1. |
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Image and a crafted message
Trolling, scrolling who’s left?
No one, when you’re looking down,
Only looking down.
In and out of conversation
Yelling, screaming,
Condensation on a little glass screen,
That makes it harder to see.
At the heart of it
We can only sigh,
And the hardest part is getting
Through this time.
Masquerades in public spaces
Distant hugs, hidden faces
But the birds still call, bustle, and fly.
Knit together with threads that glisten,
We are here behind cotton, wishing for another
time Another time.
At the heart of it
We can only sigh,
And the hardest part is getting
Through this time.
Warmth of hugs and of kisses
I still feel you through this heart that
misses Everything, I miss everything.
There’s a twinge of change and it’s
quickening, A twinge of change and it’s
quickening. I think it sounds like this,
Maybe it sounds like this,
Like another line,
Another rhyme,
Give me a another line,
To get us through this time
At the heart of it
We can only sigh,
And the hardest part is getting
Through this time.
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2. |
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They live among us
They look like me and you
Something beautiful about them
Like one brown eye and one blue
Every generation gets a few of them
Poets who have a song to sing
They seem to know just we need.
They seem to know just we need
Angels and saints, angels and saints
A gift from the source, angels and saints
Like love falling from the sky
Angels and saints, angels and saints
A gift from the source, angels and saints
Like love falling from the sky
When we feel like we're not enough
Or we think that we don't fit in
Their words and deeds give us strength
As they continue the canon
Their message is love
Their message is love
Universal unconditional
Their message is love
Their message is love
Angels and saints, angels and saints
A gift from the source, angels and saints
Like love falling from the sky
Angels and saints, angels and saints
A gift from the source, angels and saints
Like love falling from the sky
We get so much wrong
History and our understanding
They didn't want our praise
Maybe to live like they did
I want to live like angels
I want to love like saints
Angels and saints, angels and saints
A gift from the source, angels and saints
Like love falling from the sky
Angels and saints, angels and saints
A gift from the source, angels and saints
Like love falling from the sky
Love, love, love falling from the sky
Love, love, love falling from the sky
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3. |
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When the day starts to pull me downward
And the light seems so hard to find
Well I hear your voice inside me
Reminding me every time
When the darkness falls
You gotta shine your light
And open your heart wide
Every day is a new beginning
Come on now let’s spread some love
We can turn the tide
Why must we have these disagreements
Let’s find a piece of common ground
At least we’ll plant the seeds so
Peace can come around
When the darkness falls
We will shine our light
And open our hearts wide
Every day is a new beginning
Come on now let’s spread some love.
We can turn the tide
It doesn’t matter whichever way the wind blows
Cause I’ll be there for you
And anytime I open up my window
You brighten up my view, yeah you brighten up my view
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4. |
Ami Yares - Them Lights
03:50
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Take flight, spread ‘em, if you got ‘em
Sight lines, mind the coming view
Skies might clear up
Silver might be where you want to find it
But there’s always something going wrong
Won't you sing along
Something in our voices might just matter
Raise them lights
High above our heads
We'll let 'em shine all night,
We'll let 'em shine
Ain't we all but dust, finely moving matter
Smashed together then bouncing off the other
When it seems to hurt too much
Where there's better ways to be
Neither here nor there
Something's got to budge
The darkness here doesn't need to last
Need to last
One for me, one for you
We'll let 'em shine all over this big blue world
We'll rout out the darkness; let love shine through
There's work to be done, songs to be sung
Let us dance this dance, the time has come
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5. |
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let them white people get away with it
let them white people get away with it
most everybody claims
it ain’t about the color of your skin
despite what they say
turns out that it is
we marched peaceful in the streets
fighting for our rights
instead of solidarity
they came and shot out the lights
rubber bullets
billy clubs
flash bangs at night
but when the white man stormed the capitol
they take selfies with a big smile
let them white people get away with it
let them white people get away with it
let them white get away with it
let them white people get away with it
now they’ll try to distract you
with the clips that they play
they just love to turn poor black people
into click bait, crime scene TV
but when the looter wear’s a suit and a tie
they get way more respectability
never focused on the why
only on the who and the what and the where
meantime strong black and brown people been struggling all thru the years
let them white people get away with it
let them white people get away with it
let them white get away with it
let them white people get away with it
hey we gotta situation here
all these years been fed lies we live in fear
we gotta a lot of work to do
before we in the clear
we gotta have the hard conversations
wanna come together as a nation
oh but you can’t have unity
with no accountability
and letting them
white people get away with it
no more white people gettin away with it
no more white people gettinaway with it
no more white people get away with it
hey now
done been trynna have this conversation
this is a safe space
unlike reconstruction
or when they redlined the black population
limiting their intergenerational wealth creation
colin kaepernack, BLM
was never the problem
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6. |
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I could picture myself in a house of wizened old crones
I could picture you teaching your kids and watching them grow
I could picture a circumstance worse than this but I won't
I'm not alone
Every hour I could check if you called my phone
Every day I'm gone I could miss the hoodies I own
Every word I remember you told me soften my tone
I'm not alone
What's the point of a love song?
