they put their lives in danger to fight the Russians attacking their country. In the Second World War, knowing battle would commence the next day. Many Allied troops would party, dance, joke and have fun because they knew they might never see another day. Who knows how long this phase will take? We shall see. This song is a 1970’s T-Rex-style song, brilliantly sung by Guillaume in English and Alex Breezer in Ukrainian.
‘Damn You’ discusses the blowing up of the Nova Kakhovka Dam which has been internationally slammed as ecocide by many countries. Ecocide means ‘creating mass damage and destruction of ecosystems – severe harm to nature which is widespread or long-term’. It has yet to have international ‘teeth’ but still creates peer pressure. The lyric ‘Damn You,’ when sung, becomes ‘Dam you,’ so it straddles both meanings of anger and horror (damn), one implying that Russia blew up the dam. Beautifully sung by Anna Kipyatkova in English and Ukrainian.
‘Fox in the Chicken Coup’ is a satirical take on the events of the weekend of June 24th when Yevgeny Prigozhin advanced his heavily armed Russian mercenaries half way to Moscow and then turned back. It reminds of the Grand Old Duke of York; ‘He had ten thousand men. He marched them up to the top of the hill, And he marched them down again.’
This was a significant challenge to President Vladimir Putin’s grip on power. Though for some reason, Putin was jollying in St Petersburg, not in Moscow, lucky old him. Yevgeny Prigozhin had allegedly backed down and been granted exile in Belarus. Though this seems analogous to a rat saying it is safely snuggled up in a snake’s mouth. So good luck with that. The song is sung tongue in cheek by Pete Dymond and in Ukrainian by Volodymyr.
‘Tomorrow Begins Today’ closes the album. Even if war is continuing, plans should be enacted to renew the country. The tragedy of war is also a substantial economic opportunity. Early estimates to rebuild Ukraine’s infrastructure range from $138 to $750 billion. Remember Germany and Japan? Both lost the Second World War and won economic peace after the war. Thanks to the US Marshall Plan, those countries recovered and are now the 3rd and 4th largest economies in the world. That can’t be lost on the Ukrainian government. The song is sung by Surya Gvaur in English and in Ukrainian by Vladyslava.
‘Gotta Get Out of Here’ (Bonus Track) was written for John Eaton’s Spid the Spider book series before the war. The lyrics are unaltered to raise a smile at how the foot soldiers of the Russian army must have felt to be cannon fodder to oncoming fire. It is sung (tongue in cheek) by Surya Vgaur.
