Song Lyrics from our Event

America the Beautiful

by Katherine Lee Bates with new verses by

Jesse Palidofsky and John Morris

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 thy immigrants
Who hail from every land
Their hope and heart and diligence
Like gifts from God’s own hand
America! America!
Thy grace shall yet remain
To greet the poor who reach thy shore
With open arms again

O beautiful O Mother Earth
All nestle at your breast
Just as we sing with love and pride
So all nations are blessed
America! America! 
Alone cannot abide
God give thee pause to mend thy flaws
With Truth thy only guide

O beautiful thy working folk
Built cities, tilled thy soil
Proud Africans in bloody chains
The wealth built from their toil
America! America!
God shed much grace on thee
So spread the love sent from above
From sea to shining sea

Ring sisterhood! Ring brotherhood!
From sea to shining sea

A Change Is Gonna Come

by Sam Cooke

I was born by the river

In a little tent

Oh, and just like the river, I've been running

Ever since

It's been a long

A long time coming, but I know

A change gon' come

Oh yes, it will

It's been too hard living

But I'm afraid to die

'Cause I don't know what's up there

Beyond the sky

It's been a long

A long time coming, but I know

A change gon' come

Oh yes, it will

I go to the movie

And I go downtown

And somebody keep telling me

"Don't hang around"

It's been a long

A long time coming, but I know

A change gon' come

Oh yes, it will

Then, I go to my brother

And I say, "Brother, help me, please"

But he winds up knockin' me

Back down on my knees, oh

There been times that I thought

I couldn't last for long

But now, I think I'm able

To carry on

It's been a long

A long time coming, but I know

A change gon' come

Oh yes, it will

I Hear Them All / This Land Is Your Land

Ketch Secor and David Rawlings (I Hear them all)

Woody Guthrie (This Land is Your Land)

I hear the crying of the hungry in the deserts where they're wanderin'
Hear them crying out for heaven's own benevolence upon them
Hear destructive power prevailin', I hear fools falsely hailin'
To the crooked wits of tyrants when they call

I hear them all, I hear them all, I hear them all

I hear the sound of tearing pages and the roar of burnin' paper
All the crimes and acquisition turned to air and ash and vapor
And the rattle of the shackle far beyond emancipators
And the lowliest who gather in their stall

I hear them all, I hear them all, I hear them all

So while you sit and whistle Dixie with your money and your power
I can hear the flowers growing in the rubble of the tower
I hear leaders quit their lyin', I hear babies quit their cryin'
I hear soldiers quit their dyin' one and all

I hear them all, I hear them all, I hear them all

I hear the tenderest word from Zion, I hear Noah's waterfall
Hear the gentle lamb of Judah sleeping at the feet of Buddha
And the prophets from Elijah to the old Paiute Wovoka
Take their places at the table when they're called

I hear them all, I hear them all, I hear them all

Cause I went walking that ribbon of highway
I saw above me that endless skyway
Saw below me that golden valley
Mm, this land was made for you and me

This land is your land, 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

So rode and rambled and I followed my footsteps
Up the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts
And all around me a voice was sounding
Mm, this land was made for you and me

This land is your land, 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

On the steps of the courthouse, in the shadow of the steeple
By the relief office, I see my people
And they stand there hungry, and I can hear them asking
Was this land made for you and me?

As I went walking I saw a sign there
That on the one side said "No trespassin'"
But when I looked on the other side, it didn't say nothin!
Aw this land was made for you and me!

This land is your land, this land is my land
From California to the little Rhode Island
From the Redwood Forest to the Gulf Stream Waters
Oh, this land was made for you and me

I hear them all, I hear them all, I hear them all

I hear them all, I hear them all, I hear them all