What's the use of a mourning poem?
What's the point of a love song?
I'm not alone
I could spend all day wishing you would come home
I could spend all night, watch Planet Earth and get stoned
I could dream of the far away places I could roam
I'm not alone
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7. |
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(Chorus:)
I see a little bird outside my window
I wonder where it flies each day
If I were that little bird outside my window
I would fly away
I have to stay inside my house
Playing by myself each day
I can’t even go to school
Why does it have to be this way?
(Chorus)
I make up games inside my head
I hear my friends out in the street
I know I have to stay inside my room
I have these secrets to keep
(Bridge:)
I don’t understand this world
Why can’t grown-ups get along?
If only they could see the love
And hear that sweet bird’s song
(Chorus)
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8. |
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You'll be facin' danger
You'll be facin' danger...
Plague, front page, last phase
Tell me when it's over I can hardly wait.
My temperature is rising and my belly aches
I've looked for every angle from a hundred ways
I don't know how much more I can take
I really don't know what is real and what is fake
Fret every decision that I have to make
If I wasn't broken I would probably break
My baby can't go out and play
Just a little taste of what it is today
I don't know what else to say
I really wish that it could be another way
Not supposed to be afraid
But my heart is on my sleeve and pain is on my face
I can look for all the answers but I can't replace
Everything I learned from danger I will face
You'll be facin' danger
You'll be facin' danger...
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9. |
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Canada to the USA
by Chana Rothman
From Canada to the USA
Longer than I planned to stay
Love letter in my backpack
The border’s closed
Now I can’t go back
Crossing over back and forth
North to South, South to North
My home is here, my home is there
I’m round, the peg is square
Buses, airplanes, passports, cash
Past, present, present, past
Shadow of the US looms so large
The land we stand on was never ours
Never ours
From Canada to the USA
Longer than I planned to stay
Love letter in my backpack
The border’s closed
Now I can’t go back
Treaties broken long ago
The damage is done, the healing is slow
Two countries on this land
One kinda quiet, one acting all grand
I’ve looked at life from both sides now
Joni, Neil, Alanis - wow
Canadians living so far from home
Feel it every day in my bones
From Canada to the USA
Longer than I planned to stay
Love letter in my backpack
The border’s closed
Now I can’t go back
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10. |
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What are you gonna do when we’re together again?
What are you gonna do when we’re together again?
I’ll jump and skip and dance with you,
I’ll dance till there’s a hole in my shoe,
That’s what I’m gonna do when we’re together again.
Together again, together again.
I can’t wait till we’re together again.
Together again, together again.
I can’t wait till we’re together again.
What are you gonna do when we’re together again?
What are you gonna do when we’re together again?
I’ll play and sing in harmony,
I’ll put it all in a happy key,
That’s what I’m gonna do when we’re together again.
ch
What are you gonna do when we’re together again?
What are you gonna do when we’re together again?
I’ll hug you close and kiss your cheek,
I’ll see you several times a week,
That’s what I’m gonna do when we’re together again.
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11. |
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Today I ran into an old friend of mine, he’s doin’ just fine;
Not to compare, but man his life is big time, and his wife is a dime;
I’m runnin’ round in a perpetual loop, is it self imposed;
A byproduct of keeping my head down, and both my eyes closed;
I’m a man, at least they tell me I am;
It’s such a scam, how I even got here I just simply don’t understand;
I’m always waiting round for things to occur, degrees to confer;
A backseat driver in some high-speed chase, everything is a blur;
My friend, you know that we were promised the stars at just seventeen;
But now I’m hiding in the diviest bars, camouflaged here in green;
I’m a man, at least they tell me I am;
It’s such a scam, how I even got here I just simply don’t understand;
And I can’t hold out;
I can’t hold it in, this immeasurable doubt;
Don’t come up to me with suggestions ‘bout where to begin;
Everything you tell me simply overwhelms me and I don’t think I’ll ever get back there again;
I’m a man, at least they tell me I am;
It’s such a scam, how I even got here I just simply don’t understand;
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12. |
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attempt the blank spaces
underneath these words
over and above these sounds
my head rests on your reception
a chaos to describe
the language that invented I
hold you loosely on my tongue
intent on new meaning
rearranging words
hidden verbs and improper nouns
my heart captive to a poem
is it what you need?
