Lyr Add: May the Waters Keep On Flowing

Subject: Lyr Add: MAY THE WATERS KEEP ON FLOWING
From: Suffet
Date: 26 Dec 00 - 11:54 PM

This song was written by a group of high school students at El Puente Academy for Peace and Justice in Brooklyn, NY, in 1999. It has been performed a number of times, including by Pete Seeger and friends at Liberty State Park, NJ, this past July. I promised the young songwriters that I would help spread their message, so that's why I am posting it here.

Does anyone else have songs written by young people to contribute?

---Steve

MAY THE WATERS KEEP ON FLOWING

Words by Jerome Cosme, Aida German, Evelin Hernandez, Louis Johnson, Cassie Lamberty, Maria Pérez, and Diana Troncoso © 1999.

Music: "Will the Circle Be Unbroken" (traditional)

Start on chorus:

May the waters keep on flowing,
From the river to the sea,
May the breezes keep on blowing,
For all eternity.

From the mountain to the seashore,
To the cave of the sleeping grizzly bear,
Living things are all around us,
In the water, on land, and in the air.

May the waters keep on flowing,
From the river to the sea,
May the breezes keep on blowing,
For all eternity.

From the red ant to the blue whale,
Living things come great and small,
From the earthworm in the garden,
To the redwood tree so tall.

May the waters keep on flowing,
From the river to the sea,
May the breezes keep on blowing,
For all eternity.

From the newborn to the adult,
To the newborn once again,
All of life is one great circle,
Come and help the circle spin.

May the waters keep on flowing,
From the river to the sea,
May the breezes keep on blowing,
For all eternity.

Subject: RE: A song by young people
From: katlaughing
Date: 27 Dec 00 - 01:05 AM

That is a beautiful and very meaningful song! Thanks so much for sharing it with us. I will be sure to pass it on to friends and family and , with permission, I will add it to my songs-to-learn ring binder and maybe sing it in PalTalk one of these times.

Thanks, again!

kat

Subject: RE: A song by young people
From: AllisonA(Animaterra)
Date: 27 Dec 00 - 09:30 AM

Thank you for that song. I too will pass it on. I have a few songs written by my students, but they're at school and I'm on vacation. They've mostly been written for specific occasions, such as the death of the spouse of a teacher or the dedication of our town's first Habitat for Humanity home.

Subject: RE: A song by young people
From: Suffet
Date: 27 Dec 00 - 10:57 AM

I'm glad to hear the positive feedbcak. Let me give a little history. El Puente Academy is a public high school in Brooklyn, NY, developed jointly by the New York City Board of Education and a community based organization called El Puente, which means The Bridge in Spanish. The school is situated by the Brooklyn side of the Williamsburgh Bridge, but it also serves as a bridge between self and community.

Each school year El Puente Academy focuses on a theme, and the students' year long work culminates in a wonderful multimedia presentation on that theme. During the 1998-1999 school year, El Puente Academy's theme was biodiversity. The school asked me to teach a course in songwriting, and the songs we wrote would be used in the final presentation. We worked hard, and the students came up with three very good songs. We invited guest artits to visit the school and try these songs out, give us feedback, and help us over the rough spots. Four artists accepted our invitation, and each paid one such visit. The artists were Bob Malenky, Sharon Perez Abreu, Alison Kelley (later of the Johnson Girls), and Pete Seeger. We were very thankful of their support.

As I just said, the students composed three really good songs, but only one made the final cut: "May the Waters Keep On Flowing." It was first performed as part of the El Puente Academy Biodiversity Project by a Gospel choir under the direction of Alfa Anderson. For those who recall a 1970s disco group called Chic, Alfa was their female lead singer. Their biggest hit was "Le Freak." These days Alfa, like muyself, spends much of her time working with young people.

I will post the two remaining songs at another time.

--- Steve

Subject: Lyr Add: MANY SPECIES GONE
From: Suffet
Date: 27 Dec 00 - 12:05 PM

MANY SPECIES GONE

Tune: "No More Auction Block for Me" ("Many Thousand Gone")(traditional)

Words: Jerome Cosme, Louis Johnson, Diana Troncoso, Cassie Lamberty, Maria Perez, and Evelin Hernandez ©1999

No more dinosaurs on Earth,
No more, no more,
No more dinosaurs on Earth,
Many species gone.

