SR-WSI Setlist for June 20
General Notes
- When/Where: Saturday, June 20, 2026; 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM, 7904 35th Avenue Southwest, Seattle; Details : https://www.westseattleindivisible.com/events-actions/an-evening-of-music-community-wsi-benefit-concert
- It's a fundraiser but of course performers are donating the performace so don't worry. It'd help if you send me your name. We'll figure something out.
- Our part of the June 20 program is less a concert and more a one‑act experience with this arc:.
WELCOME → WITNESS → THE HARD TRUTH → HOPE → GO FORTH! - Our job is to activate the audience, not just sing at them. We’re not performing at people; we are building a moment with them. Music is the medium; activation is the objective.
- Therefore: engage people eye‑to‑eye. Encourage them to sing, harmonize, clap, sway, and move!
- We model the energy we want the room to feel: positive, joyful, open. Look warm and alive whenever appropriate; the audience wants encouragement, not a downer.
- While we haven't practiced with instrumentation before, something like a guitar, banjo or ukulele might go very well with "Fixing To Die Rag". Let's experiment!
- People in the audience will not remember every word, but they will remember the feeling!
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1. We Are Here (WELCOME)
- EMOTIONAL ARC: Gentle welcome; low-barrier invitation to join the show.
- INTRO: "We’re Singing Resistance from West Seattle Indivisible. We sing to lift each other up and reach out to everyone as we build the world we want to see. The songs are simple, just echo what you hear, sing what you feel!"
- Simple enough to skip formal teaching. Song Lead gestures left and right. Audiences catch on quickly.
- We will pick 4-5 variation words that song lead calls out. We sing each iteration of variation words twice. Likely choices:
- With Our Voices
- With Our Neighbors
- With Our Families
- With Our Worries [can be cut for time]
- With Our Courage [can be cut for time]
- We Are Together [this closes the song positively]
LYRICS:
PERFORMANCE EXAMPLE:
https://www.instagram.com/p/DU3Cbm3Dr0E/
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/rTY4GkMnhgU
Song credit: Sarina Partridge
2. This Is For Our Neighbors (WITNESS)
- EMOTIONAL ARC: More gravity; naming who we advocate for.
- INTRO: “Thank you for your beautiful voices. That was written by Sarina Partridge. This next one by Lu Aya is for the people in our community who are shut away from us. We sing for them outside their prisons and everywhere we gather.”
- Simple enough to skip formal teaching.
- We will pick 4-5 variation words that song lead calls out. Settle in advance how many times sing each variation word. Likely choices:
- Neighbors
- Families
- Migrants
- Friends
- Courage
This is for our Neighbors who are locked inside,
Together,
We will,
Abolish ICE.[Pause here is important to let the feeling breathe]
PERFORMANCE EXAMPLE:
https://www.instagram.com/p/DTwzO9vEnZD
Song credit: Lu Aya
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3. Our Love Is Stronger Than Our Fears
- EMOTIONAL ARC: Feel strong together
- INTRO:
- NOTE: original lyric has "the fear". "Our fear" is more concrete and empowering, less absract and weakening. Also the vowels and consonants are stronger to sing.
LYRICS:
PERFORMANCE EXAMPLE:
https://sarinapartridge.bandcamp.com/track/stronger-than-the-fear
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4. Give Peace A Chance (HOPE)
- EMOTIONAL ARC: Mood shift toward hope and uplift.
- Sing warmly and steady, not slow. Really lean into audience engagement; sing like you are talking with one single person in the audience.
- INTRO: “Friends, are we really asking for too much? John Lennon put it so well: 'All we are saying is give peace a chance.'"
- Variation words (each twice): Peace → Migrants → Justice → Families → Courage → Peace (twice).
Is Give Peace A Chance.
5. Lead With Love (GO FORTH!)
- EMOTIONAL ARC: Hopeful, communal closing.
- INTRO: “Thank you for lifting up your voices together. Let's stand up, those who can, and go forth with inspiration from Melanie DeMore, who calls us to Lead With Love.”
- It's call-and-response with a chorus
- Be physical, open and engaging. Whoop as you are moved! Can we get people actually moving?
(it could be some variation of what's on the video;
it all depends on how we are moved! Stretch ending line.)
(No need for outro beyond what was in the LWL intro; give mic back to Emcee)
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CUT FOR TIME:
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*. I Feel Like I'm Fixin' To Die Rag (2026) (THE HARD TRUTH)
- EMOTIONAL ARC: Cathartic truth‑telling; humor meets outrage. Lean into the absurdity and uncomfortable honesty.
- INTRO: "Wonderful! Now we got something here from Country Joe MacDonald, a little different subject, a little different approach. Let me hear you shout the most important word in this song: WHOOOOP-EEEEE!!! [ad lib] Let's go through the chorus, which many of you will know [do so, then start]"
LYRICS:
Oh come on all you big strong men Donald Trump needs your help again.
He got himself in a terrible jam
Way down yonder in Iran
So put down your phone and pick up a gun,
We're gonna have a whole lotta fun!
CHORUS
And it’s one, two, three,
What are we fighting for?
Don’t ask me, I don’t give a damn,
Next stop is Iran;
And it’s five, six, seven,
Open up the pearly gates,
There ain’t no time to wonder why,
WHOOP-EEEEE!!! We’re all gonna die!
Now, come on Wall Street, don't be slow,
That profit stream has got to flow.
There's so much money to be made
By supplying our side the tools of the trade,
Just hope and pray in all the fuss,
It don't blow back on us.
[CUT FOR TIME .... Now, come on generals, let’s move fast;
Your next big blunder’s come at last.
The only way that peace is won
Is to blow them all to kingdom come.
When we bomb a town, the survivors see
That we give them liberty!]
[ slower; this has weight]
Well, come on mothers throughout the land,
Pack your son off to Iran.
Come on fathers, don’t hesitate,
Send your daughter - don’t be late.
Be the first one on your block
To have your kid come home in a box.
PERFORMANCE EXAMPLE
(original lyrics; we'll skip the delightfully profane intro):
(Country Joe was the real deal. He left us just this year:
https://www.vvaw.org/veteran/article/?id=4502 )
"We make the moment/We lift the room/We sing with connection/We lead with love."
