This song was written by Eric Bogle, a Scottish songwriter. He wrote it about a man in South Africa who was sentenced to death. Eric was inspired by the music of the anti-apartheid struggle and this final section of the song was designed to be sung in a mashup with "Shoshaloza" one of the most famous anti-apartheid anthems. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHe7DJjS7KI

Such a beautiful call for unity and courage.

This song was created as a love song for friends and queer chosen family, inspired by my dear pals Scout Bratt & Grace Gleason <3 

From Ruth 1:16

אַל־תִּפְגְּעִי־בִ֔י לְעׇזְבֵ֖ךְ לָשׁ֣וּב מֵאַחֲרָ֑יִךְ כִּ֠י אֶל־אֲשֶׁ֨ר תֵּלְכִ֜י אֵלֵ֗ךְ וּבַאֲשֶׁ֤ר תָּלִ֙ינִי֙ אָלִ֔ין עַמֵּ֣ךְ עַמִּ֔י וֵאלֹהַ֖יִךְ אֱלֹהָֽי׃

Al tif’gi’i vi l’azvech lashuv me’acharayich (x2)
ki el asher telchi elech uv’asher talini alin amech ami ve’elohayich elohai (x2)

Do not urge me to push you away
For wherever you go I shall go
Where you I will lie
Your people are my mine
Your Divine my Divine
(x2)

Composition: Avra Shapiro
Vocals: Avra Shapiro & Aly Halpert 
Guitar: Aly Halpert 

Produced by Aly Halpert & Lisa Stein, from the album "Derekh Eretz: Land, Love, & Liberation," created by Eden Village Camp Staffers 
Mixed and Mastered by Rafael Gell
Album Artwork by Karen Cheirif, Liad Hasson, Léah Miller, & Denean Ritchie

Derekh Eretz: Land, Love, & Liberation

Asher Telchi/Where You Go

Little Song is a nigun (wordless melody) that is a soft, simple call and response / echo song that has often served as a way to sing out messages or add in words. This version was born when Ilana Lerman was driving to Washington DC to lead a songleader training at an IfNotNow action along with me and a powerful team of many songleaders, where she put the movement's messaging and demands to this tune. Since then, more of us have added words, the song growing every time. This melody is a powerful vehicle for sharing a message and grounding in our hearts. With these words, we hope the song can both be a gentle support to all of us in times of devastation and a strong loud voice in calling out for an end to the war.

With our prayers for healing this broken world and bridging the distance between us that can feel so cavernous, for grieving the terror of violence and oppression and a world that makes us believe they are necessary, for finding our way through together — we call for a ceasefire now: protect lives on all sides, end the siege on Gaza. 

How to use the song:

This melody can accelerate and pick up energy or slow down and get soft, is easy to learn, and is a call and response song, making it impactful for sharing a message. The last note of each line is drawn out to overlap with the response. When using in groups or at actions, the main words have been "Ceasefire Now," "Not in our name" and "No more genocide." You are welcome to use the words that feel right for the moment and add your own. Other possibilities include: Never again is now / Safety for all now / Let Gaza live / etc. 


Lyrics:

Ceasefire Now
to the tune of "Little Song" by Sol Weiss with added words from Ilana Lerman, Sol Weiss and many voices in the Ceasefire movement. 

Cease fire now (ceasefire now)
Cease fire now (ceasefire now)
Cease fire now (ceasefire now)
Cease fire now (ceasefire now)

Not in our name (not in our name)
Not in our name (not in our name)
Not in our name (not in our name)
Not in our name (not in our name)

Bring them home now (bring them home now)
Bring them home now (bring them home now)
Bring them home now (bring them home now)
Bring them home now (bring them home now)

Put the weapons down (put the weapons down)
Put the weapons down (put the weapons down)
Put the weapons down (put the weapons down)
Put the weapons down (put the weapons down)

Cease fire now (ceasefire now)
Cease fire now (ceasefire now)
Cease fire now (ceasefire now)
Cease fire now (ceasefire now)

Not in our name (not in our name)
Not in our name (not in our name)
Not in our name (not in our name)
Not in our name (not in our name)

*V’ ahavta (v'ahavta)
L’arecha (l'arecha)
K’mocha (k'mocha)
K’mocha (k'mocha)

Cease fire now (cease fire now)
Cease fire now (cease fire now)
Cease fire now (cease fire now)
Cease fire now (cease fire now)

*וְאָֽהַבְתָּ֥ לְרֵעֲךָ֖ כָּמ֑וֹךָ
Hebrew translation "and you shall love your neighbor as you love yourself" (Vayikra 19:18)

Sung by: Matt Goldfield, Molly Bajgot, Ilana Lerman, Helen Bennett & Sol Weiss
November 2023

Ceasefire Now (tune of Little Song)

Ozi v’Zimrat Yah - melody by Rabbi Shefa Gold  
Ozi v’Zimrat Yah Vayahi li lishuah (Psalm 118:14 and Exodus 15:2)
My Strength (balanced) with the Song of G!d will be my salvation.

