Jack Arnold Beam is a former member of Peoples Temple who left with his wife Cinthia in November of 1975, no longer wanting to be associated with Jim Jones who had turned into a despot. He wrote this poem 23 days after the Jonestown tragedy, on December 5, 1978. He recently unearthed it from among some papers that had been in a flood that hit Florida in 1993. He set the poem to music in October 2020:
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Father knows best, let him be your bright tomorrow
He’ll fill your heart with joy, and comfort you in sorrow
Father knows best, trust his gifts of knowledge and truth
Your brotherhood dreams will come true, if you do
Father’s love will always take care of youWhen I heard the news today I cried, he must have gone insane
Made my family drink the poision and die, begging them not to complain
Ryans life had been snuffed out, then father killed all his friends
Only liquid purple hell..survived that day, in a bucket with a cold suringeFather knows best, let him be your bright tomorrow
He’ll fill your heart with joy, and comfort you in sorrow
Father knows best, trust his gifts of knowledge and truth
Your brotherhood dreams will come true, if you do
Father’s love will always take care of youFathers druged out mind, made him rant and rave all day
His girlfriend shot him in the jungle sun, pulled the trigger he couldn’t face
A power hungry ego, finally brought him down
While the murdered congregation laid lifeless on the groundFather knows best, let him be your bright tomorrow
He’ll fill your heart with joy, and comfort you in sorrow
Father knows best, trust his gifts of knowledge and truth
Your brotherhood dreams will come true, if you do
Father’s love will always take care of youValiant souls were slain that day, but the world found out the truth
When you put your trust in a tyrant, there’s no limit to what he’ll do
Told lies about the cruelty till the very end, his last act on earth was a cowards revenge
Better pray that mankind learned this lesson, so it’s never taught againFather knows best, let him be your bright tomorrow
He’ll fill your heart with joy, and comfort you in sorrow
Father knows best, trust his gifts of knowledge and truth
Your brotherhood dreams will come true, if you do
Father’s love will always take care of you
Written: 12/5/1978
Music added: 10/15/2020
Tragic Memories