A

AIN'T GONNA LET NOBODY TURN ME AROUND

Traditional Protest Song - link to version by Joan Baez

Ain't gonna let *nobody turn me around

Turn me around, turn me around

Ain't gonna let nobody turn me around

Keep on a-walkin', keep on a-talkin' 

Gonna build a brand new world

*Variations: the administration,  censorship, ICE, pedophiles, [names], etc

America The Beautiful 

-Katherine Lee Bates; (1859-1929) 

Inspired by a trip to Pikes Peak in 1893, Katherine Lee Bates wrote the poem America the Beautiful. Her poem first appeared in print on July 4, 1895 in The Congregationalist, a weekly journal. Ms. Bates revised the lyrics in 1904 and again in 1913. 

O beautiful for spacious skies,

For amber waves of grain,

For purple mountain majesties

Above the fruited plain!

America! America!

God shed His grace on thee

And crown thy good with brotherhood

From sea to shining sea!

O beautiful for pilgrim feet,

Whose stern, impassioned stress

A thoroughfare for freedom beat

Across the wilderness!

America! America!

God mend thine every flaw,

Confirm thy soul in self-control,

Thy liberty in law!

O beautiful for heroes proved

In liberating strife,

Who more than self their country loved

And mercy more than life!

America! America!

May God thy gold refine,

Till all success be nobleness,

And every gain divine!

O beautiful for patriot dream

That sees beyond the years

Thine alabaster cities gleam

Undimmed by human tears!

America! America!

God shed His grace on thee

And crown thy good with brotherhood

From sea to shining sea! 

D

Down by the Riverside

Traditional 

Gonna lay down my sword and shield,

down by the riverside,

down by the riverside,

down by the riverside;

gonna lay down my sword and shield,

down by the riverside,

down by the riverside.

I ain't gonna study war no more.

ain't gonna study war no more,

ain't gonna study war no more,

I ain't gonna study war no more,

ain't gonna study war no more,

ain't gonna study war no more.

Gonna lay down my burden,
down by the riverside,
down by the riverside,
down by the riverside;
gonna lay down my burden,
down by the riverside,
down by the riverside.

I ain't gonna study war no more.
ain't gonna study war no more,
ain't gonna study war no more,
I ain't gonna study war no more,
ain't gonna study war no more,
ain't gonna study war no more. 

E

Ella's Song

-Sweet Honey in the Rock

We who believe in freedom cannot rest

We who believe in freedom cannot rest until it comes

Until the killing of black men, black mothers' sons

Is as important as the killing of white men, white mothers' sons

That which touches me most

Is that I had a chance to work with people

Passing on to others that which was passed on to me

To me young people come first

They have the courage where we fail

And if I can but shed some light as they carry us through the gale

The older I get the better I know that the secret of my going on

Is when the reins are in the hands of the young, who dare to run against the storm

Not needing to clutch for power

Not needing the light just to shine on me

I need to be one in the number as we stand against tyranny

Struggling myself don't mean a whole lot, I've come to realize

That teaching others to stand up and fight is the only way my struggle survives

I'm a woman who speaks in a voice and I must be heard

At times I can be quite difficult, I'll bow to no man's word 

F

For What It's Worth

-Buffalo Springfield

L

LEAN ON ME  

-Bill Withers

Sometimes in our lives, we all have pain, we all have sorrow

But, if we are wise, we know that there's always tomorrow

Lean on me, when you're not strong

And I'll be your friend, I'll help you carry on

For it won't be long

Till I'm gonna need somebody to lean on

Please swallow your pride

If I have things you need to borrow

For, no one can fill

Those of your needs that you won't let show

You just call on me brother when you need a hand

We all need somebody to lean on

I just might have a problem that you'll understand

We all need somebody to lean on

Lean on me, when you're not strong

And I'll be your friend, I'll help you carry on...

For it won't be long

Till I'm gonna need somebody to lean on

You just call on me brother, when you need a hand

We all need somebody to lean on

I just might have a problem that you'll understand

We all need somebody to lean on

If there is a load you have to bear

That you can't carry

I'm right up the road, I'll share your load

If you just call me

Call me, if you need a friend (repeat)

M

My Country, 'Tis of Thee

-Samuel Francis Smith 

My country, ’tis of thee,
Sweet land of liberty,
    Of thee I sing;
Land where my fathers died,
Land of the Pilgrims’ Pride,
From every mountain side
    Let freedom ring.

