Civil Right Songs
“I had spent many years pursuing excellence,
because that is what classical music is all about.
Now it was dedicated to freedom, and that was
far more important.”
Nina Simone
Essential Questions
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What impact do songs have on social
movements?
What is the historical context in which
these songs are written and performed?
What makes a song effective in a cause?
Role of Music
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Music has been used to lift the spirits of
poor, oppressed and rebels.
Music has been used to communicate the
ideas of change and protest.
From different historical eras from slavery,
The Great Depression, Civil Rights
Movement and Vietnam, individuals have
shared their opinions of injustice.
Shirley Verrett sings “Oh Freedom”
Oh freedom, oh freedom, oh freedom
over me
After awhile, and before I'd be a slave
I'll be buried in my grave
And go home to my Lord and be free
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She was born on May 31, 1931 and
passed on November 5, 2010.
She was an opera singer who
performed at the Met in New York
City, Italy and France.
At times, she was not allowed to sing
in opera houses because she was
black.
Through her career, she fought racial
discrimination.
No more mourning, no more
mourning, no more mourning over me
when I am free
And before I'd be a slave, I'll be buried
in a my grave
And I go home to my Lord and be
free
No more crying, no more dying, Lord,
no more crying over me, and I am free
And before I'd be a slave, I'll be buried
deep in a my grave
And I go home to my Lord and be free
Oh sweet freedom, oh sweet
freedom, oh sweet freedom over me
And before I'd be a slave, I'll be
buried in a my grave
And I will go home to my Lord and be
free
Sam Cooke “King of Soul”
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He was born on
January 22, 1931 in
Clarksdale,
Mississippi. He died at
the age of 33.
He was a gospel
singer and crossed
over to pop.
He was killed in 1964
by a hotel manager.
“A Change Is Gonna Come”
I was born by the river in a little tent
And just like that river I've been
running ever since
It's been a long time coming
But I know a change is gonna come,
oh yes it will
It's been too hard living, but I'm
afraid to die
Cos I don't know what's out there
beyond the sky
It's been a long, a long time coming
But I know a change is gonna come,
oh yes it will
I go to the movie
And I go down town
somebody keep telling me don't hang
around
Its been along time coming
But I know a change is gonna 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
There were times when 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 gone come, oh
yes it will
“This Little Light of Mine” Sung by Sam Cooke
Amen
This little light of mine
I'm going to let it shine
This little light of mine
I'm going to let it shine
This little light of mine,
I'm going to let it shine,
Let it shine
Let it shine to show my love
Everywhere I go I'm gonna let it shine
Everywhere I go I'm gonna let it shine
Everywhere I go I'm gonna let it shine
I let it shine to show my love
Even in my home I'm gonna let is shine
I let it shine to show my love
When I see my neighbor coming I'm
gonna let it shine
Amen
Nina Simone "High Priestess of Soul"
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She was born on
February 21, 1933 and
died on April 21,
2003.
She attended Julliard
for one year but ran
out of money.
She wrote “Mississippi
Goddam” after the
death of Medgar Evers
and the Birmingham
church bombing that
killed four young
African-American girls.
“Four Women”
My skin is black
My arms are long
My hair is woolly
My back is strong
Strong enough to take the pain
Inflicted again and again
What do they call me
My name is Aunt Sarah
My name is Aunt Sarah
Aunt Sarah
My skin is yellow
My hair is long
Between two worlds
I do belong
My father was rich and white
He forced my mother late one
night
What do they call me
My name is Saffronia
My name is Saffronia
My skin is tan
My hair is fine
My hips invite you
My mouth like wine
Whose little girl am I?
Anyone who has money to buy
What do they call me
My name is Sweet Thing
My name is Sweet Thing
My skin is brown
And my manner is tough
I'll kill the first mother I see
My life has to been rough
I'm awfully bitter these days
Because my parents were
slaves
What do they call me
My name is PEACHES
"Mississippi Goddam"
The name of this tune is Mississippi Goddam
And I mean every word of it
Alabama's gotten me so upset
Tennessee made me lose my rest
And everybody knows about Mississippi Goddam
Lord have mercy on this land of mine
We all gonna get it in due time
I don't belong here
I don't belong there
I've even stopped believing in prayer
Don't tell me
Alabama's gotten me so upset
I tell you
Tennessee made me lose my rest
Me and my people just about due
And everybody knows about Mississippi Goddam
I've been there so I know
They keep on saying "Go slow!"
