Song at Bandcamp: https://katherineparent.bandcamp.com/track/smoking-gun

About the Song: I wrote a PhD dissertation about white Lutherans and racism in MN, and at almost every meeting my professor would tell me that I would "never find a smoking gun" of proof. In a lot of the histories by white authors that I read, the denial went so deep that it was disorienting. I started writing this song to affirm what I knew was true.
Smoking Gun 

He leans back in his easy chair
Says, "I can't deny what has been done...
but you need more proof! It's not quite there
And you'll never find a smoking gun..."

These big white lies on every page
Find a nicer word for "hit and run"
If you tell enough you change the frame
To a hole the shape of a smoking gun

(No one here pulled the trigger!
Better get your facts straight, hun
Yeah so buy it, we deny there's
Ever been a smoking gun)

Who bought the shares? Who planned the war?
Oh my ancestors, what have you done?
It's the same old tale you told before:
that the other side "had a smoking gun"

(All the big shots made a killin'
We're still trying to hide the fun
Point the finger, still it lingers
This whole town's a smoking gun)

So fan the flame and spread the smoke
Try to silence every truthful tongue
But it's obvious, the whole world knows
That America is a smoking gun

creditsreleased October 16, 2020
Original song by Katherine Parent
Produced by SEE MORE PERSPECTIVE

© all rights reserved

About the Song: This song speaks to what I think when I hear folks say that white people don't have to do racial justice work because it doesn't affect them.

About the Artist:  Simpson has been singing and chanting for racial justice since 1999, and is grateful in specific to Curtis Muhammad and Dr. Ruth Nicole Brown for their visionary mentorship. elizaBeth kicked off the Urbana, IL chapter of SURJ in 2013, and is happy to say that, fueled by the dedication of Abby Schrantz, in November their chapter is celebrating six months of holding weekly #endwhitesilence events in their small and mighty town.

Lyrics

John Brown, by Driftwood Soldier

I picked up John Brown east of Elko
In the shade of a low overpass
He said 'I lost my body in old West Virginia
but I can still throw in for gas'

This world's full of trouble and strangeness
It'll wear you down and leave you numb
But I won't pretend that I wasn't surprised
To meet a dead man traveling by thumb

Chorus
There's a wind in the north, in the east, in the west
It's the sound of the breath being torn from your chest
There's a wind from the south, whips the flag on its pole
It's the sound of John Brown's uneasy soul

He was good as his word when we filled up the tank
Bought me a two dollar scratch off and coffee as well
And as I worked my nickel for nothing 
I wondered what stories a dead man can tell

I said 'John, what unfinished business
Keeps you so long from the grave
'He said 'I swore I'd never rest easy
while another soul lived as a slave'

Chorus

I said 'John, slavery's over
And Jim Crow's been dead fifty years
'He said, 'You can believe what you wanna believe
But the fact remains that I'm still here.'

The amber waves lapped on the shores of the mountains
The purple peaks hidden in snow
I left John Brown by Mount Sunflower, Kansas
And went where I needed to go. 

Chorus

He called me that winter from Memphis,
And again the next fall from Big Bend
Then some bills went unpaid and my phone number changed
And I guess that's the way that things end

But John wasn't wrong, it's been true all along
We built this whole country on labor we stole
And we just keep stealing, so I've got a feeling
I'll die like John Brown with an uneasy soul

Chorus

About the Song: 

'John Brown' is an original song by West Philly mandolin-bass gutter-folk duo Driftwood Soldier. It was written in the summer of 2020 as part of the Cultural Creation for Collective Liberation project hosted by the national body of Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) .

Reflecting on songs like 'John Brown's Body' and 'Joe Hill', we thought about the way radical voices for justice killed by the state have been celebrated as still leading from beyond the grave. We're (relatively) young, and already we're tired. Wherever the spirit of John Brown is walking we imagine he's beyond exhausted. We owe him the chance to finally rest easy. 

