Music Has Tremendous Power
Heather Hay, International Liberation Reference Person for Musicians
Music. Musique. Música. It reminds us of how good it is to be alive. It’s in our bones. It’s part of everyone.
Music has tremendous power to pull us together, to inspire—across all cultures and languages. In many Indigenous cultures, it is part of everyday living. There can never be too much music. We need it everywhere—on street corners, on buses, in elevators. It can show our human intelligence in action.
Music encourages discharge. It contradicts the places where we feel alone and hopeless. We need that. We need discharge, we need thinking, we need connection.
Music has been a powerful organizing tool throughout history—in revolutions, protests, and so on. In these times we need that kind of strong voice.
So here we go. I’ll call, you respond:
You gotta put one foot in front of the other and lead with love
(You gotta put one foot in front of the other and lead with love)
Put one foot in front of the other and lead with love
(Put one foot in front of the other and lead with love)
I know you’re scared (I know you’re scared)
And I’m scared too (and I’m scared too)
But here I am (but here I am)
Right next to you (right next to you)
You gotta put one foot in front of the other and lead with love, put one foot in front of the other and lead with love
That’s a song by Melanie DeMore, an African American singer/songwriter who wrote it the night after Trump was elected.
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada