See song sheet with lyrics below!
Did you know the Columbia City Farmers Market is now open on the 2nd Saturday each month, from 10 am to noon?
On Saturday, March 11th, you can shop from farmers, eat fun food from food trucks and then sing-along with our local folk band, Just Us Singers at noon.
Our singer/songwriters will sing classic and original songs including “Locally Grown”, “Rainy Garden Song” and more.
We will also offer an informational table to converse with you and our neighbors about climate action, Meaningful Movies, etc.
Join us on Saturday, March 11th by noon! Come early, stay late.
Classic & original songs for a just world. (206) 769-4204, Rainier Valley, Seattle. Listen to songs at Mike Wold/Singing to Remember https://bit.ly.singingtoremember
Just Us Singers Song Sheet Columbia City Farmers Market March, 2023 Song lyrics!
1.Garden Song by David Mallet/Eric Kilburn
Inch by inch, row by row,
gonna help our gardens grow.
All we need is a rake and hoe
and a piece of fertile ground.
Inch by inch, row by row,
Someone bless these seeds we sow.
Someone warm them from below,
‘Til the rains come tumbling down.
Slug by slug, weed by weed.
This garden’s got me really teed.
All the insects love to feed
upon my tomato plants.
Sunburned face, scratched up knees,
My Kitchen’s choked with zucchinis.
We’re shopping at the farmers’ market
when we get a chance
Plant our rows straight and long.
Temper them with prayer and song.
Mother Earth will make us strong
for the time that’s near at hand.
Grain for grain, sun & rain.
Find our way thru nature’s chain.
Tune our body and our brains
to the music of the land.
(repeat 1st verse)
2.My Country tis of Thee/inequity by Reina del Cid
My country, ’tis of thee, Land of inequity,
Of thee I sing.
Land where our mothers cried,
Fought, bled, and sacrificed.
For rights we are now denied. Let freedom ring.
Land of dystopia, religious myopia,
I mourn for thee.
Behind old oaken doors, Six rob-ed dinosaurs
conspired to wage a holy war over our bodies.
But the true liberty, does not mute easily,
Long may she ring!
Her voice we’ll amplify,
Marching ’til morning light.
All genders side by side ’til freedom rings.
3 A House for the Homeless by Mike Wold
Chorus:Sing a dream house for the homeless
For the guy in the doorway,
The woman on the street
Sing a roof & 4 walls, bed & bathroom for all
And a kitchen with plenty to eat
Sing a dream house for the homeless
For the family asleep in their car
Where the rent is real cheap
There’s no shortage of heat
and the good jobs are not very far
Take Julie out there, looking worn out with care
Got an A.A. in office admin
But harassment at work got her out in the dirt
And she never got back in again
And Jimmy arrived from a long Greyhound ride
He was hired on a fast-moving line
But when orders slowed down,
No more jobs could be found
And he just couldn’t pay rent on time
Let’s change this world for the homeless
We all make mistakes; they say that’s the breaks
But when people get broken, that’s wrong
And sometimes we fall, but that shouldn’t be all
For folks like the ones in this song
I don’t like to preach, but I do have to teach
How what happened to them isn’t strange
We could all take their place
with a small twist of fate
That’s why the whole system must change
Let’s dream a world for the homeless
Bob came from the res, made a good life he says
Bought a house where he thought he could stay
But the interest rate rose
and his home was foreclosed
So he’s down in Tent City today
And Nancy was smart, but a guy broke her heart
And took all her money besides
She’d be on her way up,
but she can’t make a buck.
That’s why she’s sleeping outside
There’s lots more we’ll do before we get to
A world that takes care of its own
Pay a livable wage, make rents harder to raise
Defend people’s right to their homes
And just to be fair, make the rich pay their share
What they pay now’s a sin and disgrace
So let’s organize and prioritize
What it takes to get out of this place
(Chorus)Sing a dream house…
Let’s change this world for the homeless
- The Crossing by Mike Wold
We come ‘cross the river,
we come ‘cross the desert,
Finding our way between fire and ice.
A river of souls, a train of the desp’rate
We make the crossing, we pay the price.
Like a flood in the springtime,
when the ice is still breaking.
Underneath frozen rivers,
strong currents will flow.
Like a burning wind as the morning is waking, Like a wave of the sea with no bottom below.
