SONGS & SCORES
Updated 2/22/25
DEMOCRACY: AN AMERICAN MUSICAL
features SONGS for SOLOS and S.A.T.B. CHORUS (Soprano, Also, Tenor, and Baritone voices).
Songs are accompanied by a four piece band consisting of
PIANO, KEYBOARD STRINGS & ORGAN, BASS, and DRUMS
but may be performed with just piano, or piano and drums, or piano, bass and drums.
On this page please find TWENTY SONGS in progress including
DEMOS where an instrument (horn) stands in for vocal melodies.
Also find LYRICS and MUSICAL SCORES for Vocals and Piano.
DOWNLOAD COMPILED SCORES BELOW
OR SCROLL DOWN TO ACCESS PIANO-VOCAL SCORE FOR EACH SONG.
ACT I: PEOPLE
POWER TO THE PEOPLE
People! You have the power.
People! You have the right.
People! It’s not the time to cower.
People! It’s time to stand and fight.
Stand up, (stand up), rise up, (rise up) for
Liberty, freedom and all that you cherish and believe in.
Hear now destiny calling,
Crying out, shouting out, screaming out the warning.
Now is the time for you to speak up.
People, you have the power, you have the vision,
You have the strength that is needed.
So listen people, this is your duty, this is your mission,
This is your moment to defend your liberty.
People, your future, your dreams, your ambitions and
All that you cherish and all that’s precious to you are now in
Danger and peril if you do not defend them now.
So, rise up and stand up, and speak against the scourge of tyranny.
Now’s the time for you and me to stand up for our democracy.
If we don’t our life will be in the grip of autocracy.
So speak up now for democracy
For that is the thing that will keep us free.
Never doubt what you can do; your future’s up to you.
Power! Power to the people
For it is the people who keep us free.
Click here to listen to instrumental demo.
WE ARE THE PEOPLE
We are! We are the people.
We are! We are autonomy
We are! We are all equal.
We are! We are democracy.
We are lawful, we are hopeful.
We are joyful, we are thankful.
Now, we are all singing.
Now, freedom is ringing.
Now, destiny’s gifting a mission, a vision
of unity, justice and domestic tranquility with
blessings of liberty for us and posterity.
We are! We are the people.
We are! We are autonomy
We are! We are all equal.
We are! We are democracy.
We are lawful, we are hopeful.
We are joyful, we are thankful.
We are a single nation; we have an obligation.
Now it is our right to follow light and destiny.
People! Now our time is here.
People! Have no dread or fear.
We are! We are the people.
We are! We are autonomy
We are! We are all equal.
We are! We are democracy.
We are lawful, we are hopeful.
We are joyful, we are thankful.
We have a single nation; we have an obligation.
Now it is our right to follow light and destiny.
We are! We are the people.
We are! We are autonomy
We are! We are all equal.
We are! We are democracy.
(shouted)
WE ARE!
DEMOCRACY’S CHILD
You have freedoms; you have rights!
You have futures shining bright.
You are Democracy’s Child.
You are the stories, you are the songs.
You are the heroes facing a world gone wrong.
You are Democracy’s Child.
Fear it! – It’s a threat to liberty!
See it ! - It’s a dark hostility!
Feel it! – It’s a deep toxicity!
Now all the world can clearly see the danger to democracy!
You are the future, you are the way.
You are the promise of a brand new day.
You are Democracy’s Child.
See it! - Like a vision in the distance!
Feel it! - It’s the goal of co-existence!
Be it! - With a resolute resistance!
Humanity now waits to see if you defend democracy!
You are the future, you are the way.
You are the promise of a brand new day.
You are Democracy’s Child.
You are the stories, you are the songs.
You are the heroes facing a world gone wrong.
You are Democracy’s Child.
You have freedoms; you have rights!
You have futures shining bright.
You are Democracy’s Child.
ACT II: FREEDOM
SPACER
FREEDOM
Freedom calls me; independence, liberation, democracy!
People singing, freedom ringing in defense of sweet liberty.
I’m standing for freedom, I’m standing for justice.
I’m standing for choosing, I’m standing for dignity.
The voices of tyrants still echo in the halls of liberty.
The forces of evil still linger planning for their victory.
If you want to truly be free; stand up, rise up, speak up, free up!
If you want real democracy; stand up, rise up, speak up, free up!
I’m voting for freedom, I’m voting for justice.
