Take it from Dr King (video)

Em

1. Down in Alabama, 1955,

A

not many of us here tonight were then alive,

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a young Baptist preacher led a bus boycott,

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he showed the way for a brand new day without firing a shot.

G D

Don’t say it can’t be done, the battle’s just begun,

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take it from Dr. King, you too can learn to sing, so drop the gun !

Em

2. Oh, those must have been an exciting 13 years,

A

young heroes, young heroines, there was laughter, there were tears,

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students sitting at lunch counters, children dancing in the streets,

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to think it all started with sister Rosa refusing to give up her seat.

+ CHORUS

Em

3. Song, songs, kept them going and growing,

A

they didn’t realize the millions of seeds they were sowing.

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They were singing on marches, even singing in jail,

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songs gave them the courage to believe they would not fail.

+ CHORUS

Em

4. We sang about Alabama 1955,

A

but since September 11 we wonder will this world survive.

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but if the world learned a lesson from Doctor King.

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we can survive, we can, we will. And so we sing …

+ CHORUS

(orig. = capo 1st) (Pete Seeger)