Can't you see it
Can't you feel it
But that's just the trouble
It's all in the air
"do it slow"
I can't stand the pressure much longer
Washing the windows
Somebody say a prayer
"do it slow"
Picking the cotton
Alabama's gotten me so upset
"do it slow"
Tennessee made me lose my rest
You're just plain rotten
And everybody knows about Mississippi Goddam
"do it slow"
You're too damn lazy
This is a show tune
"do it slow"
But the show hasn't been written for it, yet
The thinking's crazy
"do it slow"
Hound dogs on my trail
Where am I going
School children sitting in jail
What am I doing
Black cat cross my path
I don't know
I think every day's gonna be my last
I don't know
"Mississippi Goddam"
Just try to do your very best
Stand up be counted with all the rest
For everybody knows about Mississippi
Goddam
I made you thought I was kiddin'
Picket lines
School boy cots
They try to say it's a communist plot
All I want is equality
for my sister my brother my people and
me
Yes you lied to me all these years
You told me to wash and clean my ears
And talk real fine just like a lady
And you'd stop calling me Sister Sadie
Oh but this whole country is full of lies
You're all gonna die and die like flies
I don't trust you any more
You keep on saying "Go slow!"
"Go slow!"
But that's just the trouble
"do it slow"
Desegregation
"do it slow"
Mass participation
"do it slow"
Reunification
"do it slow"
Do things gradually
"do it slow"
But bring more tragedy
"do it slow"
Why don't you see it
Why don't you feel it
I don't know
I don't know
You don't have to live next to me
Just give me my equality
Everybody knows about Mississippi
Everybody knows about Alabama
Everybody knows about Mississippi
Goddam
That's it!
"Why? (The King of Love is Dead)"
Once upon this planet earth
Lived a man humble down
Preaching Love and freedom
For his fellow man
He was dreaming our day
Peace would come to us to stay
And he‘d spread his message
All across the land
Turn the other cheek
He’d plead
Love thy neighbor
Was his creed
Pain, humiliation, death
He did not dread
With his bible at his side
From his foes he did not hide
It’s hard to think
That this great man is dead
Oh Yeah!
For the murders never cease
Are they men or are they beast
What do they ever hope?
Ever hope to gain
Will my country
For us, stand up tall
Is it too late for us all?
And did Martin Luther King
Just die In Vain
Cause he’d seen the mountain top
And he knew he could not stop
Always living
With the threat of death ahead
Folks you'd better
Stop and think
Cause we’re headed for the brink
What will happen now?
That he is dead
He was for equality
For all people you and me
With love and good will
Hate was not his way
He was not a violent man
Tell me folks if you can
Just Why
Why was he shot down?
The other day
You would say
He had seen
The mountain top
And he knew he could not stop
Always living with the
Threat of death ahead
Folks you'd better stop and think
And Feel Again
Cause we're headed for the brink
What’s going to happen?
Now that the King of love
Is dead!
Written by
Gene Taylor
“I Wish I Knew (How It Would
Feel to Be Free)”
I wish I knew how
It would feel to be free
I wish I could break
All the chains holding me
I wish I could say
All the things that I should say
Say 'em loud say 'em clear
For the whole round world to hear
I wish I could share
All the love that's in my heart
Remove all the bars
That keep us apart
I wish you could know
What it means to be me
Then you'd see and agree
That every man should be free
I wish I could give
All I'm longin' to give
I wish I could live
Like I'm longin' to live
I wish I could do
All the things that I can do
And though I'm way over due
I'd be starting a new
Well I wish I could be
Like a bird in the sky
How sweet it would be
If I found I could fly
Oh I'd soar to the sun
And look down at the sea
Than I'd sing cos I know - yea
Then I'd sing cos I know - yea
Then I'd sing cos I know
I'd know how it feels
Oh I know how it feels to be free
Yea Yea! Oh, I know how it feels
Yes I know
Oh, I know
How it feels
How it feels
To be free
Written by Billy Taylor and Dick Dallas
The Staple Singers
“ When Will We Be Paid (For the Work We’ve Done)?”
