“The Doctor’s Door” by Michael Merenda. Work in progress – unfinished and not released. Performed by Mike and Ruthy.
The Doctor’s Door
The Doctor’s Door
by Michael Merenda
In my youth I traveled
Over land and sea
I fell in love with a farmer’s daughter
And she fell in love with me
Before long we’d married
I took her from her home
Very shortly after that
Something went terribly wrong
I’d gotten her with child
We were of course overjoyed
Until the fever took her body
And neither of us were employed
I went to the door of the doctor
Said, “Help us, Sir, if you can.”
He said he’d not see us without
Five gold pieces in our hand
“Sir, I’ve no gold pieces
But I’ll be forever in your debt
If you would only save my wife
And this unborn child I’ve never met.”
O, the night blew rainy
O, the night blew cold
And my young wife she died that night
Under the doctor’s door
Now that you’ve heard my story
Hang your head and cry
How the rich man turned his back
And let the poor woman die
In my youth I traveled
Over land and sea
I fell in love with a farmer’s daughter
And she fell in love with me
© 2008 Concert Works Music, ASCAP
Reproduced with permission of the author.
Michael Merenda, writer, composer, musician, – an amazing young artist, – is a new father. We heard him in a breathtaking performance with Ruth Ungar Merenda.
Mike and Ruthy, proud parents of infant Will, brought their son to the show. Mike mentioned that although he wrote “The Doctor’s Door” when Ruth was pregnant, he needed to wait until after the baby arrived to perform the song.
We understand! The song speaks so well to the shame and anguish we suffer, but also to our higher calling as physicians.
The members of Physicians for a National Health Program believe it is time to open the doctors’ doors. PNHP members include people like Drs. Arnold Ritterband and Benjamin Friedell. Dr. Friedell founded the Oneonta Free Clinic and Dr. Ritterband founded the Schenectady Free Health Clinic.
PNHP reflects the true calling of our profession: to serve our fellow human beings. We must not allow money interests to ruin the human relation of caregiving. Here PNHP not only reflects the ideals of our profession, but real physician values: 59% of American physicians would prefer to practice under a system of national health insurance.
We not only take to heart the higher purpose of our profession, but the higher purpose of our society. Democracy in the United States has failed when our country has more infant death and more maternal death per pregnancy than any other developed nation. Is health not the foundation of personal freedom?
Michael Merenda’s song inspires us to work harder to win the day when we will hang our heads and cry no more, when we will proudly say that in the United States no one goes without health care.
Thank you, Mike and Ruthy!