The gay community is not just made up of gay people. All you have to do is go to the Pride parade every summer to see the diversity that supports equal rights and love. Wesley Krauss is a Vancouver-based singer/songwriter who has written a song titled “A Velvet Affair,” about a gay parade in a country where Pride is unaccepted or even illegal.
Wesley is straight, but throughout his school years growing up in Coquitlam/Port Moody he was ostracized and bullied because others perceived him as gay. “Had I been [gay], I’m sure the effect of being an outcast and the most despised member amongst my peers for many years, because of my orientation, would have had an even bigger effect on me than the situation already did,” Wesley tells Blitz & Shitz.
I think it’s a moving song, with an equally touching video. Wesley, under the name Blanket Barricade, has been working on his upcoming album, Parade Bells, for the past three years. It’s set for release next month.
“A Velvet Affair” is available for FREE download here.
I hide downtown with clenched fists,
Parade bells ring time to begin,
Every glance sparks of danger,
The damning gaze of anger,
Marching past the mob and past the fear,
A moment of silence for those who’ve dared to fly,
Frozen hands clasp as cold air and wings collide,
Guided by hope that two lovers won’t ignite, 4,3,2,1,
Fire your guns, they won’t stop what we’ve begun tonight,
I never chose to fight this war,
And never wanted any more,
Than to shed these velvet bindings,
The deafening roar of silence,
The weight of something concrete let off my back,
A moment of silence for those who’ve dared to fly,
Frozen hands clasp as cold air and wings collide,
Guided by hope that two lovers won’t ignite, 4,3,2,1,
Fire your guns, they won’t stop what we’ve begun tonight,
Smashing through the streets,
Parading till defeat,
Vilified and laser beamed,
Into your room,
Regardless what you see,
Amongst the chaos on the screen,
It’s only love that we defend,
And if this is how it ends… then,
Like those who’ve flown before,
We’ll keep demanding more,
Tonight, tonight, tonight, 4,3,2,1,
Fire your guns, they won’t stop what we’ve begun tonight,
Tonight, we’ve just begun,
Tonight, yeah we’ve just begun,
Tonight
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