I’m voting for choosing, I’m voting for dignity.
Our voices, our meaning shall echo in the halls of liberty.
The songs we are singing; our music resonates in harmony.
If you want to truly be free; stand up, rise up, speak up, free up!
If you want real democracy; stand up, rise up, speak up, free up!
Freedom calls me; independence, liberation, democracy!
People singing, freedom ringing in defense of sweet liberty.
Freedom, freedom; now is the time in need my
Freedom, freedom; now is the time in need my
Freedom, freedom; now is the time in need my
Freedom, freedom!
EXTRA, EXTERA, READ ALL ABOUT IT!
Reading the news of the day, we search for truth
Informing, brainstorming, heartwarming.
Beaming to us, all around us,
delivered right to us on airways and byways.
ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS,
Magazines, newspapers, journals and bloggers.
Google and Yahoo and Duck Duck Go Internet,
Twitter and Face Book, and YouTube and Text books.
Hear them shouting out on the corners, “Extra, Extra!”
Casting doubting out for all readers.
Extra! Read all about it!
Watch them putting out information
“Extra, Extra!” Bringing stories out to the nation
Extra! Read all about it!
Reporting the real evidence, honest and true;
unvarnished, ungarnished, untarnished
If we hear it and believe it
our choices, our actions determine our liberty.
Influencers all have their say.
We consume it and review it,
It’s our choice to believe it or not.
We can sell it all on Main Street,
Rights for which our ancestors fought.
Hear them shouting out on the corner, “Extra, Extra!”
Casting doubting out for all readers.
Extra! Read all about it!
See them putting out information
“Extra, Extra!” Bringing stories out to the nation
Extra! Read all about it!
IT’S MY BODY
It’s my body, it’s my choice!
It’s my future, it’s my voice!
My body is my own, my bodily integrity.
My choices are well known, my personal autonomy.
We women must stand together in our fight.
Defending our basic human right.
We’re all of your mothers; we’re all of your grandmothers.
We’re all of your daughters, your sisters, your nieces.
We’re all of us singing together in harmony.
We’re all of us speaking up for freedom and justice.
Now! Destiny is calling out to all of us and our posterity.
Now! It’s our right to make our choice and to be free.
My body is my own, my bodily integrity.
My choices are well known, my personal autonomy.
We women must stand together in our fight.
Defending our basic human right.
We know what our truth is, we know what our body needs.
We know what our dreams and ambitions and hopes are.
We know what is best for our future and family.
We know what is right for us to make our choices.
It’s my body, it’s my choice!
It’s my future, it’s my voice!
Click here to listen to instrumental demo.
LOVE WHO YOU LOVE
You tell me you love me and I tell you love you.
So, we’ll stay here together singing love who you love.
Here, under the rainbow, we’ll dance together as lovers.
Strong and proud we show our selves.
We trust in each other and hold dear our closeness.
We celebrate knowing that we are loved.
So, tell me you love me and I’ll tell you I love you
And we’ll stay here together and love who you love.
Love was never our choosing.
Love was often confusing.
Yet here we are now in love.
You tell me you love me and I tell you love you.
So, we’ll stay here together singing love who you love.
Click here to listen to instrumental demo.
COME TOGETHER
We have many freedoms
But there’s one freedom not done alone.
We need each other for the freedom
To assemble peacefully.
When our lives are not what we hope for.
And, when our rights are not solid and strong
We can gather and protest together
So we can make our displeasure known.
Demonstrations, acclamations, aspirations, affirmations.
Self-expressions, public sessions, strong objections to oppressions!
Disaffections, disconnections, redirections, course corrections.
Strikes and pickets that’s the tickets to democracy.
People! Come together!
It’s our birth right to assemble.
We are peaceful yet determined
To pursue our aspirations.
SHOULD I PRAY
Should I pray, “Ave Maria?”
Should I kneel and bow my head?
Should I shout a Halleluiah?
Or, should I just go to sleep in my bed?
Is there only sky above me?
Is there only dirt beneath?
Is there a someone who cares for and loves me?
Or, am I only imagining?
Should I hope that someone can hear me?
Should I whisper a silent prayer?
Should I trust a God is near me?
Or should I just assume nobody’s there?
In my private thoughts I am distressed and deeply troubled.
There are so many voices who sing of different choices.
