Protest song about the lack of governmental transparency as exemplified by the treatment of Bradley Manning. Originally performed for President Obama at an April 21, 2011 fundraising event at the St. Regis Hotel in San Francisco.
Just in time for September 17, 2012, FJP’s album of original songs about social justice, “Where’s Our Change?” is available for download on Reverb Nation, iTunes & Amazon!
We changed the words slightly (see changes in red below) since the song was originally written specifically to catch the President by surprise at the event and to keep the song going as long as we could. Also, we chose to keep the call and response refrain (in blue below) out of the original performance.
Lyrics:
Dear Mr. President, we honor you today, sir
Each of us brought you $5,000 All of us have given you our tax dollars
It takes a lot of Benjamins to run a campaign
I paid my dues, where’s my change?
We’ll vote for you in 2012, yes that’s true is that true? NO!
Look at the Republicans - what else can we could? what are we to do?
Even though we don’t know if we’ll retain our liberties
In what you seem content to call a free society
Yes, it’s true that Terry Jones is legally free
To burn a people’s holy book in shameful effigy
But at another location in this country
Alone in a 6×12 cell sits Bradley
23 hours a day is night
The 5th and 8th Amendments say this kind of thing aint right
Nobel Peace Prize/ Whistle blowers
Guantanamo/ Quantico
Juan Mendez/ Due Process
Crimson Alumni/ Laurence Tribe
8th Amendment/ Cruel and Unusual
5th Amendment/ Punishment before a trial
Terry Jones/ Burnin’ that Quran
Promise of transparency/ Dennis Kucinich
We paid our dues, where’s our change?
We paid our dues, where’s our change?
Video of Obama after the speech telling one of our singing protesters, Logan Price, that Bradley Manning “broke the law.”