When will we be paid for the work we've done?
When will we be paid for the work we've done?
We have worked this country from shore to shore
Our women cooked all your food and washed all your clothes
We picked all your cotton and laid the railroad steel
Worked our hands to the bone at your lumber mill. I say...
When will we be paid for the work we've done?
When will we be paid for the work we've done?
We fought in your wars in every land
To keep this country free, y'all, for women, children and men
But any time we ask for pay or a loan
That's when everything seems to turn out wrong
We been beat up, called names, shot down and stoned
Every time we do right, someone say we're wrong
When will we be paid for the work we've done?
When will we be paid for the work we've done?
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They were a family who
sang gospel music.
In 1999, They were
inducted into the Rock
and Roll Hall of Fame.
We have given our sweat, and all our tears
We stumbled through this life for more than 300 years
We've been separated from the language we knew,
Stripped of our culture, people you know it's true. Tell me
now...
When will we be paid for the work we've done?
When will we be paid for the work we've done?
(When will we be paid for the work we've done?
When will we be paid for the work we've done?)
Will we ever be proud of "My country, tis of thee"?
Will we ever sing out loud, "Sweet land of Liberty"?
Will we ever have peace and harmony?
(When will we be paid for the work we've done?
When will we be paid for the work we've done?)
Pete Seeger
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He was born May 3,
1919 in Manhattan.
“Pete Seeger has
embodied the ideals
of folk music –
communication,
entertainment, social
comment, historical
continuity,
inclusiveness.”
Pete Seeger fight for justice
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“A fearless warrior for social
justice and the environment,
Pete’s political activism – from
the Civil Rights movement and
anti-McCarthyism to resistance
to fascism and the wars in
Vietnam and the Middle East –
has become the template for
subsequent generations of
musicians and ordinary citizens
with something to say about
the world.”
Source: Appleseed Recording
“We Shall Overcome” by Pete Seeger
We shall overcome,
We shall overcome,
We shall overcome, some day.
Oh, deep in my heart,
I do believe
We shall overcome, some day.
Oh, deep in my heart,
I do believe
We shall overcome, some day.
We are not afraid,
We are not afraid,
We are not afraid, TODAY
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,
I do believe
We shall overcome, some day.
Oh, deep in my heart,
I do believe
We shall overcome, some day.
We shall live in peace,
We shall live in peace,
We shall live in peace, some
day.
The whole wide world around
The whole wide world around
The whole wide world around
some day
Oh, deep in my heart,
I do believe
We shall overcome, some day.
“If You Miss Me at the Back of the Bus”
If you miss me at the back of
the bus
you can't find me nowhere
come on over to the front of the
bus
I'll be riding up there.
If you miss me on the picket
line
you can't find me nowhere
come on over to the city jail
I'll be roaming over there.
If you miss me in the Mississippi
River
you can't find me nowhere
come on over to the swimming
pool
I'll be swimming right there.
If you miss me in the cotton
fields
you can't find me nowhere
come on over to the
courthouse
I'll be voting right there.
If you miss me at the back of
the bus
you can't find me nowhere
come on over to the front of
the bus
I'll be riding up there.
“Keep Your Eyes on The Prize”
Paul and Silas, bound in jail
Had no money for to go their bail
Keep your eyes on the prize, hold on
Hold on, (hold on), hold on, (hold on)
Keep your eyes on the prize, hold on!
Hold on, (hold on), hold on, (hold on)
Keep your eyes on the prize, hold on!
Paul and Silas began to shout
Doors popped open, and they walked
out
Keep your eyes on the prize, hold on
Hold on, (hold on), hold on, (hold on)
Keep your eyes on the prize, hold on!
Well, the only chains that we can stand
Are the chains of hand in hand
Keep your eyes on the prize, hold on
Got my hand on the freedom plow
Wouldn't take nothing for my journey
now
Keep your eyes on the prize, hold on!
Hold on, (hold on), hold on, (hold on)
Keep your eyes on the prize, hold on!
Hold on, (hold on), hold on, (hold on)
Keep your Eyes on the Prize, hold on!
