Beautiful Courage

Ben Harper "How Could We Not Believe"
How Could We Not Believe
(with Ellen Harper)

Was so beautiful how could we not believe
So beautiful how could we not believe
We love
We grieve
Then all seek our reprieve
So beautiful how could we not believe

Was so beautiful we had to stand aside
So beautiful we had to stand aside
We had to stand aside
With our arms open wide
So beautiful we had to stand aside

Was so beautiful we had to close our eyes
So beautiful we had to close our eyes
And listen to the sound
It could be heard miles around
So beautiful we had to close our eyes

So beautiful to be free from my name
So beautiful to be free from my name
To be free from my name
And all those who lay claim
So beautiful to be free from my name

Was so beautiful how could we not believe
So beautiful how could we not believe
How could we not believe
Having lived through times like these
So beautiful how could we not believe
So beautiful how could we not believe
So beautiful how could we not believe




This spring and summer this song, written by Ben Harper, and performed with his mother Ellen Harper, was my anthem of hope. The whole album Childhood Home showed such vulnerability and openness about Harper's journey through mental illness and broken relationships that I was greatly helped by listening to it and encouraged to fight on. Of all the songs on the album "How Could We Not Believe" was my favourite. It reminds me of the beauty of courage and resiliency and the importance of faith and hope. It was so special to have Harper collaborate with his mother who shared in some of his struggles just by being someone he loved. It is so hard for a mother's heart to see her son go through some of the things Ben Harper went through including hospitalizations, broken marriages, and times when it was if Harper was watching himself from the outside doing things he didn't understand in places he never wanted to be. The artistry of both Harpers really shines through this whole album.