You Can't Keep Me From Singing! by Gordon MacDonald
(Sung to the tune of "How Can I Keep From Singing")

My life flows on, but something's wrong,
I'm caught in consternation.
Whenever I begin to sing,
There's rising agitation.
My singing voice was not my choice,
Fate brought it sweetly winging.
Since Fate's to blame, I now proclaim,
You can't keep me from singing.

My voice is hoarse, but then, of course,
A smooth, sweet voice is boring.
And if a song be sad or long,
I pep it up by roaring.
To sing on pitch is something which,
Was not in my upbringing,
To song off-key sounds fine to me,
And you can't keep me from singing.

If I sing just right, I can incite,
A docile group to riot;
Or to offer me a handsome fee,
If only I'll be quiet.
But I don't bargain with a mob,
Though tar and feathers they're bringing.
Put down that noose and turn me loose!
You can't keep me from singing.

The birds have fled my neighborhood,
Their tiny eardrum shattered,
My neighbors too have said, "Adieu",
But it hasn't really mattered.
My daily mail brings threats of death,
And curses coarse and stinging,
I heed them not - they're a tin-eared lot,
And they can't keep me from singing.

Each living thing its song must sing,
Life sings to life in chorus.
Our song brings courage when we do,
Not know what lies before us.
Our songs of freedom, love, and hope,
Down through the ages ringing,
Cold Death defy, and that is why,
You can't keep me from singing.