Hold on, (hold on), hold on, (hold
on)
Keep your eyes on the prize, hold
on!
Hold on, (hold on), hold on, (hold
on)
Keep your eyes on the prize, hold
on!
(Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on)
(Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on)
(Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on)
Phil Ochs
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Phil Ochs was born in El
Paso, Texas on Dec. 19.
1940.
His songs are humorous
and political.
He wrote about the
Vietnam War, Civil Rights
and famous people.
He committed suicide on
April 9, 1976 at the age of
35.
“Here's to the State of Mississippi”
Here's to the State of Mississippi,
For underneath her borders, the devil draws no lines,
If you drag her muddy rivers, nameless bodies you will
find.
Oh the fat trees of the forest have hid a thousand
crimes,
The calender is lyin' when it reads the present time.
Whoa here's to the land you've torn out the heart of,
Mississippi find yourself another country to be part of!
And here's to the people of Mississippi
Who say the folks up north, they just don't understand
And they tremble in the shadows at the thunder of the
Klan
Oh the sweating of their souls can't wash the blood from
off their hands
For they smile and shrug their shoulders at the murder
of a man.
Oh, here's to the land you've torn out the heart of
Mississippi find yourself another country to be part of
And here's to the schools of Mississippi
Where they're teachin’ all the children that they don't
have to care.
All the rudiments of hatred are present everywhere
And every single classroom is a factory of despair
And there's nobody learning such a foreign word as ‘fair’
Whoa, here's to the land you've torn out the heart of
Mississippi find yourself another country to be part of
And here's to the cops of Mississippi
They're chewin’ their tobacco as they lock the prison
door
And their bellies bounce inside them when they knock
you to the floor
No they don't like takin’ prisoners in their private little
wars
And behind their broken badges there are murderers
and more
Whoa, here's to the land you've torn out the heart of
Mississippi find yourself another country to be part of
And here's to the judges of Mississippi
Who wear the robe of honor as they crawl into the court
And they're guarding all the bastions of their phony legal
fort
Oh, justice is a stranger when the prisoners report
When the black man stands accused the trial is always
short
Whoa, here's to the land you've torn out the heart of
Mississippi find yourself another country to be part of
And here's to the government of Mississippi
In the swamp of their bureaucracy they're always
bogging down
And criminals are posing as the mayors of the towns
And they hope that no one sees the sights and no one
hears the sounds
And the speeches of the governor are the ravings of a
clown
Oh, here's to the land you've torn out the heart of
Mississippi find yourself another country to be part of
And here's to the laws of Mississippi
Congressmen will gather in a circus of delay
While the Constitution’s drowning in an ocean of decay
‘Unwed mothers should be sterilized,’ I've even heard
them say
Yes, corruption can be classic in the Mississippi way
Whoa, here's to the land you've torn out the heart of
Mississippi find yourself another country to be part of
And here's to the churches of Mississippi
Where the cross, once made of silver, now is caked with
rust
And the Sunday morning sermons pander to their lust
Oh the fallen face of Jesus is choking in the dust
And heaven only knows in which God they can trust
Oh, here's to the land you've torn out the heart of
Mississippi find yourself another country to be part of
Ballad Of Medgar Evers
In the state of Mississippi many years ago
A boy of 14 years got a taste of southern
law
He saw his friend a hanging and his color
was his crime
And the blood upon his jacket left a brand
upon his mind
CHORUS: Too many martyrs and too many
dead
Too many lies too many empty words were
said
Too many times for too many angry men
Oh let it never be again
And the boy became a man, the man
became a cause
The cause became the hope for the country
and it's laws.
They tried to burn his home and they beat
him to the ground
But deep inside they both knew what it
took to bring him down
*chorus*
The killer waited by his home hidden
by the night
As Evers stepped out from his car into
the rifle sight
He slowly squeezed the trigger, the
bullet left his side
It struck the heart of every man when
Evers fell and died.