Recorded by IfNotNow Boston Summer 2016.

Ozi Vizimrat Yah

Courage - adapted from the South African Anti-Apartheid Movement, sung as protesters were being taken to jail and as a way to learn people's’ names in the jail cells. 
Courage, my friend, you do not walk along. 
We will, walk with you, and sing your spirit home.

Courage

words from Isaiah 51:17 and 60:1
song by Hanna Tiferet

recorded by Aly Halpert, Sol Weiss, Molly Bajgot & Margot Seigle
Falls Village, CT April 2017

lyrics: 
awaken arise to the wholeness of your being
awaken arise to the beauty of your soul
Hitor’ri hit’or’ri ki va orekh
Kumi Ori

adamah 

IYAR - Awaken Arise

singing resilience into beloveds - our selves, our loves, our communities, our interconnection

ani l'dodi v'dodi li
ha'ro'eh ba'shoshananim (bashoshanim ha'ro'eh)

source: song of songs 6:3
translation: I am to my beloved, and my beloved is to me, who shepherds in the roses

Ani Ldodi

Tu Bshvat Nigun by Batya Levine sung live at Let My People Sing! 2018.

LMPS 2018

Tu Bshvat Nigun - Batya Levine - LMPS 2018

Artist: Miner
I learned this song at Let My People Sing 2019.

Sung at a song circle on September 15, 2019 on Chinook land/Portland, OR.

Part 1:
Let the wave wash over me
Let the wave wash over me
I am already under
Let the wave wash over me

Part 2:
There will be better days

**Photo credit: Sarah Snyder!

Let The Wave (Miner)

3/22/20 
Batya Levine, Rena Branson, Aliza Schwartz, Tamar Sandweiss-Back, Becky Havivi

Simcha Nigun/Yifrach B'yamov (Chabad? Vizhnitz?)

Our Power

Artist: Saro Lynch-Thomason

Lyrics:
There are more waters rising
This I know, this I know
There are more waters rising
This I know
There are more waters rising
They will find their way to me
There are more waters rising
This I know, this I know
There are more waters rising
This I know

There are more fires burning...

There are more mountains falling...

I will wade through the waters
This I know, this I know
I will wade through the waters
This I know
I will wade through the waters
When they find their way to me
I will wade through the waters
This I know, this I know
I will wade through the waters
This I know

I will move with the fires...

I will rebuild the mountains...

*Note: Saro's lyrics are "I will walk through the fires" - I changed them to "I will move with the fires"

More Waters Rising (Saro Lynch-Thomason)

IfNotNow is a movement led by young Jews to transform our American Jewish community’s support for the occupation into a call for freedom and dignity for all. Learn more about the songs we sing in our movement here: http://bit.ly/2mIZUks
>on singing songs from other movements of today and from the past:
We are lucky to have the songs of our own Jewish traditions -- they are for us to sing.  Some of us have ancestors who have been deeply involved in movements across the world for social change for generations, both as those directly affected and as allies.  We are also singing their songs. 
And.
We recognize that this can easily turn into cultural appropropriation, particularly when we do not have direct links. So, before we sing a song we have a practice of honoring where it comes from: we share the movement, the struggle, or the people who birthed this music. Singing these songs is one way of acknowledging that we’re in a long line of movements for justice. 
We continue to create new movement songs. We write new lyrics. We get inspired by old text- Jewish and non-Jewish.  We do not simply translate movement songs into Hebrew in order to connect with them. One possibility instead is to incorporate Jewish text with similar themes and vision. 
From the beginning, IfNotNow leaders have been building relationships with leaders from Cosecha, BlackLivesMatter, The Dream Defenders, and other movements through the Momentum Community where we have been creating and sharing our songs with each other. Diversity keeps our movements strong and interconnected. We understand this as an ecological system of access, ancestries, struggles and strategies for resistance. Song is part of the way we arrive in interdependent relationship. We are building a culture that is accountable, compassionate -- and vibrant as all hell. Please honor the history of each song -- learn it, share it. 
We will lift each other up.

Courage

IfNotNow

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