Lyrics

Daring to speak against the war machine
To stop the destruction of innocent beings
From the streets of New York City to Washington D.C.
We’re sending an urgent warning
We are students, teachers, firemen, nuns
Waitresses, veterans, daughters and sons
And we’re marching through the streets
With our banners and dreams
For a world built on justice instead of on greed

Chorus
And we say:
Turn off your TVs and the corporate news
Throw off their blanket of lies
It’s time to listen to some painful truths
For the sake of life
Let us rise

Martin Luther King was a very brave man
He stood up and spoke out against the war in Vietnam
And he said
Oh my mighty nation what have we done
By tryin’ to rule the world
’Cause we have the biggest bombs?

Chorus

On the shores of Manhattan
Thousands have died
As we remember in grief
We’re left wondering why
But are we honoring the fallen
By dropping cluster bombs
On Iraqi children who’ve done us no harm?

Chorus

In honor of Dr. King's Birthday Celebration at a church on Jerusalem Road . . . Sharleen Leahey sings "The Ballad of Martin Luther King" for a Baptist church congregation in Scotch Plains, New Jersey on January 27, 2011. The audience enthusiastically sings the chorus:

 

 

"I've been to the mountaintop . . .

Today I have a dream . . .

Let us never forget the words . . . 

Let us never forget the deeds . . . 

Let us never forget the dream of Martin Luther King"