If your God is real then why has he not heard my praying,
Or calmed my anguished doubting and fears as they keep mounting?
Should I pray, “Ave Maria?”
Should I kneel and bow my head?
Should I shout a Halleluiah?
Or, should I just go to sleep in my bed?
I’M SPEAKIN’ UP!
There will be those who would abuse you,
Still you’re standing tall, facing them all.
And so to those who would confuse you and use you,
Speak up and say, “I’m Democracy’s Child!”
I’m speakin’ up today!
I’m gonna say what I need to say!
I’m speakin’ up today.
Now I know I’m okay.
Now when the night is filled with terrors,
I can still see, a new day for me.
And so in the night when I am on my own all alone,
I’ll speak up and say I’m Democracy’s Child!
I’m speakin’ up today!
I’m gonna say what I need to say!
I’m speakin’ up today.
Now I know I’m okay.
When you are on your own, and feeling all alone, what will you do?
I’ll speak up!
When you are terrified, totally mystified, what will you do?
I’ll speak up!
When the anxiety devours society, what will you do?
I’ll speak up!
When the authority is not the majority, what will you do
I’ll speak up!
Now in this time of fear and worries
I will not bow and I will not kneel.
I'll stand firm and fight ‘cause I am not alone on my own.
I’ll speak up and say I’m Democracy’s Child!
I’m speakin’ up today!
I’m gonna say what I need to say!
I’m speakin’ up today.
Now I know I’m okay.
When we are on our own, and feeling all alone.
When we are terrified, totally mystified.
When the anxiety devours society.
When the authority is not the majority, what are we gonna do?
We’re speakin’ up!
ACT III: DANGER
I’M AFRAID
I’m afraid!
After all the times you told me
that I’d never need to fear; ‘cuz you’d always be here.
I’m afraid!
After all the times you promised me,
that God was lookin’ out for me; is He here?
I’m afraid!
After all the times you’d comfort
me and shield me from reality; now it’s here!
Now in the night, when I’m all alone,
I am consumed by all my terrors.
Anxiety creeps, swallows me whole,
Don’t let me die by human error!
I’m afraid!
If the ones who make the laws and rules
are the same as those who think us fools,
How can I have hope?
I’m afraid!
If the billionaires with high placed friends
can influence for their own ends,
How can still cope?
What am we gonna do, now that it’s happened?
What can I do, just to get though another day?
What are we s’posed to do, how can we stop it?
Insanity reigns, humanity strains to find a way!
When I stop and think how we’re on the brink, I feel so afraid.
I just want to say, can’t we find a way to live and let live every day.
I’m afraid!
After all the times they promised me
they’d keep the world quite safe for me…is it so?
I’m afraid!
After all the times they lied to me
about my frail security…so it goes.
Now in the night, when I’m all alone
I am consumed by all my terrors.
Anxiety creeps, swallows me whole.
Don’t let me die by human error!
I’m afraid!
That it may already be too late and
we’ve already sealed our fate, how will we survive?
I’m afraid!
If someone does not speak up
and say that we must find a better way,
I may not be alive…to be afraid.
DANCE OF THE AUTOCRAT
Be advised, autocracies are real.
Be aware, once here there’s no repeal.
The Autocrats will spin you in a terrifying dance.
Be alert, or you haven’t got a chance.
The Autocrats now waits for you to take their boney hand.
Go on, take it now; it’s all their master plan.
Dance in the moon light, dance in the sun.
Dance ‘til your body is aching and done.
Dance like a demon alone in your shell.
Dance like you’re churning and burning in Hell.
The time has come, the Autocrats are here.
See their face, grinning in the night.
The Autocrats are waiting for you to speak their name.
Say it now; you know their worldly fame.
The Autocrats are calling you to rise and make a fateful choice.
Are you silent still, or will you raise your voice?
Dance in the moon light, dance in the sun.
Dance ‘til your body is aching and done.
Dance like a demon alone in your shell.
Dance like you’re churning and burning in Hell.
Click here to listen to instrumental demo.
FAKE NEWS
Fake News isn’t just misleading, it’s perilous.
Fake News spreads like a fire, burning all it attracts.
Fake News motivates actions, all dangerous.
Fake News is all about falsehoods, we need examine the facts!
We’ve heard a rumor that hard to believe.
But we’ve heard it so often that that it must be true.
They say that people in Springfield are eating your pets.
So we must find them, report them, deport them.
