Barbra Streisand’s going to have a big hit album now with “Walls,” released today. It’s not just a bromide against Donald Trump. It’s a terrific example of Streisand’s amazing instrument, soaring, and used as a metaphor.
The title track, “Walls,” is written by her old friends, Marilyn and Allan Bergman, who always wrote for other people but are Streisand’s favorite lyricists. The music for the “Walls” song comes from Walter Afanasieff, who wrote so many of Mariah Carey’s original hits and worked with Whitney Houston, as well.
Walter wrote “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” as well as “Hero” and “One Sweet Day,” among others. Barbra was very smart (with credit to Marty Erlichman) to get Walter, Desmond Child, and Carole Bayer Sager for the “Walls” album. It’s her strongest set of new songs in years.
Irony: “A Star is Born” is keeping Barbra from number 1 on Amazon. She’s number 3 on iTunes.
Walls, high and low
Thick and thin
They keep you out, they keep you in
Walls narrow and wide
Round the square with warning signs “Watch out”, “Beware”
Brick by brick they built them but it seems to me
Brick by brick they built them where they shouldn’t be
We should be building bridges to a better day
Where no walls would stand in the way
Walls here and there, everywhere
In every city, every town we would have that better day
If all the walls came tumbling down
Brick by brick at times they’re of a different kind
Brick by brick they built around the heart and mind
Sometimes lasting longer than the walls that are made of stone
Keeping us apart and alone
These are walls that we don’t see but we built between the you and me
Made of broken dreams and wounded feelings that go on
Like walls we wished to go away
Could we have ourselves that better day
If we took the chance to simply say that we forgive
And if we forget they’d be gone
In every city, every town we would have that better day
If all the walls came tumbling down
