freelansing in Seattle

For What It’s Worth was a classic song from Buffalo Springfield in 1965, but 50 years later I felt it could use a little updating. So in 2015 I wrote a new version that kept a lot of the original words but made a few changes in message. I posted an acapella version at the time, but never had the chance to do it with musical and rhythmic accompaniment until this week, with a little help from my friend Bryan Fabert.

So here’s the full musical version for the first time. If any musicians out there feel inspired to play and perform it, please feel free. I wrote it for it to be sung, and I don’t get out and sing in public much, so I’d be happy if anybody else wanted to sing it, anywhere, anytime.

Lyrics:
There’s something happening here
What it is seems pretty damn clear
There’s some men with all the money over there
Praying that we’re just not aware or don’t care
It’s time to stop this bullshit now
Everybody knows what’s going down

The battle lines have been drawn
And the Right always seems to be wrong
Those people are out of their minds
It’s time to leave that all behind
We gotta stop this bullshit now
Everybody knows what’s going down

The whole Earth is feeling the heat
So let’s join those people in the street
Singing songs & carrying signs
Declaring on behalf of humankind
We gotta stop this bullshit now
Everybody knows what’s going down

People power strikes deep
Once we stop acting like sheep
We gotta face our challenge unafraid
That’s how our future will be made
We gotta stop all the bullshit now
Everybody knows what’s going down
Let’s plant a new future now
Everybody get behind the plow

[C’mon folks, we can see what’s going on in our world & in our country
We’ve got ourselves a bit of a situation
And you know what? It won’t fix itself, so let’s rise to the occasion
Waking up like a beast from hibernation
Moving forward with self-determination
That’s my prayer for all my relations
So let’s get busy. We’ve got work to do.]

We gotta stop this bullshit now
Everybody knows what’s going down
Let’s plant a new future now
Everybody get behind the plow
And start to show them how
People gonna rise. Let’s do it now!