Fake News isn’t just misleading, it’s perilous.
Fake News spreads like a fire, burning all it attracts.
Fake News motivates actions, all dangerous.
Fake News is all about falsehoods, we need examine the facts!
We’ve heard a rumor about hurricanes.
They say they’re directed by people who hate us.
We know it’s hard to conceive of still It’s in our brains.
That they must use lasers, or phases, or tasers.
Fake News influences so many parts of our lives,
Wounding and harming both husbands and wives.
Fake News spreads confusion, engenders doubt and distrust,
Shaping behaviors that hurt all of us!
We’re told elections are riffled with fraud.
And blood thirsty migrants are flooding our borders.
They say elections are stolen, illegally rigged.
And the sea is not rising; the climate not changing.
Fake News isn’t just misleading, it’s perilous.
Fake News spreads like a fire, burning all it attracts.
Fake News motivates actions, all dangerous.
Fake News is all about falsehoods, we need examine the facts!
Fake News is all about falsehoods, we need examine the facts!
Fake News is all about falsehoods, we need examine the facts!
DON’T BE AFRAID
When in the night your terrors
Sing in your ear a terrible song,
That is the moment you must remember
Just who you are and where you belong.
Don’t be afraid, you are brave,
You are a force resilient.
Don’t be afraid, you are not alone.
Don’t be afraid, you are brave;
You are the hope; you are the dream;
You are the promise of democracy.
Wherever you roam, we’ll be there with you.
No matter how long the road may be.
Wherever you wander, so we too.
We’ll be there, walking right beside you, and whispering…
Don’t be fearful, don’t be alarmed, don’t be worried or vexed.
Let your voice be heard now, speak up free and wild,
For you are Democracy’s Child!
Don’t be afraid, you are brave,
You are a force resilient.
Don’t be afraid, you are not alone.
Don’t be afraid, you are brave;
You are the hope; you are the dream;
You are all possibilities.
When your hands are shaking, when your soul is quaking.
When your heart breaking, you can still speak up!
When your future’s daunting, when your dreams are haunting,
When you are exhausting, you can still rise up!
When you feel like crying, when your hopes are dying,
When you’re through compiling, you can help each other.
When you’re feeling frightened, when your dread is heightened,
When all’s disunited, you can aid your brother.
Don’t be afraid, you are brave,
You are a force resilient.
Don’t be afraid, you are not alone.
Don’t be afraid, you are brave;
You are the hope; you are the dream;
You are all possibilities.
When in the night your terrors
Sing in your ear a terrible song.
That is the moment you must remember
You’re not alone so you need not be afraid.
ACT IV: NATION
In Progress
CROSSING OVER
Crossing over to a new world.
Crossing over the night.
Crossing over to the future.
Crossing over to the light.
As you stand with your banners unfurled,
Are you strong, are you brave, are you ready for the fight?
And as you journey now into the pain of the world,
Be bold as you follow the light.
Crossing over to a new world.
Crossing over the night.
Crossing over to the future.
Crossing over to the light.
Here within your hopes and your visions,
You are the hero, you are the champion, you are the savior.
You and those like you are ready to rise up, you are ready to brawl.
You are the savior, you are the champion, you are the hero now.
Crossing over to a new world.
Crossing over the night.
Crossing over to the future.
Crossing over to the light.
In your life there will be many days
when you may be vexed and sorely troubled.
Do not fret; you have the courage and strength.
Look into your core, into your heart,
there you will find a hero.
Crossing over to a new world.
Crossing over the night.
Crossing over to the future.
Crossing over to the light.
DIVERSITY
Look all around you and tell us what you see.
Look very closely how different things can be.
See how the forest has so many trees.
See how they differ and move in the breeze.
Celebrate the beauty of diversity.
All a little diff’rent, just like you and me.
See how all the flowers come in such varieties.
See the many colors and the shapes of all the leaves.
Celebrate the difference every one!
There’s so many people under the sun.
See each little diff’rence from father to son.
It’s what makes them special when all’s said and done.
Look how the mountains have so many views.
You can enjoy them which ever you choose.
See how wide the oceans are each time you take a cruise.
Sunny day or rainy days when skies are greys or blues.
Hear how music sounds so nice with different melodies.
They can fill your heart with sadness or happy memories.
Sing out your songs and sing out your needs.
Sing out your music as loud as you please.