the speaking spoken misspelled we
are more than ours but not just me or mine
all three syllables of us
the I, the we, the other
reshape what we're gifted
in between these words
love is work measured slow
my hands say what must be said
what we now call home
the you, the me, the faint unknown
amidst the scraps
we dance in perfect time
all three syllables of us
the I, the we, the other
all I needed was to trust
the I, the we, the other
you don't stop, you don't stop to breathe
don't you stop, don't you stop for me
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13. |
Two of a Kind - Apart
01:36
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For now, we stay apart
It's because we care
So that when we're together again
More of us will be there
For now, we wear a mask
It's because we care
So that when we're uncovered again
More of us will be there
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14. |
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I started to write a love song
But like my relationships, it went wrong
I wanted to understand
How they could still love that man
Brown shirts in bright red hats
White privilege waving ugly flags
They cry love drove what they done
All while brandishing their guns
I sure hate that kind of love
I sure hate that kind of love
I read about the crusades,
Christian pilgrims that came to save
and show the heathen Christ’s love
With their swords and children’s blood
These dark ages we’re living through
Talking heads shouting their fake news
Claim they know what’s best for us
And in their love we should trust
I sure hate that kind of love
I sure hate that kind of love
Its imperfect yeah that’s clear
This country we hold so dear
So if they love God and family
Then why do they hate folks like you and me?
I sure hate that kind of love
I sure hate that kind of love (don’t we all?)
I sure hate that kind of love (one more time!)
I sure hate that kind of love
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15. |
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Oh, we’re in Atlantic City, not Ocean City, but you don’t seem to care no, no
Let’s drive down the coast, wind in our hair, take in that ocean air
Turn up the music
Let’s sing like we don’t care, ‘cause we don’t
It’s our freeing day away
Leave those worries behind, whatdaya say to
Sitting on the shore
Drinkin a beer
Reading our books
Oh the sky is clear
That smile on your face
It’s got me in this place
Your electric eyes, yeah they light outer space
Floating in the waves
Oh how I’m craving all of you
Water sparkles on your skin
I pull you in
This is the place where we begin
Lost in the waves of each other
Lost in the waves of each other
Driving back, crank the tunes up to 10
When you’re dancing with that style look, and that confident grin
Oh we’re helpless, to the feeling of this day
Oh it blew us both away
Today, today, yeah it blew us both away
...
Sitting on the shore
Drinkin a beer
Reading our books
Oh the sky is clear
That smile on your face
It’s got me in this place
Your electric eyes, yeah they light outer space
Floating in the waves
Oh how I’m craving all of you
Water sparkles on your skin
I pull you in
This is the place where we begin
Lost in those waves
Sitting on the shore
Drinkin a beer
Reading our books
Oh the sky is so clear
That smile on your face
Yeah you put my in my place
Your electric eyes, yeah they light every space you’re in
This is where we begin
Lost in those waves
Lost in those waves
Lost in those waves of each other
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16. |
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Butterfly,
Fluttering,
White, with a few crimson spots on its wings
Landed on her shoulder, fell asleep with no fear
She said, “I’m sure you’ve never seen this kind of butterfly here”
“It nourishes itself on only one type of flower
That only grows in the mountains of Okinawa
To cultivate them here is lots of trouble and expense
But now this little creature thinks of me as a friend”
“Open your eyes there’s the moon
Yes there are two moons you see them too
We were forced thru hard times and we made it
Now there’s something the two of us must do”
“If you become part of nature and stay very still
And convince yourself you’re a tree or grass on the hill
It takes time but once the butterfly lets down its guard
You can become friends it’s not very hard
And when the time comes they just quietly disappear
It’s as if they’ve just been absorbed by the air
I never find their bodies but I’m aware they have died
They don’t leave any trace behind”
“We faced all kinds of complications
Things that defied explanations
I wanted to stay here forever and forget all about time
But I know where there’s an exit, if I’m not mistaken”
"They come out of nowhere and hardly exist, then,
search for a few limited things and return to nothingness again
They come out of nowhere and hardly exist, then,
search for a few limited things and return to nothingness"
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17. |
Scott Coulter - Be Still
06:03
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Be still, my child
And rest your heart in mine
This world is full of sorrow
But my light still shines
It will lift you up
Hallelujah, sing
Only love will bring us through tomorrow.
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Emily Joy Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Raised on a steady diet of folk music and with a graduate degree in classical vocal performance, her style is sing-along-ready with sweet vocals and harmony. Emily Joy consistently produces glorious music that brings communities together.
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