Protest song Inspires Action!
APEC World Leaders Dinner Gets Occupied
During the Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) gala dinner (Sat. Nov. 12, 2011 in Honolulu for 21 world leaders, including President Obama, and other global economic elite, Hawaiian guitarist Makana, who performed at the White House in 2009, opened his suit jacket and dress shirt to reveal a home-made “Occupy with Aloha” T-shirt. Then, instead of simply playing the expected instrumental background music, he interjected and repeatedly sang his protest ballad released earlier that day. The ballad, called “We Are the Many,” includes lines such as “The lobbyists at Washington do gnaw…. And until they are purged, we won’t withdraw,” and ends with the refrain: “We’ll occupy the streets, we’ll occupy the courts, we’ll occupy the offices of you, till you do the bidding of the many, not the few.” For more on the story see http://www.yeslab.org/APEC
See the music video of Makana’s ballad at http://bit.ly/we-are-the-many
We extend our aloha and say mahalo to Makana. It took real courage to sing for the many, while standing amid the few! Below are the complete lyrics to the song.
“We Are the Many”
1. Ye come here, gather ’round the stage
The time has come for us to voice our rage
Against the ones who’ve trapped us in a cage
To steal from us the value of our wage
From underneath the vestiture of law
The lobbyists at Washington do gnaw
At liberty, the bureaucrats guffaw
And until they are purged, we won’t withdraw
Chorus: We’ll occupy the streets
We’ll occupy the courts
We’ll occupy the offices of you
Till you do
The bidding of the many, not the few
2. Our nation was built upon the right
Of every person to improve their plight
But laws of this Republic they rewrite
And now a few own everything in sight
They own it free of liability
They own, but they are not like you and me
Their influence dictates legality
And until they are stopped we are not free
Chorus:
3. You enforce your monopolies with guns
While sacrificing our daughters and sons
But certain things belong to everyone
Your thievery has left the people none
So take heed of our notice to redress
We have little to lose, we must confess
Your empty words do leave us unimpressed
A growing number join us in protest
Chorus:
4. You can’t divide us into sides
And from our gaze, you cannot hide
Denial serves to amplify
And our allegiance you can’t buy
Our government is not for sale
The banks do not deserve a bail
We will not reward those who fail
We will not move till we prevail
Chorus:
Repeat chorus
We are the many
You are the few
End the Wars and Corporate Domination!
Make Peace — Work for Justice!
1. Mourn all victims of violence. 2. Reject war as a solution. 3. Defend civil liberties. 4. Oppose all discrimination, anti-Islamic, anti-Semitic, etc. 5. Seek peace through justice in Hawai`i and around the world.
Contact: Malu `Aina Center for Non-violent Education & Action P.O. Box AB Kurtistown, Hawai`i 96760.
Phone (808) 966-7622. Email ja@interpac.net http://www.malu-aina.org
Hilo Peace Vigil leaflet (Nov. 18, 2011 – 530th week) – Friday 3:30-5PM downtown Post Office