No more pterodactyls on Earth,
No more, no more,
No more pterodactyls on Earth,
Many species gone.

No more dodo birds on Earth,
No more, no more,
No more dodo birds on Earth,
Many species gone.

No more woolly mammoths on Earth,
No more, no more,
No more woolly mammoths on Earth,
Many species gone.

No more mastodons on Earth,
No more, no more,
No more mastadons on Earth,
Many species gone.

No more saber tooths on Earth,
No more, no more,
No more saber tooths on Earth,
Many species gone.

No more human life on Earth,
No more, no more,
No more human life on Earth,
Many species gone.


The young people who wrote this song and who wrote "May the Waters Keep On Flowing" have assigned all benefits to:

El Puente Academy for Peace and Justice
211 South 4th Street
Brooklyn, NY 11211 [USA]

Permission for live performance is hereby granted. If you wish to publish or record either song, please secure permission from Frances Lucerna, the Principal of El Puente Academy, at the address given above.

--- Steve

Subject: RE: A song by young people
From:
Date: 27 Dec 00 - 06:14 PM

They're great. Thanks for passing them on.

Subject: Lyr Add: PILES OF GARBAGE
From: Suffet
Date: 28 Dec 00 - 09:59 AM

And here is one more song to come out of the classes I taught at El Puente Academy for Peace and Justice, 1998-1999.

--- Steve


PILES OF GARBAGE

Words by Miguel Diaz, Yaser Alvarado, and Radely Gonzalez © 1998

Music: "Pastures of Plenty" by Woody Guthrie

I went down to the river and what did I see?
A big pile of garbage, as tall as a tree.
It smelled like dead fish, and it smelled like a skunk,
It was a big pile of garbage, and like Hell it stunk!

We can't live near this garbage that won't let us breathe,
But this is our neighborhood, and we don't want to leave.
Do you think we are crazy, or dumb stupid fools,
To have all this garbage near our houses and schools?

Let's all get together, and all lend a hand,
Keep the waste transfer stations away from our land.
Everybody clean up and together we'll see,
No more piles of garbage around you and me.

Subject: RE: A song by young people
From: Suffet
Date: 24 May 01 - 07:11 AM

Greetings:

I made a return visit to El Puente Academy yesterday (5/23/01), and I thought it's time to refresh this thread. Some of the young people who helped write the songs shown above graduated last year, some will be graduating this coming month, and the rest will graduate in '02. One of the authors of "Piles of Garbage" will be going on to study music at Brooklyn College, despite the fact he has a 50 percent hearing loss. Maybe that could be an advantage? :-)

--- Steve

Subject: RE: A song by young people
From: hesperis
Date: 24 May 01 - 10:36 AM

Wow! I love the first song - it looks forward to a land where living with the Earth's needs as well as our own is possible.

Thank you.

Subject: RE: A song by young people
From: Suffet
Date: 24 May 01 - 09:40 PM

If you love it, sing it! But whenever possible please explain that it was written by high school students in Brooklyn, New York.

--- Steve

Subject: RE: A song by young people
From: Suffet
Date: 09 Jun 01 - 05:20 PM

An update on some of the authors of the songs posted above. Jerome Cosme, Yaser Alvarado, and Radely Gonzalez will all be graduating high school and the end of this month (June 2001). Aida German is scheduled to graduate one year from now. The others have already moved on. These are really some fine songs from some wonderful young people. Please sing them!

--- Steve

Subject: RE: A song by young people
From: Suffet
Date: 29 Jun 01 - 12:02 AM

Another update. This past Wednesday (June 27, 2001) I attended the high school graduation of Jerome Cosme, Aida German, Yaser Alvarado, and Radely Gonzalez. I had been wrong about Aida's graduation date. It is this year, not next. Sorry. Anyway, these young people would be particularly honored if other folks would sing their songs. Just give them the credit they deserve.

--- Steve

Subject: RE: A song by young people
From: Marymac90
Date: 29 Aug 01 - 12:46 PM

Great songs, Steve! I'm glad you got the chance to help these fine young folks develop their talent!

Marymac