Brother to Brother

I am surprised that no comments are here (at time of writing) even after Rick Beato shined a light on this song. Oh well, here is my interpretation of the lyrics.

"Brother to brother Let us join our hearts and hands Yeah, if we love one another We hold the key to the promised land"

The singer is asking us to put aside our grudges and prejudices, for love will get us to the "promised land", whether that be Heaven, a place on Earth, or a specific condition in human history, such as a golden age or an era of peace.

"Think of all that we've been through The shucks and jives and royal blues"

Even though we have differences, we have all been through the cornerstone moments of the human experience.

"Let us pray our time will come When this world will live as one"

Let us hope for that "promised land" place or era mentioned earlier.

"Brother to brother Now don't let the devil get you down"

Don't allow the hardships you've gone through or are going through weigh on your mind and bring down your self-esteem.

"Because it's bread and it's butter That makes this whole damn world go round and round"

It's the good things that we all have in common (the "bread" and "butter") that keep us going.

"Do you know where we went wrong Tell me why the lines are drawn?"

How did we come to a state of so much grudging, prejudice, and overall hatred (the "lines")?

"Let us break our boundaries down And live our lives on common ground"

Once again, the singer is saying we ought to put aside our differences, and live our lives based on what unites us (the "common ground".)

After this, the instrumental section kicks in until the last part of the song. I think this instrumental part, especially the famous guitar solo, is meant to be emblematic in a musical way of what the lyrics have so far said in words, especially the "promised land" place/era.

"Mothers and fathers Where will tomorrow's children be?"

He is asking the current generation of adults, will "tomorrow's children" be able or willing to bring or sustain that "promised land" state?

"Oh Brother my brother Let us live out lives in peace"

He is reiterating his call for moving forward to the "promised land" place/era, which does not neccesarily have to be just a era of peace, but most golden ages take place in peaceful times.

"Brother to brother Brother to brother (repeated)"

We are all brothers and ought to treat each other as such. This is supported by previous stanzas.

I encourage you all to come up with your interpretation and, if you haven't yet, listen to this hidden gem. It's a great song not just in lyrics but in virtually every instrumental asset used.