My native country, thee,
Land of the noble, free,
    Thy name I love;
I love thy rocks and rills,
Thy woods and templed hills,
My heart with rapture thrills,
    Like that above.

Let music swell the breeze,
And ring from all the trees
    Sweet freedom’s song;
Let mortal tongues awake,
Let all that breathe partake,
Let rocks their silence break,
    The sound prolong.

Our fathers’ God, to Thee,
Author of liberty,
    To Thee we sing;
Long may our land be bright,
With freedom’s holy light,
Protect us by Thy might,
    Great God, our King.

O

OH, FREEDOM

African-American Freedom Song ~ Post Civil War

Oh-oh freedom, Oh-oh freedom

Oh-oh freedom, over me

And before I'll be a slave

I'll be buried in my grave

And go home to my Lord and be free

And go home to my Lord and be free

No more weepin', (Don't you know), no more weepin'

No more weepin' over me

And before I'd be a slave

I'd be buried in my grave

And go home to my Lord and be free

Oh, freedom

Oh-oh freedom, Oh-oh freedom

Oh-oh freedom, over me

And before I'll be a slave

I'll be buried in my grave

And go home to my Lord and be free

And go home to my Lord and be free

One Love 

-Bob Marley

One love, one heart

Let's get together and feel alright

Hear the children crying (one love)

Hear the children crying (one heart)

Sayin', "Give thanks and praise to the Lord

And I will feel alright"

Sayin', "Let's get together and feel alright"

Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa

Let them all pass all their dirty remarks (one love)

There is one question I'd really love to ask (one heart)

Is there a place for them hopeless sinners

Who has hurt all mankind just to save his own?

Believe me

One love (what about the one heart?)

One heart (what about if we all)

Let's get together and feel alright

As it was in the beginning (one love)

So shall it be in the end (one heart)

Alright, give thanks and praise to the Lord

And I will feel alright

Let's get together and feel alright

One more thing

Let's get together to fight this Holy Armageddon (one love)

So when the Man comes, there will be no, no doom (one song)

Have pity on those whose chances grows thinner

There ain't no hiding place from the Father of Creation

Sayin', "One love"

What about the one heart? (One heart)

What about? (Let's get together and feel alright)

I'm pleading to mankind (one love)

Oh, Lord (one heart), one heart

Give thanks and praise to the Lord

And I will feel alright

Let's get together and feel alright

Give thanks and praise to the Lord

And I will feel alright

Let's get together and feel alright

T

THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND  

Woody Guthrie ~ 1940

This land is your land, and this land is my land

From California to the New York island

From the Redwood Forest to the Gulf Stream waters

This land was made for you and me

As I went walking that ribbon of highway

And I saw above me that endless skyway

I saw below me that golden valley

This land was made for you and me

This land is your land... (chorus)

I roamed and rambled, and I've followed my footsteps

To the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts

All around me, a voice was sounding

This land was made for you and me

This land is your land... (chorus)

When the sun come shining, then I was strolling

And the wheat fields waving, and the dust clouds rolling

The voice was chanting as the fog was lifting

This land was made for you and me

This land is your land... (chorus)

W

WE SHALL OVERCOME 

Charles Albert Tindley ~ 1900 

video link to Joan Baez singing to President Obama

We shall overcome,

We shall overcome,

We shall overcome, some day.

Oh, deep in my heart,

I do believe

We shall overcome, some day.

We'll walk hand in hand,

We'll walk hand in hand,

We'll walk hand in hand, some day.

Oh, deep in my heart,

We shall live in peace,

We shall live in peace,

We shall live in peace, some day.

Oh, deep in my heart,

We shall all be free,

We shall all be free,

We shall all be free, some day.

Oh, deep in my heart,

We are not afraid,

We are not afraid,

We are not afraid, TODAY

Oh, deep in my heart,

We shall overcome,

We shall overcome,

We shall overcome, some day.

Oh, deep in my heart,

I do believe

We shall overcome, some day.