*chorus*
And they laid him in his grave while
the bugle sounded clear
Laid him in his grave when the victory
was near
While we waited for the future for
freedom through the land
The country gained a killer and the
country lost a man
*chorus*
“Ballad of Oxford (Jimmy Meredith)” by Phil Ochs
I'll sing you a song about a southern town
where the devil had his rule
When marshalls faced an angry mob to send
one man to school
His name was jimmy meredith
The tide he helped to turn
For he chose to stay on that terrible day
The land was soon to learn
There was blood, red blood, on their hands,
Yellow dirt on their clothes
What they thought they were doing,
Only God and the devil knows
There was hate, cold hate, in their hearts,
Shot from their souls like a gun
And as they threw their stones and bricks,
They screamed, "see what you have done!"
The governor made a promise he would keep
the trouble down
But when the mob got ugly no troopers could
be found
And men were filled with hate and fear,
They screamed into the night
The rebel flag waved in the air
The symbol of state's rights
There was blood, red blood, on their
hands,
Yellow dirt on their clothes
What they thought they were doing,
Only God and the devil knows
There was hate, cold hate, in their
hearts,
Shot from their souls like a gun
And as they threw their stones and
bricks,
They screamed, "see what you have
done
Gas was fired into the mob after each
attack
And though the gas was running low, they
never fired back
And when the smoke had cleared and the
fury felt it's pain
Two men were dead and a hundred bled
The south had risen again
So listen mr barnet, and mr walker, too
The times are changing mighty fast,
they'll roll right over you
But someday you'll head for the south, to
the southern tip of hell
And it's hot down there, white-hot down
there
Let's hear your rebel yell!
There was blood, red blood, on their
hands,
Yellow dirt on their clothes
What they thought they were doing,
Only God and the devil knows
There was hate, cold hate, in their hearts,
Shot from their souls like a gun
And as they threw their stones and bricks,
They screamed, "see what you have
done!"
"see what you have done!"
Bob Dylan
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He was born on May 24,
1941.
His given name is Robert Allen
Zimmerman. He changed it in
college to Bob Dylan after the
Welsh Poet, Dylan Thomas
In 1961, he visited Woody
Guthrie, who was dying.
After meeting Woody Guthrie,
he wrote furiously.
He wrote a song in honor of
Woody Guthrie, A Song to
Woody.
“Oxford Town” by Bob Dylan
Oxford Town, Oxford Town
Ev'rybody's got their hats
bowed down
The sun don't shine above the
ground
Ain't a-goin' down to Oxford
Town.
Me and my gal, my gal's son
We got met with a tear gas
bomb
I don't even know why we
come
Goin' back where we come
from.
He went down to Oxford Town
Guns and clubs followed him
down
All because his face was brown
Better get away from Oxford
Town.
Oxford Town in the afternoon
Ev'rybody singin' a sorrowful
tune
Two men died 'neath the
Mississippi moon
Somebody better investigate
soon.
Oxford Town around the bend
He comes to the door, he
couln't get in
All because of the color of his
skin
What do you think about that,
my frien' ?
'A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall‘
Oh, where have you been, my blue-eyed son?
Oh, where have you been, my darling young one?
I’ve stumbled on the side of twelve misty mountains
I’ve walked and I’ve crawled on six crooked highways
I’ve stepped in the middle of seven sad forests
I’ve been out in front of a dozen dead oceans
I’ve been ten thousand miles in the mouth of a graveyard
And it’s a hard, and it’s a hard, it’s a hard, and it’s a hard
And it’s a hard rain’s a-gonna fall
Oh, what did you see, my blue-eyed son?
Oh, what did you see, my darling young one?
I saw a newborn baby with wild wolves all around it
I saw a highway of diamonds with nobody on it
I saw a black branch with blood that kept drippin’
I saw a room full of men with their hammers a-bleedin’
I saw a white ladder all covered with water
I saw ten thousand talkers whose tongues were all broken
I saw guns and sharp swords in the hands of young children
And it’s a hard, and it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard
And it’s a hard rain’s a-gonna fall
And what did you hear, my blue-eyed son?
And what did you hear, my darling young one?
I heard the sound of a thunder, it roared out a warnin’
Heard the roar of a wave that could drown the whole world
Heard one hundred drummers whose hands were a-blazin’
Heard ten thousand whisperin’ and nobody listenin’
Heard one person starve, I heard many people laughin’
Heard the song of a poet who died in the gutter
Heard the sound of a clown who cried in the alley
And it’s a hard, and it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard
And it’s a hard rain’s a-gonna fall
Oh, who did you meet, my blue-eyed son?