Peasants and laborers, painters and poets,
Parents and children, husbands and wives
We slide past the border with death & we know it
Taking that chance, betting our lives
Somewhere there’s clear passage,
Somewhere there’s calm water
Somewhere a cool spring from dry desert stone
Somewhere ‘cross the ocean,
there’s a safe harbor
Somewhere there’s a place, we can call home.
The river can’t stop us, the desert won’t turn us
We’ll trust the sea with the time we have left
The ice may not hold us the hot sun may burn us
But we’ll make this crossing in life or in death
Like a flood in the springtime,
when the ice is still breaking.
Underneath frozen rivers,
strong currents still flow.
Like a burning wind as the morning is waking. Like a wave of the sea with no bottom below.
(repeat 1st verse)
5.Power from Above by Dan Berggren
Sinners are you ready for a little redemption
To receive forgiveness for what we’ve done?
The time has come to break bad habits
It’s time to turn to the wind and sun
Chorus: Just a little more power from above
Just a little more faith respect and love
For this old earth our only home
It may take strength to say no
to that power from below.
But there’s salvation in the power from above
There’s a better way than barrels of oil
There’s a better way than lumps of coal
There’s a better way to work together
Renewable power, that’s our goal
(Chorus)
What will we do for a better world?
Get on our knees to hope and pray?
Well that’s not enough unless we change
The judgment day is every day
Wars have been fought over who owns oil
Lives have been lost and fortunes won
But you and I will someday win
‘Cause no one owns the wind or sun
(Chorus)
Yes there’s salvation in the power from above
6.Locally Grown John Forster & Tom Chapin
If I were an apple, I’d be very unhapple
Traveling 4000 miles or more,
From far off Tasmania, in a shipping contain-ia,
To a shelf in a Washington store.
Why should I be tortured
When some Washington orchard,
Would be totally thrilled to the core
To pick me & crate me & load me & freight me, not 4000 miles, but 4?
An apple should be not far from the tree
where it ripens in the fall.
(Chorus) Locally grown and locally eaten
is globally good, good, good for us all. (2x)
If I were a berry, I expect I’d be very contrary and hardly inclined
To ship out from Chile to a store in Tukwilly.
Hey, I’d have to be out of my mind. It seems paradoxic and carbon dioxic
That we force all our food to commute, wasting gallons of fuel, which we know isn’t cool for people or planets or fruit.
A berry is fine not far from its vine,
near the farmer’s market stall.
(Chorus)Locally grown and locally eaten, is globally good, good, good for us all. (2x) So when you’re walking the aisle
past a beautiful pile
Of the fruit you might want to take home.
Do not buy for your table,
‘Til you check out the label
and determine how far it did roam.
Aside from the karma of helping the farma,
who lives in your county or state.
The very best reason to buy what’s in season:
the taste is incredibly great!
So keep buying foods
from your regional dudes,
Keep your carbon footprint small.
(Chorus: Locally grown…) (2x)
7.Why We Sing by Mike Wold
Because a worker will make less
than 50 years ago,
Because reforming welfare threw
So many off the rolls,
Because the social safety net
Has gotten full of holes, …that’s why we sing.
Because a woman’s choice
has been eroded by decree,
Because one soul in prison
means the rest cannot be free,
Because our climate chaos means
there’s no safe place to be … that’s why we sing.
Chorus: We sing the way some people laugh,
The way some people cry.
We sing because we’re not prepared
To cash it in and die.
We sing because we know there’ll be
No pie up in the sky.
We sing for the courageous folks
Who rise again and try.
Because the police seem to think
it’s OK to kill blacks.
Because the FBI and NSA
can sneak behind our backs,
Because our wars kill more than die
In terrorist attacks…that’s why we sing.
We sing our faith that change
comes from the bottom, not the top.
We sing our vow to fight for justice
and we’ll never stop.
We sing to bring about a world
where all share what they’ve got.
We sing to bring the light of hope
to places where it’s not!
& we believe that everyone should live w/ dignity, And when the people join our song,
It’s beautiful to see,
Because we want to live in peace & in prosperity, that’s why we sing. ( Chorus)
That’s why we sing,
On picket lines, in concert halls,
That’s why we sing,
To those who struggle and to you all,
That’s why we sing,
We stand prepared to answer any call,
That’s why we sing, that’s why we sing.
