You Don't Have The Right
from: I Hear Your Voice
I have some friends in Seattle who were illegally arrested and detained for nearly a week at the old Sand Point Naval Stateion on Lake Washington. They had been peacefully protesting the World Trake Organization Conference in Seattle. Eighteen months later, as the Free Trade of the Americas Agreement was being ratified in Quebec, Canada, I heard of similar incidents. However, it was worse in Canada. The authorities actually shot peaceful protesters. I cannot stand by idly as some shortsighted politicians hand our bill or rights over to the highest corporate bidder.
Sitting in your office chairs inside your corporate towers
Making treaties with yourselves that take away our powers
Profit is your motive but you don't stop to realize
The cost of all your business on other peoples' lives
And we say:
Chorus:
"You don't have the right to make these choices for us
You don't have the right to take these choices, choices from us
You don't have the right to take our voices from us
You don't have the right to make these choices, choices for us"
You hide behind the smokescreen of the media machine
You make sure your voice is heard but your face is never seen
Free Trade and Globalization are the buzzwords that you use
To hide the horrors you create and the damage that you do
And we say:
"You don't have the right to make these choices for us
You don't have the right to take these choices, choices from us
You don't have the right to take our voices from us
You don't have the right to make these choices, choices for us"
If there's a law that's in your way, you just strike it down
You buy off heads of government and the leaders of our town
And if we break the silence you try hard to see us fail
You make our speech a crime so you can put us all in jail
And we say:
"You don't have the right to make these choices for us
You don't have the right to take these choices, choices from us
You don't have the right to take our voices from us
You don't have the right to make these choices, choices for us"
Miner in South Africa, weavers in Nepal
Farmers in El Salvador, corporations want them all
But economic slavery is a crime that we must fight
Working people 'round the world must join hands and unite us
As we say:
"You don't have the right to make these choices for us
You don't have the right to take these choices, choices from us
You don't have the right to take our voices from us
You don't have the right to make these choices, choices for us"
Sitting in your office chairs inside your corporate towers
Making treaties with yourselves that take away our powers
Profit is your motive but you don't stop to realize
The cost of all your business on other peoples' lives
And we say:
Chorus:
"You don't have the right to make these choices for us
You don't have the right to take these choices, choices from us
You don't have the right to take our voices from us
You don't have the right to make these choices, choices for us"
You hide behind the smokescreen of the media machine
You make sure your voice is heard but your face is never seen
Free Trade and Globalization are the buzzwords that you use
To hide the horrors you create and the damage that you do
And we say:
"You don't have the right to make these choices for us
You don't have the right to take these choices, choices from us
You don't have the right to take our voices from us
You don't have the right to make these choices, choices for us"
If there's a law that's in your way, you just strike it down
You buy off heads of government and the leaders of our town
And if we break the silence you try hard to see us fail
You make our speech a crime so you can put us all in jail
And we say:
"You don't have the right to make these choices for us
You don't have the right to take these choices, choices from us
You don't have the right to take our voices from us
You don't have the right to make these choices, choices for us"
Miner in South Africa, weavers in Nepal
Farmers in El Salvador, corporations want them all
But economic slavery is a crime that we must fight
Working people 'round the world must join hands and unite us
As we say:
"You don't have the right to make these choices for us
You don't have the right to take these choices, choices from us
You don't have the right to take our voices from us
You don't have the right to make these choices, choices for us"
© 2001, 2003 Joe Jencks