Celebrate the beauty in every heart.
Feel your passions rising right from the start.
Like can be so joyful when you do your part.
So let’s all break the boundaries that keep us apart.
Hear now our song, though we may be few
Our music is our message and we are saying this true.
Now is your time so whatever you do,
Do unto others and you’d have them do unto you.
Do unto others and you’d have them do unto you.
Do unto others and you’d have them do unto you.
EQUITY
Equity, equality, our right to be
Inherently equal is self-evident.
Still we know how it goes and how it shows
when people whose vision is very different.
Hear me. All I’m asking is a chance to succeed.
Trust me. I’ve got real talent inside me.
Know me, I ‘m just a person with some special need.
Give me a level playing field and I will succeed.
So we say there is a way that we may
Find happiness somehow, if we pursue it.
Can you see with equity fairness and opportunity
Can find the best in people.
Hear me. All I’m asking is a chance to succeed.
Trust me. I’ve got real talent inside me.
Know me, I ‘m just a person with some special need.
Give me, a level playing field and I will succeed.
Our destiny is calling out to us.
We have the talent and we have the skills
We ask only fairness and equity.
Now you can know us and see we are just like you everyone.
Liberty, equality, our right to be
Inherently equal is self-evident.
Still we know how it goes and how it shows
when people whose vision is very different.
Equity, equality, democracy,
This is America.
LADY JUSTICE
Justice, beautiful lady,
binding together a nation of laws.
Justice, beautiful icon,
blindfolded maiden weighing each cause.
Sun (beam on her, gleam on her, sheen on her)
Light up her way (what a sight, sacred light, burning bright)
Shine on her face (touching us, warming us, scorching us)
Burning with dreams on fire.
Moon (in the sky, fill my eye, flying bye)
Light up her night (what a sight, mirrored light, shining bright)
Shine on her path (pilot us, usher us, channel us))
Guiding us home again.
Justice, beautiful lady,
binding together a nation of laws.
Justice, beautiful icon,
blindfolded maiden weighing each cause.
THEY'RE COMING TO GET YOU!
Hey! They’re coming to get you!
Be aware! They’re coming to hurt you!
Be afraid! They’re coming to get you!
Be alert! They’re coming to harm you now!
(Repeat)
In this time of fears and dangers,
In this place where you need cower.
In this world of evil strangers
Like the men who hold the power.
Hey! They’re coming to get you!
Be aware! They’re coming to hurt you!
Be afraid! They’re coming to get you!
Be alert! They’re coming to harm you now!
(Repeat)
When you are worried and when you are scared,
Remember your mission as patriots dared.
When you are saddened and when you are down,
Remember your mission and stand your own ground.
Now is the moment and now is the time
To rise up and shout out your reason and rhyme.
Never surrender and never lose trust
Or all that you value will crumble to dust.
Rise up! You are might we need now.
Speak up! You are the voice of the free.
Climb up. You can ascend the mountain.
Talk up! You can speak powerfully.
Come up! You are the one we count on.
Be up! You are the one that we need.
Stand up! You can be strong and sturdy.
Show up! You can be happy and free.
Now’s the time to stand and be strong.
Now’s time to take a stand.
Now’s the time to right the wrong.
Like the men who found this land.
Hey! They’re coming to get you!
Be aware! They’re coming to hurt you!
Be afraid! They’re coming to get you!
Be alert! They’re coming to harm you now!
(Repeat)
LIKE THE PHOENIX
Here within the smoldering embers
burns the pain and fire.
Here within my rage remembered
still sting the tongues of ire.
Here I lie, my body burning;
oh, how the pain consumes me.
Still I feel my mission is not completed;
so I’ll say I will not be defeated.
Like the Phoenix I will rise up,
I will spread my wings ascending.
They may burn me, they may spurn be,
Like the Phoenix I’m unending.
See me, hear me, know me,
trust me when I tell you
I’m not only one child;
I am all the children crying out for justice.
So, I rise, my spirit burning;
oh, how the fire now lifts me.
Still I feel my mission is not completed,
so I’ll say I will not be defeated.
Like the Phoenix I will rise up,
I will spread my wings ascending.
They may burn me, they may spurn be,
Like the Phoenix I’m unending.
Like the Phoenix I will rise up,
I will spread my wings ascending.
They may burn me, they may spurn be,
Like the Phoenix I’m unending love.