8.Can You Breathe? by Mike Wold
Can you breathe
when a man dies in a choke hold
Can you breathe
when they clear protest off the street
Can you breathe when the verdict is foretold
Can you breathe
when they knock folks off their feet?
(Chorus) Can you breathe? Can you breathe?
While all around you all the people grieve?
Can you live as you choose,
What is it you believe
If after all that you have seen
You can breathe?
He was drivin’ down the street mindin’ his business When the police pulled him over for a stop They say he offered them too much resistance But murder’s just the same done by a cop His death was “unfortunate, an accident” They thought his hand was pullin’ out a gun They treated it like just another incident And his killer still is walkin’ in the sun. Chorus. Can you breathe….
Now you know that we’re all in this together
And a total system change is what we need
There are lots of different ways
our lives are fettered
& those chains are reinforced by corporate greed
Can you breathe
when they lock folks up for lifetimes
Can you breathe while they build that border wall
Can you breathe
when they build another pipeline
Can you breathe while the rich take it all?
Chorus. Can you breathe….
Now I won’t say that I don’t believe in progress
And it’s clear the good that civil rights did bring
But still this society’s in regress
And it’s time to give that pendulum a swing
If you want to breathe,
then tell them black lives matter
If you want to breathe,
then come out, take a stand
If you want to breathe,
then let’s create the answer
Let’s roll justice out right across this land.
Chorus; Can you breathe…..
9.Singing Through the Hard Times
by Utah Phillips
Sometimes our living gets so dark & lonesome
It seems like there’s nothing we can do
So we reach out to each other
& raise a song together
And let our voices carry us through
Chorus:
We are /Singing thru the hard times (2x)
Working for the good times to come (repeat)
And when the war clouds gather,
it’s so easy to get angry
And just as hard not to be afraid
But you know in your own heart,
no matter what happens
You just can’t turn your back and walk away
Chorus: We are singing….
So hand in hand together,
we help each other carry
The light of peace within us every day
If we can learn to live it, to walk & talk & give it
That world of peace won’t be so far away
Chorus: We are singing….2x
10.If you want peace, work for justice by Charlie King
Chorus: If you want peace work for justice
(3x), No justice no peace
1.You can’t have peace in a world of hunger, with one dog over, one dog under
You can’t have peace in a world of hunger;
not in this world.
Until the last chain falls,
hunger will make fools of us all. (chorus)
2.You can’t have peace in a world of war,
Where the rich get richer & the poor stay poor
You can’t have peace in a world of war,
not in this world.
Until the last chain falls,
war will make fools of us all. (chorus)
- You can’t have peace in a world of race hate, poverty, prison, and police states. You can’t have peace in a world of race hate,
not in this world,
until the last chain falls,
race hate will make fools of us all (chorus)
11.Rainy Garden Song by Riley
We’re sittin’ ’round waitin’,
waitin’ for the sun to shine.
We’re sittin’ ’round waitin’,
just hopin’ for a little sunshine.
We haven’t seen the sun
since ’long about last July.
Merry little breezes
won’t-cha blow these clouds away,
and if it’s not too inconvenient,
we were hopin’ you could do it today.
We don’t see any reason
they should over-extend their stay.
We ran between the raindrops
to plant our peas and greens,
cleaned all the closets, and read our magazines.
We’ve been to the movies and the coffee shop,
Now we’re sittin’ ’round waitin’
for the drip, drip, drop to …stop!
We’re very optimistic;
we got cantaloupe, eggplant, and corn.
But let’s be realistic;
gotta have more sun to make the soil warm.
So merry little breezes wouldja pucker up & blow,
till every little cloud is gone?
We’re sittin’ ’round waitin’,
waitin’ for the sun to shine.
We’re sittin’ ‘round waitin’,
just hopin’ for a little sunshine.
We haven’t seen the sun since
we can’t remember when—but, my, it’s been a long, long time!
12.What’s going up by Lou Truskoff
Chorus
Everybody seems to know what’s going down
But what’s going up is the problem
Everybody seems to know what’s going down
But what’s going up is the problem
Carbon dioxide, that’s what is going up
And it’s warming our planet all around
Yet we just keep on burning coal & gas &oil
It’s time to leave those fossil fuels
in the ground (repeat)
Now some will say, but what about the jobs?
