Name: Wain a'a Ramallah rehearsal 3-23-25 by Songs for Liberation
Duration: 6 min 56 s
Description: Rehearsing a classic folk song of Palestine. Yes, this is a group of non-Palestinians playing this song in someone's living room. We hesitate to put it on here—we do not play it at performances unless we have at least one person of Arab descent with us—but this was a decent recording and can help serve to orient our members to the song and speed up the learning process.

1. Vayariu
Vayariu ha'am truah gdolah, vatipol hachomah tachtehah
Tumbling down, tumbling down
When the people raise a mighty shout
It all comes tumbling down

'The people raised a mighty shout, and the wall tumbled down beneath them' Joshua 6:20

2. Speedily in Our Days

A world without cages is at the tips of our fingers, in the palm of our hands
Speedily in our days
Can you feel it? Can you taste it? Can you sing out? If we fight for it
Can you see it? Can you reach out? Can you pray? If we fight for it

3. Hodu LaShem

Hodu laShem ki tov, ki le'olam chasdo
Yomar na beit Aharon, ki le'olam chasdo
Yomar na beit Yisrael, ki le'olam chasdo
Yomar na yirei Hashem, ki le'olam chasdo

from the Hallel services

4. Yedid Nefesh

Yedid nefesh, Av harachaman,
meshoch Avdecha el Retzonecha.
Yarutz avdecha kemo ayal,
yishtachave mul hadarach.
Ki ye’erav lo yedidutach, minofet tsuf vechol ta’am.

Hadur naeh ziv haolam, nafshi cholat ahavatach.
Anah El nah refah nah lah, b’harot lah noam zivach,
Az titchazek v’titrapeh, v’hay’tah lah shifchat olam.

Lover of my soul, merciful God,
bring​ your servant close to Your will.
Your servant will run like a gazelle, to prostrate​ before Your glory.
For Your companion​ship is purer than any fine taste or flavor.

Perfe​ct, pleasing,​ radiance of the world, my soul desires Your love.
Pleas​​​e, God, heal her now, as You show her the pleasantn​ess of Your light.
Now, strengthe​n and heal her, and she will be for You an eternal servant.

5. Mechalkel Chayim
mechalkel chayim b'chesed mechayeh meitim b'rachamim rabim somech noflim v'rofeh cholim umatir asurim umekayem emunato lisheyney afar

grants life with loving-kindness, brings life to the dead in great mercy, raises the fallen, heals the sick, frees the incarcerated, and brings about faithfulness to those lying in dust

from daily davening

Ethan Aronson-- writing, arranging, vocals, octave mandolin
Shira Lehmann-- vocals, cello
Noah Leibman-- vocals, sound editing
Hannah Mira Friedland-- vocals, viola
Chana Shapiro-- vocals
Becca Lubow-- vocals
Joey Becker-- vocals
Aliza Geller-- vocals
Emily Feder-- vocals
Marsha Nagorsky-- vocals
Lev Grey-- vocals
Emily Isaacson-- vocals
Isabelle Harari-- vocals

Speedily In Our Days

Donate to families in Gaza: https://gazafunds.com/all
Donate to UNWRA: https://donate.unrwa.org/-landing-page/en_EN
Donate to Palestine Legal: https://palestinelegal.org/donate

Take Action (Jewish Voice for Peace): https://www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org/take-action/

Please share this song and follow Songs for Ceasefire
- On YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@SongsforCeasefire
- On Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/songs-for-ceasefire
- On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/songsforceasefire/

Here is a song for public grief as protest, to serve us as we intervene into the culture of silence, to sing as we organize to stop the ongoing genocide of Palestinians funded by the U.S. and other western governments. 

This song has become one of our most frequently sung anthems in Chicago. It has evolved and taken various forms, and is simple enough that it can be adapted as needed for the movement. This recording uses a simple form of the song that can be easily shared, taught, learned, and used at protests. 

May we all find our voices in the chorus of liberation, our place in the currents of history that move us into wider spaces, like water flowing from the river to the sea...

*Ever Until Victory*
- Songs for Ceasefire

Song by Adam Gottlieb
Artwork by Hans Lindahl
Recorded at StarRise Studios on Potawatomi, Odawa, and Ojibwe land.

lyrics:

From the River to the sea, Palestine will be
From the River to the sea, Palestine will be free

Oh, oh... 