To find out more about Driftwood Soldier, and hear our recent album, Stay Ahead of the Wolf, go to: https://www.driftwoodsoldier.com/ or follow on instagram at @driftwoodsoldier. 

This song is based on the words of Anne Braden. 

Lyrics: Do you even know you have a choice / You do have a choice / You don’t have to be a part of the world of the lynchers / You can join the Other America.

About the Artist: ​ALLISON BEYER is a singer songwriter, deeply proud and passionate about being a Michigander and okay with living in Indiana now. She is grateful and humbled to share this space with such talented and dedicated people. Her music is based in the Christian spiritual tradition.

Recorded socially distanced in a gymnasium with masks all around and one mic...such a great time but a little rough on the audio. Inspired by the SURJ prompts to bring in some instruments and sounds that my fore-mamas and papas might have played and the prompt, "What would it mean to be white in a world free from white supremacy?"

Free For More

I could let go of the guilt, stop being defensive
Share a meal with my uncles, without apprehension
Sit down with neighbors to watch the sunset
without all the tension of unasked questions
about who's on which side
The Whole Justice Department would be let go on furlough
History teachers would be our national heroes
Streets would be named for the people who made them
And the land that sustains us we'd reverence as sacred
We'd all be on the same side, same fight
We'd all be walking the same line, same time
We'd all be giving our all
Freed from fear
Freed for each other
Freed for more
I could stop keeping tabs on my husband as he goes around town
Because there'd be no more risk of driving while brown
I'd take heart, know my children'd be judged by their character
There'd be parades, no more raids
Playgrounds 'stead of cages
We could hold hands in a church or pass notes in a school room
Let go of the terror of any chance of a shooting
There'd be no more cop killings, there'd be no more looting
We'd have what we need
We'd invest in our healing
We'd all be on the same side, same fight
We'd all be walking the same line, same time
We'd all be giving our all
Freed from fear
Freed for each other
Freed for more
​
Credits
Songs for SURJ
Cameron Cortens, CSC: Accordion
Julian Druffner, CSC: Mandolin
Devon Sproule co-write (chorus!)

About the Artist: DEVON SPROULE teaches songwriting & guitar at The Front Porch in Charlottesville, VA. She used to tour a lot but nowadays is home more and relishing becoming more involved in her local community — specifically: music mentoring, bird watching, and dismantling white supremacy. She grew up at Twin Oaks, an intentional community in Louisa County, VA. https://devonsproule.com/

Art by Leah Jo Carnine. 

About the Song: This is a community singing round based off of a quote by Anne Braden. ​

About the Artist: elizaBeth Simpson has been singing and chanting for racial justice since 1999, and is grateful in specific to Curtis Muhammad and Dr. Ruth Nicole Brown for their visionary mentorship. elizaBeth kicked off the Urbana, IL chapter of SURJ in 2013, and is happy to say that, fueled by the dedication of Abby Schrantz, in November their chapter is celebrating six months of holding weekly #endwhitesilence events in their small and mighty town.

Recorded in my basement with a baby rattle.
Sing along!

Lyrics
When you're healed, I'm healed
When you're whole, I'm whole
When you're safe, I'm safe
When you're free, I'm free

When you can breathe, I can breathe
When you win, I win
When you're fed, I'm fed

We have everything to gain

When you're healed, I'm healed
When you're whole, I'm whole
When you're safe, I'm safe
When you're free, I'm free

When you can breathe, I can breathe
When you win, I win
When you feel respect, I feel respect

We have everything to gain

When you're healed, I'm healed
When you're whole, I'm whole
When you're safe, I'm safe
When you're free I'm free

When you can breathe, I can breathe
When you win, I win
When you're home, I'm home

We have everything to gain

Songs for SURJ
Co-written with Devon Sproule

​About the Artist: ALLISON BEYER is a singer songwriter, deeply proud and passionate about being a Michigander and okay with living in Indiana now. She is grateful and humbled to share this space with such talented and dedicated people. Her music is based in the Christian spiritual tradition.