Zippers, chants & echo songs

These songs are ideally suited for picket lines, marches, rallies, and other situations where you want to get people singing together but do not haave any way to put lyrics in their hands.

zipper songs repeat most of the same words in each verse - "zipping" in a new word or two in successive verses so once participants learn the pattern they can easily join in
echo songs have the "audience" repeat each line of the song. (This is the similar to what was traditionally called "lining out" a song.)
chant (as used here) refers to very short (basically one verse) songs that are repeated over and over again

Many of these songs were originally African American spirituals or gospel songs and were later repurposed by the labor movement and still later by the Civil Rights Movement in the U.S.

Some are great new songs (e.g. Melanie DeMore's "One Step/Lead with Love") Please share with us new songs we should add to this list! rasongbook@gmail.com

Hope / endurance

Turning of the World by Ruth Pelham (bit long as a zipper but terrific song)
Give Light by Greg Artzner & Terry Leonino (Magpie)
We Shall Be Known by Karisha Longaker of MaMuse (chant)
The Way Knows the Way (chant)

solidarity / resistance

One Foot (Lead with Love) by Melanie DeMore
Still Looking for Freedom by Jon Fromer
Rise As One by Aaron Fowler

Songs from the Labor Movement:

We Shall Not Be Moved
We Are Building a Strong Union (to tune of "Jacob's Ladder")
You Gotta Go Down & Join the Union by Woody Guthrie (tune: "Lonesome Valley")

Songs from the Freedom Movement:

Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around
Hold On ("Keep Your Eyes on the Prize")
O Freedom!
I'm On My Way
Woke Up This Morning
I'm Gonna Sit at the Welcome Table
Free At Last (a favorite of MLK's)
I'm Gonna Do What the Spirit Says Do (with verses like "move", "fight", "goin' to jail")
Up Over My Head

Some new racial justice related songs:

Ella's Song ("We Who Believe in Freedom Cannot Rest") by Bernice Johnson Reagon - you can just sing the refrain as a chant without the verses.
Somebody's Hurting My Brother by Yara Allen (of Poor People's Campaign) *
I'm Gonna Lift My Sister Up by Faya Rose Toure *
Hatred Has No Place by David Heitler-Klevans *

Climate / earthcare

The Tide Is Rising by Rabbi Shoshana Meira Friedman & Yotam Schacter *
We Are Saving Noah's Cargo new words by Fred Small to tune of "Jacob's Ladder" *
The Earth Is Our Mother an anonymous chant - possibly derived from Lakota source *

Economic justice / poverty