Gaza, My love
You’re not alone
You’re not alone

Gaza, My kin
We go with you
We go with you

Martyrs, Taken
God rest your souls
God rest your souls

Mothers, Fathers
We carry you
We carry you

Children, Babies
We carry you
We carry you

Doctors, Poets
We carry you
We carry you

Courage, Dear ones
We march with you
We march with you

Gaza, My friend
We sing for you
We sing for you

[In counterpoint]

Ceasefire, Ceasefire
Ceasefire now
Ceasefire now

From the river to the sea, 
Palestine will be
From the river to the sea
Palestine will be free
From the river to the sea, 
Palestine will be
From the river to the sea
Palestine will be free
From the river to the sea, (Oh, Oh)
Palestine will be (Oh, oh)
From the river to the sea (Oh, Oh)
Palestine will be free (Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh)
From the river to the sea, (Gaza)
Palestine will be (My love)
From the river to the sea (You're not alone...)
Palestine will be free 
From the river to the sea, 
Palestine will be
From the river to the sea
Palestine will be free...

From the River (Protest Version)

From The River (Protest Version)

Ceasefire by Rena Branson ft. Molly Bajgot
Composed October 2023

Ceasefire, ceasefire now
Not in my name
Release the hostages
No one's safe till everyone is safe
No one's free till everyone is free

Rachel Chang - Guitar Arrangement
Joni Leibovic - Bass & Percussion Arrangement
Molly Bajgot - Vocals & Harmony Lines
Jenni Rudolph - Arranging & Post-Production
Rosanna Morris - Cover Art

For more background on this song, read here: 
https://tinyurl.com/ceasefiresong

Ceasefire

What long-awaited potentials are we seeing fulfilled? What new possibilities for disruption of the established order have been revealed? In what ways have we had to break out of our shells? 

Like waves of revolutionary movements, cicadas prepare underground until conditions ripen, causing them to emerge, at which point they come out in full force, overturning the order of things with their vast numbers and making so much loud and bold noise that they cannot be ignored! Their ecstatic brief moment of life, followed by their dramatic sacrifice, produces a situation of super-abundance for other life forms in their ecosystems, offering us a beautiful example of how nature provides for us all. 

And what a year we have had. In the wake of apocalyptic escalations of horrific violence in Gaza to the point of a full-blown genocide, still ongoing 11 months later… in the wake of a year that terrifyingly holds the record for breaking more records of extreme heat than any in our lifetimes… in a year that the astounding shamelessness and moral bankruptcy of both dominant political parties has laid bare the breakdown of our political and economic system, we have witnessed the rise of a revolutionary movement that has shaken the foundations of power in the world. And all the while, here in the midwest, where we live on the precious and endangered great lakes and dwell in the center of the empire, the cicadas have been singing along to our protest songs, screaming alongside our chanting. They remind us that our season of rebirth is here, right now, and will come again. 

This song is about the fulfillment of prophecy, the rhythms of changes that follow no law other nature’s. It’s about the potential for revolution that brings paradise for life on earth. Our effort to release this song in time for this year has been made with humility to honor the reminders that the cicadas have been bringing us: another world is not only possible, she is literally screaming at us from every shrub and tree! 

May this song bump in your speakers on your way to protests, actions, and rallies; may it inspire you to emerge from your own shell and raise your own voice louder. At the very least, may it help you survive another day under capitalism by reminding you of Nature’s underground workings and sense of timing, and helping you hold onto your vision for a future in which we all can thrive.

With magic, solidarity, and *1ove* 

- Adam G<3

Cicada Season

O what a life we're living
O what a time to be alive
What a world of lies we live in, Love,
You and I

We've got a fine disaster
We've got a planet on the brink
We've got a people on the edge
of survival

We're gonna have to get real
We're gonna have to open up
We're gonna have to learn to trust
as we fight

But I've got some hope to spare now
Cuz I think Nature's on our side
If G*d is change and liberation
then the time is right now

So, let em know
Like a cicada chorus
Rolling through the trees
We know
We could have paradise right now
So, let's get free!

O what a life we're living
O what a time to be alive
What a world we were given, God,
You and me

O what a sacred terror
O what a satanic angel
O what a beautiful apocalypse
Can you see?