Who did you meet, my darling young one?
I met a young child beside a dead pony
I met a white man who walked a black dog
I met a young woman whose body was burning
I met a young girl, she gave me a rainbow
I met one man who was wounded in love
I met another man who was wounded with hatred
And it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard
It’s a hard rain’s a-gonna fall
Oh, what’ll you do now, my blue-eyed son?
Oh, what’ll you do now, my darling young one?
I’m a-goin’ back out ’fore the rain starts a-fallin’
I’ll walk to the depths of the deepest black forest
Where the people are many and their hands are all
empty
Where the pellets of poison are flooding their
waters
Where the home in the valley meets the damp dirty
prison
Where the executioner’s face is always well hidden
Where hunger is ugly, where souls are forgotten
Where black is the color, where none is the number
And I’ll tell it and think it and speak it and breathe
it
And reflect it from the mountain so all souls can
see it
Then I’ll stand on the ocean until I start sinkin’
But I’ll know my song well before I start singin’
And it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard
It’s a hard rain’s a-gonna fall
Sung by the Staple Singers
"I Shall Be Released"
They say everything can be
replaced
They say every distance is not
near
So I remember every face
Of every man who put me here
I see my light come shinin'
From the west down to the
east
Any day now, any day now
I shall be released
They say every man needs
protection
They say that every man must
fall
Yet I swear I see my reflection
Somewhere so high above this
wall
I see my light come shinin'
From the west down to the
east
Any day now, any day now
I shall be released
Now yonder stands a man in
this lonely crowd
A man who swears he's not to
blame
All day long I hear him
shouting so loud
Just crying out that he was
framed
I see my light come shinin'
From the west down to the
east
Any day now, any day now
I shall be released
Sung by The Band
JOHN COLTRANE ~ “Alabama”
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He wrote the song
after the bombing
16th Street Baptist
Church on
September 15, 1963.
“The Promise Land” by Chuck Berry
I left my home in Norfolk Virginia,
California on my mind.
Straddled that Greyhound, rode him past
Raleigh,
On across Caroline.
Sure as you're born, they bought me a silk
suit,
Put luggage in my hands,
And I was on that midnight flyer out of
Birmingham
Smoking into New Orleans.
Stopped in Charlotte and bypassed Rock Hill,
And we never was a minute late.
Workin' on a T-bone steak a la carte
We was ninety miles out of Atlanta by sundown, Flying over to the Golden State;
Rollin' 'cross the Georgia state.
The pilot told me in thirteen minutes
We'd be headin' in the terminal gate.
We had motor trouble it turned into a struggle,
Half way 'cross Alabam,
Swing low sweet chariot, come down easy
And that 'hound broke down and left us all
Taxi to the terminal zone;
stranded
Cut your engines, cool your wings,
In downtown Birmingham.
And let me make it to the telephone.
Straight off, I bought me a through train ticket, Los Angeles give me Norfolk Virginia,
Ridin' cross Mississippi clean
Tidewater four ten O nine
And I was on that midnight flyer out of
Tell the folks back home this is the promised
Birmingham
land callin'
Smoking into New Orleans.
And the poor boy's on the line.
Somebody help me get out of Louisiana
Just help me get to Houston town.
There's people there who care a little 'bout me
And they won't let the poor boy down.
“People Get Ready” Lyrics
by Curtis Mayfield And The Impressions
People get ready, there's a
train a comin'
You don't need no baggage,
you just get on board
All you need is faith to hear
the diesels hummin'
Don't need no ticket, you
just thank the Lord
People get ready for the
train to Jordan
It's picking up passengers
from coast to coast
Faith is the key, open the
doors and board 'em
There's hope for all among
those loved the most.
