We Are The Many - Makana

[cal04]

Run time: 05:25 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xq3BYw4xjxE   Posted on YouTube: November 11, 2011 By YouTube Member: MakanaVideos Views on YouTube: 1200   Posted on DU: November 13, 2011 By DU Member: cal04 Views on DU: 3488

 
Hawaiian Guitarist Wears ‘Occupy With Aloha’ Shirt While Playing For Obama, Other World Leaders

(snip)
Hawaiian guitarist Makana, who had previously played at the White House in 2009, was slated to play at the gala. Rather than play his normal routine, Makana decided to make a statement. He opened his suit jacket to reveal a shirt that read “Occupy Aloha.” He then proceeded to play a protest ballad title “We Are the Many,” wherein he blasted corporate lobbyists and called on Americans to occupy “the streets.” He played this protest song for 45 minutes in a room full of the world’s elite.

http://thinkprogress.org/special/2011/11/13/367283/hawaiian-guitarist-wears-occupy-with-aloha-shirt-while-playing-for-obama-other-world-leaders/

[jonthebru]

1. Just a few pertinent talking points

set to rhyme by this great creative man.
Listen and learn... and use the information.

[msongs]

2. those people just thought of him as a busboy with a guitar, irrelevant to their rapacious plans nt

[sce56]

3. Makana's Interview on CNN

http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/bestoftv/2011/11/13/mann-makana-occupy-with-aloha-apec.cnn#/video/bestoftv/2011/11/13/mann-makana-occupy-with-aloha-apec.cnn

[garybeck]

7. kr

[bluetexas]

4. Download the free MP3

at http://makanamusic.com

“I am, by default, participating in a fierce competition for democratic expression;
meaning that I, the citizen, compete with giant corporations for influence
over government policy, and the determining factor of such is a politician,
who is nothing more than another competitor in such a system,
and that his or her choices are swayed by capital, which in terms of amount,
there can be no comparison: I have little and the corporations have much.

But I have a voice. Lend me your ear.” – Makana

[Dover]

5. Beautiful! It seems the Occupy movement WILL have a soundtrack

It's one thing to stand with a group, and quite another to stand alone facing one's fears and the darkness in the face. A courageous, talented and beautiful light... a beacon for us all.

Here's some more on this story:
http://thinkprogress.org/special/2011/11/13/367283/hawaiian-guitarist-wears-occupy-with-aloha-shirt-while-playing-for-obama-other-world-leaders/

I hope more in the media pick up on this amazing story and hope many more will hear his song.


From his website

HONOLULU: November 12, 2011--
The "We Are The Many" story portrays the history and highlights of people's struggles for progress, justice, equality and integrity of the public interest over 200+ years of US history leading to the situation today.
Inspired by the likes of Woody Guthrie and folk protest music in general, Makana wanted to contextualize the ongoing nature of citizens having to stand up for community and rights. Integrating his music and diverse imagery with some basic approaches to dealing with imbalances, hardships and corruption presents a compelling and inspiring experience.

Makana was motivated in part by his recent trip to New York City where he explored the Occupy Wall Street protests and came across an article in the New York Times by James C. McKinley Jr. "At the Protests, the Message Lacks a Melody". It quotes Tom Morello stating "Every successful movement has a soundtrack" and decries the lack of an "anthem" for OWS.
What is an artist to do? "We Are The Many" is available on Youtube and as a free MP3 download on Makanamusic.com. Invitation is extended to view, share and embed the video for all audiences.
Thank you for your interest and concern for the functioning and improvement of our
society.

Links:
We Are The Many video on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xq3BYw4xjxE

Abbreviated link to YouTube video: http://bit.ly/we-are-the-many
Higher quality video on Vimeo: http://www.vimeo.com/makana/ows

"At the Protests, the Message Lacks a

Melody": http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/19/arts/music/occupy-wall-street-protest-lacks-ananthem.
html?_r=2
Artist Website: http://www.makanamusic.com
###

[emcguffie]

11. Here are the lyrics.

They're like a blast from the past, from the great progressive era.


We Are The Many

Ye 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

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, but they are not like you and me
Their influence dictates legality
And until they are stopped we are not free

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

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

We occupy the streets
We occupy the courts
We occupy the offices of you
Till you do
The bidding of the many, not the few

You can’t divide us into sides
And from our gaze, you cannot hide
Denial serves to amplify
And our allegiance you can’t 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

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

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

We are the many
You are the few

[James48]

6. Looks like he made the mainstream news

This just popped up over on Yahoo-

http://news.yahoo.com/singer-crashes-obama-summit-occupy-song-212243354.html

[GarH]

8. Oh Yeah!!!!

We found our Anthem!!!!!!!!!!!!

[joanbarnes]

9. Mahalo Brother Makana!

[harvey007]

10. Circulate this song worldwide

It's a great anthem for the "Occupy Movement" or whatever it evolves into....

[emcguffie]

12. The Lyrics (I posted them in the wrong place, see above)

We Are The Many

Ye 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

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, but they are not like you and me
Their influence dictates legality
And until they are stopped we are not free

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

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

We occupy the streets
We occupy the courts
We occupy the offices of you
Till you do
The bidding of the many, not the few

You can’t divide us into sides
And from our gaze, you cannot hide
Denial serves to amplify
And our allegiance you can’t 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

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

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

We are the many
You are the few