This is our time to rise now
This is our season of rebirth
This is fulfillment of every
Prophecy

We got our hearts like bright stars
We've got an ancient ghost to kiss
We've got a universe to roam
Infinity

So, let em know
Like a cicada chorus that's
Rolling through the trees
We know that
We could have paradise right now
So, I say, let's get free!

***

Song "Cicada Season" by Adam Gottlieb (c) 2021
Track Credits:
Adam Gottlieb: Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Percussion, Software Drums, Initial Mix
Chana Shapiro: Vocals
Ultra-Violet Archer: Vocals
Patrick Baranovskis: Bass
Nick Bilski: Electric Guitars
Patrick Budde: Final Mix and Master
Artwork by Paloma Carroll
Recorded at StarRise Studios on Odawa, Ojibwe, and Potawatomi Land

Cicada Season

We sing to stop the genocide. We sing for the martyrs, and for all beloved dead. To remember and honor all who have been killed as a result of the violence of colonization. We sing so that their cries may come through our voices. We sing so that their deaths are not in vain. 

We sing, too, for those who cannot raise their voices against the genocide because they have been submerged into a state of silence, or of dehumanizing fear and hatred, by forces of forgetting, erasure, and lies. This state of silence may be akin to moral death, but there is still hope that we can revive many people from this state. In fact, we life demands that we must. And so we sing.

The Hebrew in this song comes from the biblical book of Psalms.

Lyrics:

לֹ֣א הַ֭מֵּתִים יְהַֽלְלוּ־יָ֑הּ וְ֝לֹ֗א כָּל־יֹרְדֵ֥י דוּמָֽה׃ 
וַאֲנַ֤חְנוּ ׀ נְבָ֘רֵ֤ךְ יָ֗הּ מֵעַתָּ֥ה וְעַד־עוֹלָ֗ם הַֽלְלוּ־יָֽהּ

- Psalm 115:17-18

Lo hameitim y’hal’lu’Yah
V’lo kol yordei dumah
Va’anachunu n’vareich Yah
Mei’atah v’ad olam: Halleluyah

Those who have died cannot raise their cries
Neither can the people sunken deep in silence
So we will sing love for them All
Now and forever, Alhamdulillah الحمد لله

Hallelu, Hallelujah, Alhamdulillah  الحمد لله
Hallelu, Hallelujah, Alhamdulillah  الحمد لله
Hallelu Yah, Alhamdulillah الحمد لله
Hallelu Yah, Alhamdulillah الحمد لله

Chords: Am / G / Em / D /

Song for the Dead and the Silent
by Adam Gottlieb
Vocals, guitar, percussion and mix by Adam Gottlieb
Additional vocals by Caro Granner, Eli Newell, Ultra-Violet Archer, and one other (anonymous for safety concerns).
recorded at StarRise Studios on Odawa, Ojibwe, and Potawatomi land.

Artwork by Liz Bajjalieh

Song for the Dead and Silent (Alhamdulillah)

I'm not much for playing Charades, so I never actually got around to voting in an election until Ralph Nader ran for president in 2000.  I also sang at various events with him, and at the Green Party national convention around that time, and at the last Green Party national convention online, and many other Green Party events in between.  

I've also voted for lots of Greens over the years since I started voting more consistently, here in Oregon, where you're automatically registered to vote when you get a state ID or driver's license, the ballots arrive in the mail, making it all extremely easy, even for an anarchist to bother with.

I wrote this song, "Jill Stein," in 2016.  I never got around to making a good recording of the song, but after seeing some particularly offensive posts about Jill on social media, I felt inspired to make a better recording of the song, after changing one word in it.  See if you can guess which one!

With concern to the US political system, we can either keep on playing along with the "lesser evil" philosophy and hope to speed towards that proverbial wall more slowly, or we can turn the train around.  Given those options, supporting Jill Stein seems like the right decision to me.  I understand why other people disagree.  It's a hard choice, between the near future and the further-off future.  I've always been one for the long game myself, though I can also be very impatient.

Jill Stein

For a full version of the song's story, head over to my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/posts/until-we-are-126953630?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link

From some of the oldest words in the Hebrew Bible, Shirat HaYam / Song of the Sea, the celebratory words that Moses and Miriam lead the people in singing and dancing as they finish crossing the impossibly parted Sea of Reeds. Much of this text is actually quite difficult to embrace because it glorifies the defeat and death of the Egyptians. But a few lines that I'd never quite noticed before grabbed me this Passover as I was looking for a song to offer at "Freedom Church of the Poor's" Sunday multifaith service. This is what came through. May it be for the sake of a freedom for all from all oppressions.

