Music
Some things are easier to feel than to explain. These songs, written and recorded by Barak Water, carry the same ideas as the rest of the site: what's unfair about how things work now, why it doesn't have to stay that way, and an invitation to build something better together.
The songs play from this site, so listening sends nothing to third parties.
1. Why Should One Man
About this song
A country song about a simple question. If pay really measured the value of work, the people who care for our children and grow our food would be among the best paid. Instead, many of them can barely get by. The song doesn’t blame anyone for being good at what they do. It asks why we accept an economy that rewards so differently, and what it would mean to make it democratic. I was moved to write this song after learning how much professional athletes are paid, compared with teachers, daycare workers, and farmworkers.
Lyrics
Well, I've heard that what you're paid's a measure of the work you do,
And I guess that I could live with that if it was really true.
But I don't see no daycare workers living in Beverly Hills,
And the ones who pick our food cannot afford their plates to fill.
Why should one man who can throw a ball
Live like a king and be above the law,
While someone else who teaches our children
Must work three jobs to live at all?
Some folks are good at making money grow by calling on the phone,
And it's true there are a few get rich by hard work alone.
But that don't mean that we have justice in this land we call our own,
'Cause there's millions working just as hard that can't afford a home.
Why should one man who can throw a ball
Live like a king and be above the law,
While someone else who teaches our children
Must work three jobs to live at all?
Well, I'm glad we got the right to vote and speak what's on our mind,
But that's a hollow kind of freedom when the dollar owns your time.
If we don't wake up and democratize this whole economy,
Then we're nothing but a band of slaves deluded that we're free.
Why should one man who can throw a ball
Live like a king and be above the law,
While someone else who teaches our children
Must work three jobs to live at all?
While someone else who teaches our children
Must work three jobs to live at all?
2. Why Shouldn't We
About this song
People once said that humans would never fly, and that ordinary people could never govern themselves. Someone said, “Wait a second, it doesn’t have to be this way,” and we’re glad they did. This song asks the same question about how we live and work together: we have enough for everyone to thrive, so why shouldn’t we build something better? When will we start to treat our societies the same way we treat technology? We create both. We constantly strive to make better computers, so why not better societies?
Lyrics
I look around me at the world, it makes me want to cry,
We've run so frantic, chasing our own tails until we die.
Owner, worker, landlord, tenant, soldier, banker, chase the pennant,
Never question why we do it, that's just how we've always done it.
Never mind the pain it causes, never mind the hate it fosters,
That's just the way it is, that's just the way it is, they say.
But not so long ago, everybody seemed to know
That man was never meant to fly,
Having not wings nor eagle eye,
And democracy could never be,
They thought it plain to see,
Till someone said, “Now wait a sec,
It doesn't have to be this way.”
Aren't you glad they did?
So why shouldn't we?
Why shouldn't we?
We have enough of everything for all of us to thrive,
And yet some hoard more than they need while others can't survive.
Owners, bosses call the shots for workers, homeless, struggling have-nots,
Engineering techno-wonders, socially repeating blunders,
Blindly chasing profit margins,
Leaving hearts in lonely dungeons.
That's just the way it is, that's just the way it is, they say.
But not so long ago, everybody seemed to know
That man was never meant to fly,
Having not wings nor eagle eye,
And democracy could never be,
They thought it plain to see,
Till someone said, “Now wait a sec,
It doesn't have to be this way.”
Aren't you glad they did?
So why shouldn't we?
Why shouldn't we?
We look upon the world of matter seeking better ways;
It's time to change the world of man in search of better days.
Partners, peers and co-creators,
Working, loving without status,
Let us build new kinds of cities,
Sharing all the benefiting,
Loving in cooperation,
Working hard to end stagnation.
Let's form a brand new day,
Let's find a better way, I say,
'Cause not so long ago, everybody seemed to know
That man was never meant to fly,
Having not wings nor eagle eye,
And democracy could never be,
They thought it plain to see,
Till someone said, “Now wait a sec,
It doesn't have to be this way.”
Aren't you glad they did?
So why shouldn't we?
Why shouldn't we?
Why shouldn't we?
Why shouldn't we?
3. A New Wave Breaking
About this song
A song of invitation. The struggle just to survive takes over our lives, but something new is starting, like a wave a surfer sees rising. We can stand on the shore and watch it pass, or paddle out and take it. The age of dog-eat-dog can end, and together we can fill a cup that never runs dry. The Transition is something we can do, together, in the real world, to solve problems that neither governments nor the private sector can solve.
Lyrics
The struggle to survive takes over our lives; do we like it like that?
Will we live that way forever, when mediocrity consumes our liberty?
Will we keep our heads down, or will we fly up singing?
A new wave is breaking like nothing we've seen;
For those who will take it, it's a pipeline of dreams.
Will we stand on the shore and just watch it go by,
Or get on our boards and ride?
The age of dog-eat-dog is coming to an end;
There is no need to hog it, no need to pretend,
And together we will fill the cup that's never empty.
The time is now for the age of love and plenty.
A new wave is breaking like nothing we've seen;
For those who will take it, it's a pipeline of dreams.
Will we stand on the shore and just watch it go by,
Or get on our boards and ride?
Will you join us on our journey to unlock the power to be free?
Free!
A new wave is breaking like nothing we've seen;
For those who will take it, it's a pipeline of dreams.
Will we stand on the shore and just watch it go by,
Or get on our boards and ride?
Or get on our boards and ride?
I say, let's get on our boards and ride!
Ride!
More to watch: Videos, including short explanations and illustrated stories.