There are soldiers who are armed but not loved
Mostly lost with their weapons in their hands
In the barracks they learn the old lesson
Of dying for the country and living for nothing.
There is hunger on the great plantations
And desperation marching through the streets
But still they take the flower as their strongest refrain
And believe that flowers can overcome the cannon.
When he wrote those words and set them to music last month, Brazilian Composer Geraldo Vandré had more than a song in his heart. He comes from the nation's impoverished Northeast, and he gave voice in Caminhando (Walking) to...