עַד־יַעֲבֹ֤ר עַמְּךָ֙ יְהֹוָ֔ה     
עַֽד־יַעֲבֹ֖ר עַם־ז֥וּ קָנִֽיתָ׃

Until your people, HaShem, cross over

Until this people you have acquired [through liberation] cross over

[You will stay with us].

-Exodus 15: 16

Until We All Are Free

A psalm of comfort in cataclysmic times. With steadfast faith in the people of the world to liberate ourselves from all forms of oppression, from Gaza to Sudan to Puerto Rico to Chicago.

I first wrote and recorded this in 2020 and released it on my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/adamgottliebandonelove

Psalm 46 (The River)

אֱלֹהִ֣ים לָ֭נוּ מַחֲסֶ֣ה וָעֹ֑ז עֶזְרָ֥ה בְ֝צָר֗וֹת נִמְצָ֥א מְאֹֽד

O Jah, Elohim  
Lanu machaseh va'oz  
Ezra, ezra  
v'tzarot nimtza me'od  

And so, fear not  
Though the Earth may heave and quake  
And though the mountains  
May be swept beneath the waves  

There is a a river whose streams gleam pure  
In the city we're building, where the sacred is secure  
And God is within Her, She will shine at our dawn  
As the nations burst in uproar and Kingdoms fall...    

*

יְהֹוָ֣ה צְבָא֣וֹת עִמָּ֑נוּ מִשְׂגָּֽב־לָ֨נוּ אֱלֹהֵ֖י יַעֲקֹ֣ב סֶֽלָה

Hashem tzva'ot  
Imanu misgav  
Lanu Elohei  
Yaakov selah 

Oh come and see  
All the wonders God has done  
Monsoons, typhoons,  
Earthquakes and revolutions  

Jah makes the wars cease to the ends of the earth  
Disarms the nations, takes the bombs apart, gives us rebirth  
Be still and know Her now within the soul  
See Her exalted on earth from pole to pole...  

What is your cause? Take a moment to pause and give it a thought  
What do you want? If you had a wish / Wizard of Oz /  
If you made the laws? If you ruled the world / Lauryn & Nas /  
Let's have a talk / We can philosophize / Calvin & Hobbes  
Me I'll be honest / for all of my moxie my dreams are modest /  
Playing guitar, walking my dog and being a modern psalmist /  
That'd be my job / no need to profit when you're a prophet, naw mean?  
And no living costs, I want it all for free like Santa Claus / Stop it!  
Hold the applause / maybe you're not convinced, like "whatever commie"  
What are the odds? How bout the flaws in all of our lost economies?  
What about bosses? What about cops? What about mob psychology?  
Kids behind bars, and all of the scars of worshipping gods of property?  
Real talk / ain't no facade / I really don't mean to be comic /  
But Mr. Oppressor, please tell me just what you and your bombs are guarding?  
You're at the top, and we're at the bottom / you won the game you started /   
But we got the squad / the City of God is ours / you lost it / Jah Bless!   

There is a a river whose streams gleam pure  
In the City we're building, where the sacred is secure  
And God is within Her, She will shine at our dawn  
As the nations burst in uproar and Kingdoms fall...   

Psalm 46 (The River)

Rehearsing a classic folk song of Palestine. Yes, this is a group of non-Palestinians playing this song in someone's living room. We hesitate to put it on here—we do not play it at performances unless we have at least one person of Arab descent with us—but this was a decent recording and can help serve to orient our members to the song and speed up the learning process.

Wain a'a Ramallah rehearsal 3-23-25

Mike Brown Nigun- Koach Baruch Frazier

A friend told me what she knows about hydraulic fracturing (which is a lot) and I was sent into a rage which turned into determination to make a change which turned into despair and hopelessness which turned into (how this happened I'm not sure) serenity and hope. This most recent emotion is the one from which I wrote this song. 

-- Rough Mix, Midi-Percussion and Bass by Jeremy Cox--

Wain a'a Ramallah rehearsal 3-23-25

Songs for Liberation

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