Making Social Change With Music

I n the 2004 election, hardly a week went by without the mainstream media deriding an actor or musician for speaking up against the re-election of President Bush. Websites such as MSN.com featured polls that asked people whether they cared what their favorite actor or musician thought about social issues. Meanwhile, TV pundits declared political matters off-limits to anyone who wasn’t regulated by corporate media speaking fees or invited to pontificate on the major networks’ Sunday news programs. 

Many artists, nevertheless, continue to speak out on social justice issues. In the music industry, however, it is still rare to find a group that goes beyond speaking out from time to time, by weaving its music and political consciousness together, day in and day out. We find one of those rare examples in the folk duo Emma’s Revolution. The group takes its name from activist Emma Goldman, who is famed for having responded to a colleague’s criticism of her dancing by saying, “If I can’t dance, I don’t want to be a part of your revolution.” 

Comprised of songwriter Pat Humphries, who has authored the progressive anthems “Swimming to the Other Side” and “Keep On Moving Forward,” and Sandy Opatow, Emma’s Revolution is probably best known for its peace anthem, “Peace, Salaam, Shalom,” which appeared on their debut album One . 

Recently the duo released its latest CD, Roots, Rock & Revolution! which  affirms the duo’s belief that music is a means to learn, organize, and motivate. Released in December 2006, the CD features such songs as: “Silent No Longer,” detailing a successful landmark case against the oil corporation UNOCAL on behalf of villagers from Burma; “Coast of Maine,” dealing with the gap between rich and poor in a small community; and “Living Planet,” an environmental hymn. Among the disk’s more iconic tracks, “Who Lies” details a Republican-controlled government and tackles everything from war and the environment to the suffering of the poor and Muslims: 

People in a bind 
unemployment line…Bechtel 
Halliburton, Carlyle and more 
Emptying the shelves of the 
company store 

Who lies, who dies 
who pays, who profits 
Staying out of gang 
trying to be cool 
seeing through the lies fro 
recruiters in the schools 
stand up like a man 
for freedom lend a hand 
join the occupation of 
an oil rich land 

Who lies, who dies 
who pays, who profits 
Gulf Coast shore 
same as before 
poor people’s lives for a 
rich man’s war 

no services or plans 
for people in need 
just ignorance and arrogance an 
government greed 

Where are you now 
where did you sleep 
do you have food 
are you OK 
Where did you sleep 
are you in peace 
where are you now 
I held your hand 
firmly in mine 
then the tide surged 
I couldn’t hold on 
My love couldn’t hold back a current 
so strong 

Where are you now 
where did you sleep 
do you have food 
are you OK  
Where did you sleep 
are you in peace 
where are you now 

I caught a glimpse 
thought it was you 
then the crowd rushes 
guardsmen pushed through 

where are you bound 
how will I know 
where will we meet 
where did you go 

Opatow said she and her partner were specifically inspired to write the song after hearing the desperate pleas of Katrina victims being broadcasted from New Orleans. “When we first heard about what was going on, Amy Goodman was there pretty quickly and one of the things she was doing was giving an open microphone so that people could say, ‘I’m looking for my brother, here is my cellphone number.’ ‘I’m looking for my uncle.’ ‘I’m going to be in Houston,’ or whatever—they were just naming all their people who were missing, who they wanted to find. It reminded us so much of people after September 11 who put up posters that said, ‘My mother was in this tower too, we haven’t seen her, can you call us?’” 

Beyond progressive commentary, Emma’s Revolution examines issues of our time the way the media should. “We’re very aware that what we’re doing is spreading truth,” said Opatow. “And stories of triumph, like ‘Silent No Longer,’ or situations that still need work, like the ‘Coast of Maine,’ a song about the discrepancies between rich and poor in a coastal area where people are buying summer homes and many of those who live there year round are struggling to get by. They are definitely underreported stories.”  

If they can count 424 billion for the war 
why can’t they count our votes 
if they can count thousands of bomb 
and still be buying more 
why can’t they count our votes? 
We’re not done 
we’re not tired 
we won’t stop until, Donald 
Rumsfeld, you’re fired!