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What's being sung at the peace marches?

21 Mar 03 - 06:23 PM (#915692)
Subject: What's being sung at the peace marches?
From: GUEST,Marion

Hello all. I know many of you are going out to the peace demos, and I'm curious as to what songs you're hearing, and what songs you're leading or introducing.

I've heard very little singing at the big events, other than what the Raging Grannies - the only song that gets widespread attention is "Give Peace a Chance." Chanting slogans seems to be much more popular.

However, there was a more intimate demo here on Wednesday night (about 80 people), and when someone said, "Is there someone who knows all the words to Imagine?" I said I did. I ended up teaching "We Shall Overcome" and my own parody of Drunken Sailor to a group of young people, and singing them into a megaphone with a TV camera on me.

One thing was kind of funny - another demonstrator told us that "it's better to shout, so that they [at the consulate] will be ashamed. Music will just make them dance!" Mind you, this was 1 in the morning and the consulate was all dark. Or maybe they turned out the lights so they could slow-dance to me singing We Shall Overcome?

Please share your recent music-as-protest experiences...

Marion


21 Mar 03 - 07:02 PM (#915719)
Subject: RE: What's being sung at the peace marches?
From: Jon Bartlett

The Vancouver Folk Song Society (Canada) has been involved in all the recent marches in Vancouver (and more going back 20 years or so)and has composed a songsheet for each one. Here's the site to download them:
http://www.geocities.com/vfss.geo/peacemarches.html

Jon Bartlett


21 Mar 03 - 07:05 PM (#915723)
Subject: RE: What's being sung at the peace marches?
From: Giac

Here's a blicky (I hope):

songsheet


21 Mar 03 - 08:34 PM (#915764)
Subject: RE: What's being sung at the peace marches?
From: Harry Basnett

In the UK it's probably 'School's Out For Summer'....the marches seem to be full of kiddilitches using them as an excuse to bunk off....


22 Mar 03 - 02:46 AM (#915882)
Subject: RE: What's being sung at the peace marches?
From: open mike

we called ourselves
Swords in to Plowshares
and sang :
Down by the Riverside
We Shall Not Be Moved
Singing for our Lives
the Great Peace March
this land is your land
and Soon and Very Soon-
a new one
from san francisco


22 Mar 03 - 03:04 AM (#915885)
Subject: RE: What's being sung at the peace marches?
From: JudyR

Oh gosh, that sounds like San Francisco. I only went to one march, and one candlelight vigil so far, but nothing was sung.


22 Mar 03 - 03:34 PM (#916123)
Subject: RE: What's being sung at the peace marches?
From: GUEST

sadly nothing in London today. You need a drum


22 Mar 03 - 04:12 PM (#916139)
Subject: RE: What's being sung at the peace marches?
From: Joe Offer

Two I've hear often as Song of Peace (Finlandia), which I sing "This is my song, O God of all the nations."
Another is Let There Be Peace on Earth.
Open Mike, I'd like to see those "Soon and Very Soon" lyrics. If I'm correct, the original is by Andrae Crouch, and can be found in many church hymnals.
-Joe Offer-


22 Mar 03 - 04:23 PM (#916147)
Subject: RE: What's being sung at the peace marches?
From: Marion

Open Mike, I know an upbeat gospel song that goes "Soon and very soon we are going to see the King (3X), Hallelujah, Hallelujah, we're going to see the King." And there were other phrases zipped in to replace "see the king". Is the song you do the same song, but with new phrases zipped in?

Marion


22 Mar 03 - 11:59 PM (#916344)
Subject: RE: What's being sung at the peace marches?
From: Kaleea

"Not In My Name"

Joe Offer,
As for "Soon And Very Soon" I believe that the tune is from an old Spiritual, and Andre put words to it from Revelations 21:3-4. Back in the olden days of the 70's, Andre was on the gospel circuit which brought him to my stomping grounds just about all through the 70's. As I recall, Andre used to vary the lyrics from time to time for the mood of the service or "alter call", but here are the words I recall (I think, but hey, I'm a geezer now!) from back then:

vs 1. Soon and very soon, we are ging to see the King;X3
   
Refrain: Hallelujah, Hallelujah, We're going to see the King.

vs 2. No more dying there, we are going to see the King; etc.

Refrain

vs 3. No more Crying there, we are going to see the King; etc.

Refrain


23 Mar 03 - 02:55 AM (#916391)
Subject: RE: What's being sung at the peace marches?
From: open mike

That sounds like the one . we sang :
Soon and very soon, we are going to change this world,
Soon and very soon, we are going to change this world,
Soon and very soon, we are going to change this world,
For ever, and ever, we are going to change this world.

