A Thanksgiving Gift: An Artist and a Song

This Thanksgiving week, I want to thank a friend who lives in Texas and is passionately committed to peace and justice.  He sent out an email which included the web site for an artist and a song for our times.  The artist's name is Makana, and his song is "We Are the Many".  He is the 1960's Bob Dylan of today, with the song reminiscent of "Blowin' in the Wind", "Times They Are A Changin'", and "Masters of War".

Listen to the songs of an era and we can learn the stresses and spirit of that era.  "We Are the Many" is a cry for justice, much like the Psalmist: "Listen to the sound of my cry....", "Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord...."; or the prophet Isaiah: "...but you shall cry out for pain of heart...."; or Lamentations:
"... they hiss, they gnash their teeth, they cry...."  During this Thanksgiving week, I am thankful for Makana and his song.

A backstory sets the context.  Makana is a singer from Hawaii. His full name is Matthew Swalinkavich, but changed to his stage name to Makana, which is "the gift" in Hawaiian.  He has performed at the White House.  He was asked to perform during a sit-down meal for the APEC G-20 meeting a couple of weeks ago.  Dinner music for the powerful.  The story goes that he started his musical set singing traditional Hawaiian-style music. Eventually, he unbuttoned his shirt to reveal a t-shirt that said, in handwritten letters, "Occupy with Aloha".

Describing the roll-out of the song, he says: "I started out very cautiously because my intention was not to disrupt their dinner.  My intention was to subliminally convey a message that I felt was paramount to the negotiations.  Eventually, I got enough courage to go for it for an extended period of time.  I ended my show with the line 'the bidding of the many not the few'.  I sang it about 50 times in different ways for them to hear." The lyrics and the melody provide a stirring anthem for the Occupy Wall Street movement.  Check it out and be thankful: makanamusic.com. The accompanying video will touch your heart.

We come here, gather round the stage

The time has come for us to voice our rage

Against the ones who've trapped us in a cage

To steal from us the value of our wage

From underneath the vestiture of law

The lobbyists at Washington do gnaw

At liberty, the bureaucrats guffaw

And until they are purged, we won't withdraw.

CHORUS: We'll occupy the streets

We'll occupy the courts

We'll occupy the offices of you

Till you do

The bidding of the many, not the few

Our nation was built upon the right

Of every person to improve their plight

But laws of this Republic they rewrite

And now a few own everything in sight

They own it free of liability

They own it, but they are not like you and me

Their influence dictates legality

And until they are stopped we are not free. CHORUS

You enforce your monopolies with guns

While sacrificing our daughters and sons

But certain things belong to everyone

Your thievery has left the people none

So take heed of our notice to redress

We have little to lose, we must confess

Your empty words do leave us unimpressed

A growing number join us in protest. CHORUS

You can't divide us into sides

And from our gaze, you cannot hide

Denial serves to amplify

And our allegiance you cannot buy

Our government is not for sale

The banks do not deserve a bail

We will not reward those who fail

We will not move till we prevail. CHORUS

We are the many

You are the few

Echoing the Psalmist and the prophets, Makana and his song are gifts for which we can be thankful.

Blessed Thanksgiving!

Peace!

Ron