signs, songs and snacks

Download a printer-friendly copy of our "Songs to Fuel the Resistance" songsheet here. Mobile-friendly lyrics appear below. Select a title to jump to a song.

Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me ‘Round

Traditional, performed by
Resistance Revival Chorus (RRC)*

(Ain’t gonna let nobody) 

turn me ‘round (3X)

Ain’t gonna let nobody 

turn me ‘round

I’m gonna  keep on a walkin’

keep on a talkin’ 

marching up to freedom land. 

Zip in for “nobody”:

injustice

hatred

Donald Trump

billionaires

nobody

Blowing in the Wind

Bob Dylan

G C G - /G C G D /G C G Em/ G C D -

G C G Em/G C D - / C D G C / D G C

How many roads must a man walk down, before you call him a man? How many roads must a man walk down, before you call him a man?

How many seas must a white dove sail, before she sleeps in the sand?

Yes, and how many times must the cannonballs fly, before they’re forever banned?

The answer m: friend, is blowing in the wind (2X)

How many years can a mountain exist, before it is washed to the sea?

How many years can some people exist, before they’re allowed to be free?

Yes, and how many times can a man turn his head, and pretend that he just doesn’t see? The answer . . .

How many times must a man look up, before he can see the sky?

How many ears must one man have, before he can hear people cry?

Yes, and how many deaths will it take ‘till he knows, that too many people have died? The answer . . .

Courage

South African Apartheid resistance song*

Courage (courage) 

my friend (my friend),

You do not walk alone.

We will (we will) 

walk with you (walk with you),

And sing your spirit home.

Zip in for “courage”:
Freedom (freedom) 

Patience (patience) 

Justice ( justice) 

Vision (vision)

Hold On

Heidi Wilson*

Hold on, hold on 

My dear ones, here comes the dawn

If I Had a Hammer

Pete Seeger and Paul Hays

Intro: CAmFG (3X) 

CAmFG (x3) G Gsus G

C Am/F C F C /F CG
CAmFG - CAmF

If I had a hammer

I’d hammer in the morning

I’d hammer in the evening

All over this land

I’d hammer out danger

I’d hammer out a warning

I’d hammer out love between my brothers and my sisters

All over this land

If I had a bell

I’d ring it in the morning . . .

If I had a song

I’d sing it in the morning . . .

Well I got a hammer

And I got a bell

And I got a song to sing 

All over this land

It’s the hammer of justice

It’s the bell of freedom

It’s a song about love between my brothers and my sisters

All over this land

Repeat last four lines

Imagine

John Lennon

G - C - G - C - / / C (C, B, Am, G) D - - -

Imagine there’s no heaven

It’s easy if you try

No hell below us

Above us only sky

Imagine all the people living for today

Imagine there’s no countries

It isn’t hard to do

Nothing to kill or die for

And no religion too

Imagine all the people living life in peace,

You, you may say I’m a dreamer

But I’m not the only one

I hope some day you’ll join us

And the world will be as one

C D G B7 (2x) / C D G B7 C D G -

Imagine no possessions

I wonder if you can

No need for greed or hunger

A brotherhood of man

Imagine all the people sharing all the world, you

You may say I’m a dreamer

But I’m not the only one

I hope some day you’ll join us

And the world will live as one

It’s Okay to Change Your Mind

by Annie Schlaefer*

Ohh, it’s okay to change your mind.

Show us your courage,

leave this behind. 

Ohh it’s okay to change your mind,

and you can join us,

join us here anytime.

Lead With Love

Melanie DeMore

You gotta put one foot in front of the other 

And lead with love

Put one foot in front of the other 

And lead with love

(repeat all 4 lines) 

Verses (call and echo):

Don’t give up hope 

You’re not alone 

Don’t you give up 

Keep movin’ on 

Lift up your eyes 

Don’t you despair 

Look up ahead 

The path is there 

I know you’re scared 

And I’m scared too 

But here I am 

Right next to you

Stronger Than That

Patti Casey

C-G/D-G-G7/

C-G (walk down) Em/D-G

Chorus:

We are stronger than that, we are kinder than that

We are moving forward, we are not going back

We are stronger than that, we are kinder than that

Love is stronger than that

When the storm is rolling in and our hopes start to fade

That’s when we rise as one, our spirits like a blade

We are many, we are mighty, and even when we are afraid

We are stronger than that (chorus)

We will not yield to hatred, to lies or to shame

Our power lies in courage, and our love is not tame

If the lights go out on justice, we will light a flame

‘Cause we are stronger than that

To every one that’s turned away, we open up our town

If fear can build a wall, then love can tear it down

Then we’ll build a bigger table for all to gather round

The Times, They Are A-Changin’

Bob Dylan
(new last verse by Lynne Robbins)

G Em C G / - Em C D/ 1st / G Em D -

D - - - /G - C D(or Em?) G

Come gather ‘round people

Wherever you roam

And admit that the waters

Around you have grown

And accept it that soon

You’ll be drenched to the bone

If your time to you is worth savin’

And you better start swimmin’

Or you’ll sink like a stone

For the times they are a-changin’

Come writers and critics

Who prophesize with your pen

And keep your eyes wide

The chance won’t come again

And don’t speak too soon

For the wheel’s still in spin

And there’s no tellin’ who

That it’s namin’

For the loser now

Will be later to win

For the times . . . 

Come senators, congressmen

Please heed the call

Don’t stand in the doorway

Don’t block up the hall

For he that gets hurt

Will be he who has stalled

The battle outside ragin’

Will soon shake your windows

And rattle your walls

For the times . . .

Come mothers and fathers

Throughout the land

And don’t criticize

What you can’t understand

Your sons and your daughters

Are beyond your command

Your old road is rapidly agin’

Please get out of the new one

If you can’t lend your hand

For the times . . .

The line it is drawn

The curse it is cast

The slow one now

Will later be fast

As the present now

Will later be past

The order is rapidly fadin’

And the first one now

Will later be last

For the times they are a-changin’

Come Berniecrat, Democrat, Republican friend

We must now join our forces, with a message to send

To Trump and his minions, your reign’s soon to end

And justice is steadily building

Dump Trump while you can and your neighbors defend,

For the times they are a-changin’.

This is What Democracy Looks Like

Adapted by Elizabeth Alexander

ONE: We see that there’s a wrong to be righted.

TWO: We know that we are stronger when united.

THREE: We exercise our right to assemble.

FOUR: That’s when the proud and mighty start to tremble.

Just in case you’re wonderin’, (3X)

Hey, hey, look this way!

This is what democracy looks like.

(Show me what democracy looks like!)

This is what democracy looks like. (3X) ONE, TWO, THREE FOUR!

This Joy

Shirley Caesar 

This joy that I have,

The world didn’t give it to me. 

This joy that I have,

The world didn’t give it to me. 

This joy that I have. 

The world didn’t give it to me. 

The world didn’t give it and the world can’t take it away. 

Zip in for “joy”:

Love

Peace

Strength 

Song

This Land Is Your Land

Woody Guthrie

G D A D

This land is your land, this land is my Iand

From California to the New York island;

From the red wood forest to the Gulf Stream waters

This land was made for you and me.

As I was walking that ribbon of highway,

I saw above me that endless skyway

I saw below me that golden valley

This land was made for you and me.

I’ve roamed and rambled and I followed my footsteps

To the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts;

And all around me a voice was sounding: this land . . .

When the sun came shining, and I was strolling,

And the wheat fields waving and the dust clouds rolling, •

As the fog was lifting a voice was chanting: this land . . 

As I went walking I saw a sign there

And on the sign it said “No Trespassing.”

But on the other side it didn’t say nothing,·

That side was made for you and me.

In the squares of the city, in the shadow of the steeple,

By the relief office I seen my people;

As they stood there hungry, I stood there asking .

Is this land made for you and me?

Nobody living can ever stop me,

As I go walking that freedom highway;

Nobody living can ever make me turn back

This land was made for you and me.

Repeat first verse

This Little Light of Mine

Harry Dixon Lowes

D - - -/G - - D/ - - F# Bm/ D A D

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, let it shine

All around this land,

I’m going to let it shine ...

Hide it under a bushel? No!

Won’t let anyone blow it out!

(I’m gonna) spread my love around the world

(Last time): Every day, every way

I’m gonna let my little light shine.

We Shall Overcome

G C G - (2x)/G CD Em A D

C - G C - Em/G C G D G -

We shall overcome,

We shall overcome,

We shall overcome, some day.

Oh, deep in my heart, I do believe

We shall overcome, some day.

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.

Zip in for first three lines:

We are not afraid . . .

The whole wide world around . . .

We shall live in peace . . .

Repeat first verse

We Want Justice

Abena Koomson-Davis

Lead: Everybody sing about
Justice!

We want Justice!
(We want Justice!)

We want Justice!
(We want Justice!) 

We want Justice!
(We want Justice!) 

We want it NOW!
(We want it NOW!)

(Repeat x2) 

Zip in for “Justice.” 

Freedom

Honor 

We Walk the Same Ground

We walk the same ground

but we’ve been torn apart

put down your weapons

come sing your part 

Zip in for “weapons”:

Hatred

Anger

Armor

Egos