Our unemployment is very plain to see
But there are millions of green jobs,
just waiting to be done
We need those jobs, yes, on that we can agree.
(Chorus) Everybody seems to know….
The Arctic polar ice keeps on melting
Access to open water now is there
And the oil exploration ships are standing by
More fossil fuel, more CO2 up in the air
More CO2 than our planet can bear
Now we have fracking and tar sands extraction
Extreme measures brought to us
by corp’rate greed
But global warming is telling us to
change our ways
Because the sun and wind are all we really need
(Chorus) Everybody seems to know…..
3.Corporate Welfare, by Anne Feeney
Chorus: It’s time to end welfare as we know it
And get tbc
hose greedy chiselers off the dole
It’s time to end welfare as we know it
Teach them a little self-control
For far too long we’ve allowed these corporate hogs
To belly up to the public trough
No more welfare as we know it
No more hand-outs, cut them off!
Now we should all be irate
at the huge welfare state
Right here in this mightiest of nations
AFDC is disgraceful to me
I’m talking Aid for Dependent Corporations
Free enterprise – hah! the cruelest of lies
It cost us trillions just last year
If they paid their fair share
We’d have trillions to spare
It’s time to tell them the bucks stop here
Chorus
They’ve been picking every pocket
from sea to shining sea.
We must intervene to break this cycle
of dependency.
Wall Street banks, big ag & pharma,
oil money flowing,
weapons profiteers & that welfare line
keeps growing, growing, growing
Now Congress says we can’t afford
to subsidize the needy
But before we slash the safety net,
let’s tell the truly greedy:
Chorus
Spoken: And we mean business!
No more handouts, cut them off!
Spoken: It’s for their own good!
No more handouts, cut them off!
14.Power of the Union by Si Kahn
Some people never say no to the boss
They take what they get for their labor
Others will stand up whatever the cost
And fight for the rights of their neighbor
Chorus: Every day, every night,
will you fight for the things
that you believe in?
Will you stand, hand in hand,
Hand in hand with the power of the union?
Some people never say what’s on their mind
In a hard time you hardly can find them
Others will stand up the first in the line
And hold on till there’s hundreds behind them
(Chorus) Every day,….
Come in, close the door, between you and me
I’ll tell you just what the truth is
The power and spirit we feel in this song
Are born in the power of the union.
(Chorus) Every day,…
Some people never say yes to a dream
They say change can wait until later
Others will keep on until they succeed
Then fight for a dream even greater
(Chorus) Every day…
15.Working Folks Hymn by Joshua Davis
Some people hunger for the greenback bill
Some folks hunger for the top of the hill
Some people just tryin’ to get a decent meal
Well I know that we can turn it around
Some people sleepin’ in a fine feather bed
Some folks are dreamin’ of an old homestead
Some just need a place to lay their head
Well I know that we can turn it around
(Chorus) I know that we can turn it around
There’s one thing that I’ve found
If there’s a force in the dim
singin’ a working folks’ hymn
I know that we can turn it around
River bottom up to home on high
In the light of the endless sky
Jetsettin’ or just getting’ by
I know that we can turn it around
[chorus]
From Rainier Valley up to Lake City Way
One soul’s joy is another one’s pain
But the sun keeps shinin’ through the drivin’ rain
And I know that we can turn it around
[Chorus x 2]
16.Throwing Happiness by Mike Wold
One day I went up to the park
There were people all around
Spring had come at last,
Flowers sprouting from the ground
We were spinning, dancing, singing,
A most harmonious sound
We were throwing happiness
Throwing happiness
Throwing happiness all around
The happiness was flying
Little sparkles in the air
Swirling on the breeze
Caught in people’s hair
Happiness in buckets,
tossed by handfuls everywhere
We were throwing happiness
Throwing happiness
Throwing happiness into the air
And the people came from near and far
This happens every year
You can take a special training
So happiness is raining
You can scoop the happiness
right up off the ground
So let’s throw happiness.
Throw happiness
Throw happiness all around
The children were there too
They met us at the park
They were just growing up
They were happy to take part
They threw their happiness,
it landed in our hearts
They were throwing happiness
Throwing happiness
Throwing happiness into our hearts
We were throwing happiness
Throwing happiness
Throwing happiness into everybody’s heart
So let’s throw happiness. Throw happiness
Throw happiness into everybody’s heart