Soon and very soon, There'll be health care for us all...
Soon and very soon, There'll be no more dropping bombs...
Soon and very soon, we'll have Peace and justice here...

zip in other lyrics as you see fit...
do not know the source, but others
here seem to, they are probably right!

oh yeah, and we did Vine and Fig Tree


23 Mar 03 - 11:40 AM (#916514)
Subject: RE: What's being sung at the peace marches?
From: Piers

I did hear some young kids singing "I ain't gonna study war no more" in Hyde Park yesterday.   Also the Red and Green Choir were stationed at the bottom of Whitehall trying very hard to be heard above the chants and drums.

Piers


24 Mar 03 - 01:17 AM (#916806)
Subject: RE: What's being sung at the peace marches?
From: GUEST,Guest Jon Bartlett

Try this to the tune of West Side Story's "Maria" (w. Hilda Thomas, m., Leonard Bernstein):

Korea!
There are nuclear bombs in Korea!
But we don't give a damn
We're out to get Saddam, you see.

Saddam has
Misiles hidden inside his pajamas!
And underneath the soil
There are tons and tons of oil
We need to run our SUV's!

"Osama!" Say it loud and we're out to get him!
Say it soft, and it's time to forget him!
"Osama!" We've got to stop saying "Osama!"

Saddam's the most horrible man in all thew world - Saddam!


24 Mar 03 - 08:48 AM (#916968)
Subject: RE: What's being sung at the peace marches?
From: GUEST,Sarah

I heard "We all live in a terrorist regime" to the tune of Yellow Submarine!

There was also something else which I didn't quite catch "Tony Blair's a Tory, he wears a Tory's hat. He looked at Maggie Thatcher and said I'll have a piece of that" to the tune of My dad's a Dustman.

Heard in London on Saturday.

Cheers
Sarah


24 Mar 03 - 02:10 PM (#917263)
Subject: RE: What's being sung at the peace marches?
From: Merritt

The following songs were on the lyric sheet we used at last night's one-hour vigil in Green Bay, Wisconsin - 7:00 to 8:00 PM at Baird Park, corner of E. Mason & Webster. Singing was mixed with vocal prayer, silence, readings, etc. so there's an asterisk on the ones we had time to sing.

~ Down By The Riverside*
~ With God On Our Side
~ People Got To Be Free
~ Finlandia
~ Last Night I had the Strangest Dream*
~ All We Are Saying Is Give Peace a Chance*
~ The Fiddle & The Drum
~ Some Believe – Just the chorus - "Some believe the final fight, will be won with greatest might; but weapons aren't what make us strong, I believe that they are wrong; so I'll raise my voice up high and clear, let them know that I am here; for if we do not stand and fight, I believe that they'll be right."
~ We Shall Not Be Moved*
~ Where Have All The Flowers Gone
~ Kum-Bay-Ya*
~ When in Doubt, Bomb Iraq
~ Support Our Troops, Bring 'Em Home

I have in a Word file. Send me an e-mail at merritt@itol.com and I'll send you a copy as attached file. Feel free to use, improve, lose, etc.

- Merritt

"It's all one big note." - Merritt


25 Mar 03 - 09:48 AM (#917857)
Subject: RE: What's being sung at the peace marches?
From: wilco

BRAVELY WALKING THE STREETS HERE AT HOME!! (WITH GUSTO!!!)

D            
Please save our cowardly souls,
       G                E          A
while we march these safe streets at home.
                                  D
We are the spoiled children of our time,
D                           G            D
Foolish in our pretentions, never knowing sacrifice,
                        A             D
We are protected by our soldiers over there

WE ARE THE COWARDS OF OUR TIME,
SO COOL IN OUR OWN EYES,
LIVING OFF THE SACRIFICE OF OTHERS EVERY DAY!
WE ARE PROUD TO HIDE AT HOME.
WHILE OTHERS RISK THEIR LIFES.
BRAVELY WALKING THE STREETS HERE AT HOME.


25 Mar 03 - 09:08 PM (#918457)
Subject: RE: What's being sung at the peace marches?
From: GUEST,Walking Eagle

Dona Nobis Pacem.


26 Mar 03 - 05:25 PM (#919062)
Subject: RE: What's being sung at the peace marches?
From: Marion

Very interesting - answers range from a long list of songs to "nothing much being sung here." I like the new words to Soon and Very Soon.

I'm a little surprised at some of the songs mentioned (Dona Nobis Pacem, God on Our Side, Finlandia). While these are good songs in other contexts, I'd suspect that they wouldn't be ideal for teaching to a group of non-musicheads on a march. You need something short, simple, straightforward, with an easily sung melody; Finlandia's kind of subtle, God on Our Side is really long and doesn't have a catchy melody, and Dona Nobis Pacem is a 3-part canon in Latin! Are they really being sung much?

Marion