The downside of this spiritual practice is that it demands attention even on days when attention is hard to give. And more often than not, it is demanding the exact kind of attention I want to hide from on that particular day.
This song, written by Holly Near in the wake of the Harvey Milk assassination, is a call to action. It demands that we make sure everyone knows who we are and how many we are, we who will not be moved, we who are scared, and angry, and loving, and resisting.
We are a gentle, angry people,
and we are singing, singing for our lives.
We are a gentle, angry people,
and we are singing, singing for our lives.We are a justice-seeking people…
We are young and old together…
We are a land of many colors…
We are gay and straight together….
We are a gentle, loving people…
The truth is, I’m nearly paralyzed by fear right now. The first months of the Trump presidency have been very troubling. It’s all coming on so many fronts, this insanity. And I am really worried that there are so many things happening we’ll miss the big one – and they’re all big ones. And worse, it seems like there is no one to hold them accountable, because they’ve stacked the decks. I know there are simple things I can do, and I know that just by refusing to accept this as normal, contacting elected officials, preaching justice, supporting boots on the ground – I know those things matter. But this is big, all that is rolling down the hill at us in speeds heretofore unmeasured. And that’s got me scared and not sleeping and a little afraid to take my eyes off the ball and even more afraid to look at the ball.
So…yeah. Holly Near’s song wants me to stop being paralyzed and get back in the game. I’m not ready. But I suppose none of us ever truly are when it matters like this.
Sigh.
Okay.
Still scared, but …okay. What’s next?
—
UPDATE November 5, 2017: In a concert at the Eighth Step @ Proctors in Schnectady, NY, last night, Holly Near performed, and toward the end of the show led us in this song. We sang the first couple of verses, and then she began to speak (her words transcribed to the best of my ability – I was typing on my phone as quickly as I could once I realized what was happening):
“I wrote this song when Harvey Milk and George Moscone were assassinated. We originally sang ‘we are gay and lesbian together’ but then we were surrounded by the support of allies and so I changed it to ‘we are gay and straight together.’ And now we are learning more and more about gender and sexuality and it now requires many more syllables than I can fit into the song, and so let us now sing ‘we are all in this together.”
In that 30 second riff, she updated her lyrics to expand the circle of love that this song holds.
Thank you, Holly.
—
UPDATE March 27, 2025:
I just received an email from Sara Blackthorne, currently a seminarian at Meadville-Lombard, who has a LOT of amazing context for the photo:
“This photo of Holly Near and Emma’s Revolution was taken at the Solidarity Sing Along on June 29, 2012 by Leslie Amsterdam. (I was there – https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=465829113446627&set=t.136901155&type=3)
“In addition to Holly, Pat, and Sandy, there are three Solidarity Singers in the photo:
Michael Bausch (playing the guitar)
David Koene (wearing the black and red t-shirt)
NanLouise Wolfe (wearing the yellow peace t-shirt)
“Not just as a founding member and participant of the Solidarity Sing Along until I moved away, it’s really important for the context of this photo to know about the Sing Along.
“Beginning March 11, 2011, the Solidarity Sing Along (SSA) was a direct-action protest directed at the fascist Republican takeover of the state government in Wisconsin. It began in direct opposition to Act 10, a legislative bill that stripped collective bargaining rights from nearly every union in the state, and continued for nearly a decade as a core group of people gathered (first in the Capitol Rotunda, and later on the lawn) to actively sing in protest. There were musicians, sign-holders, and banners throughout it’s tenure. We met every Weekday, M-f, from 12-1. Weather never stopped us, although we did sing outside in a few blizzards!
“The Solidarity Sing Along never acquired a permit or other legal “safe” means to protest. “Singing should never be illegal” was our motto. Many people were arrested by Capitol Police (some violently), and even more received citations for singing (myself included). Court proceedings constantly tossed charges and in fact told the Capitol Police to stop wasting the courts time with these frivolous and ridiculous charges.
“Over our time, we invited hundreds of touring musicians to join us, including Holly and Emma’s Revolution, as well as Billy Bragg and others. The SSA also was invited to sing at many protests and rallies, and also sang multiple times with Holly and others when they stopped in Madison on their tours. We also recorded an album and at least two books were written about the protest.
“This article from the Smithsonian Folkways Recordings lab talks about how the Solidarity Sing Along made “old labor songs new again” as that was the core of our protest. Using music — especially music written for protest and labor rights — to share our message was the core of the mission for this rag-tag group of strangers who came together every day to sing.
“And there was always a polka.”