There ain't no room for the
hopeless sinner
Who would hurt all mankind
just to save his own
Have pity on those whose
chances grow thinner
For there's no hiding place
against the Kingdom's
throne
So people get ready, there's
a train a comin'
You don't need no baggage,
you just get on board
All you need is faith to hear
the diesels hummin'
Don't need no ticket, you
just thank the Lord
“Keep On Pushing”
by Curtis Mayfield & The Impressions
Keep on pushing
Keep on pushing
I've got to keep on pushing
I can't stop now
Move up a little higher
Some way or somehow
'Cause I've got my strength
And it don't make sense
Not to keep on pushin'
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Keep on pushing
Now maybe some day
I'll reach that higher goal
I know that I can make it
With just a little bit of soul
'Cause I've got my strength
And it don't make sense
Not to keep on pushin'
Now look-a look, look-a-look, a-look-a
yonder
What's that I see
A great big stone wall
Stands there ahead of me
But I've got my pride
And I'll move on aside
And keep on pushin'
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Keep on pushing
Keep on pushing
Keep on pushing
Aint Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around
Ain't gonna let nobody turn me around
Turn me around, turn me around
Ain't gonna let nobody turn me around
I'm gonna keep on a-walkin', keep on atalkin'
Marchin' up to freedom land.
Ain't gonna let injustice turn me around
Turn me around, turn me around
Ain't gonna let injustice turn me around
I'm gonna keep on a-walkin', keep on atalkin'
Marchin' up to freedom land.
Ain't gonna let no injunction turn me around
Turn me around, turn me around
Ain't gonna let no injunction turn me around
I'm gonna keep on a-walkin', keep on atalkin'
Marchin' up to freedom land.
Ain't gonna let no jail cell turn me around
Turn me around, turn me around
Ain't gonna let no jail cell turn me around
I'm gonna keep on a-walkin', keep on atalkin'
Marchin' up to freedom land.
Ain't gonna let no hatred turn me around
Turn me around, turn me around
Ain't gonna let no hatred turn me around
I'm gonna keep on a-walkin', keep on atalkin'
Marchin' up to freedom land.
Ain't gonna let nobody turn me around
Turn me around, turn me around
Ain't gonna let nobody turn me around
I'm gonna keep on a-walkin', keep on atalkin'
Marchin' up to freedom land.
Ain't gonna let racism turn me around
Turn me around, turn me around
Ain't gonna let racism turn me around
I'm gonna keep on a-walkin', keep on atalkin'
Marchin' up to freedom land.
“Respect” by Aretha Franklin
What you want (hooo) baby I got it
What you need (hooo) you know I got it
(Hooo) all I'm asking (hooo) is for a little
respect
( Just a little bit) when you come home
(Just a little bit) hey baby ( Just little bit)
When you come home ( Just a Little Bit)
Mister
I ain't gonna do you wrong while you're
gone
I ain't gonna do you wrong 'cause I don't
wanna
All I'm asking is for a little respect when
you come home
(Just a Little Bit) Baby ( Just a little bit )
When you come home ( Just a little Bit)
Yeah
I'm about to give you all my money
And all I'm asking in return honey
Is to give me my propers when you get
home
(Justa Justa Justa) Yeah baby when you
get home
(Just a little Bit ) Yeah ( Just a little bit)
Hooo your kisses sweeter than
honey and guess what so is my
money
All I want you to do for me is give it
to me whn you get home
( Re re re re spect) Yeah baby whip
it to me
( Just a little bit) when you get
home now ( Just a little bit)
R-E-S-P-E-C-T find out what it
means to me
R-E-S-P-E-C-T, Take care, TCB
ohhhh (Sock it to me,etc.)
A little respect oh yeah ( Just a little
bit)
A little respect ( Just a little Bit)
"Blackbird"
By the Beatles
Blackbird singing in the dead of
night
Take these broken wings and
learn to fly
All your life
You were only waiting for this
moment to arise.
Blackbird fly Blackbird fly
Into the light of the dark black
night.
Blackbird singing in the dead of
night
Take these sunken eyes and learn
to see
All your life
You were only waiting for this
moment to be free.
Blackbird singing in the dead of
night
Take these broken wings and
learn to fly
All your life
You were only waiting for this
moment to arise
You were only waiting for this
moment to arise
You were only waiting for this
moment to arise.
Blackbird fly Blackbird fly
Into the light of the dark black
night.
Sources


http://rockhall.com/education/resources/le
sson-plans/
Music With a Message: A Brief
History of Protest Music in North
America by Matt Gibson — August 20,
2008