These songs are for Lior, Julia, Allison, Ian, Ruth, Meghan, and Maya, and all children everywhere, and the adults who follow in their footsteps. released 18 July 2012 Words and music, vocals, guitar, flute, trumpet, trombone, kazoo, cello, and percussion by Amy Glaser (except where noted). This album would not have been possible without the input, creativity, hard work, singing, playing, love and support of a gaggle of friends. First, my deepest thanks goes to Mark Oglesby for his commitment to the project over the past year, and for being so incredibly careful, patient and thorough through hours and hours of recording and editing. Mark is a living demonstration of young people's great potential for competency and wisdom. Thank you next to my dear friends Kevin Svara (banjo), Jason Hitchcock (guitar), and Chris Wimberley (electric bass) for playing and singing on Neon and Rainbows. And to Kevin and Jason specifically for the love and encouragement that they provide most evenings on the front porches of C St. Thanks to all the terrific kid singers on Kids for President in 2012!: Andre Timblin, Jewelles Espada, Maya and Ian Phillips, Kevin and Alan Berrios, Kimberly DeBerry, Naima Harrell, and Lorin Kaplan; and to the count-to-10ers on Words are Just Sounds: Ariana Vigil (Spanish), Kevin and Alan Berrios (Spanish), Nolwenn Renault (French), NneNne Onwughalu (Igbo), Ajay Bhatt (Hindi), Carla Cederbaum (German), Dorit Bar-On and Leah Bar-On Simmons (Hebrew). Much gratitude goes to Albert Thrower for taking the pictures and inspiring the album artwork. Finally, thank you to Chris Wimberley (for mixing), Nightsound Studios and everyone there who stepped in to help with the project, and to Dave Kampel of Magnetic West Audio (for mastering). ALBUM LYRICS 1. Kids for President in 2012! Kids for President in 2012! Adults, you’ve proven you can’t run the world by yourself. Kids for President in 2012. You may be bigger than we, but fewer years here makes us more free To reinvent the world how we all want it to be. We have yet to see what kids can really be. Society keeps y’all oppressed, unmotivated, unfree. But we (you) could be the needed energy. We’re (you’re) good at living life with wow, better at being in the now. Yes, kids could be the energy we all need. We’d start by feeding hungry kids, and buying books instead of weapons. And we’d make schools effective tools for loving who you are inside you. Children will be seen and heard and listened to, nothing less! 'Childish' and 'immature' will connote greatness, fearlessness. Your repressed inner-child will come back to life, thanking us. They’d replace arrogance and greed, with curiosity. We’ll take seriously hilarity and creativity. That we’ve been here less time than you means less past to work through. Harmful norms are less entrenched in us than in you. We don’t have xenophobia or false dogmas to undo. And being less set in your ways makes you more able to change, And change is what we all agree the world needs. Yes, change is what we all agree the world needs. You may be bigger than we, but we are endless possibility To reinvent the world how we all want it to be. Kids for President in 2012! Kids for President in 2012! We’d make it okay to cry. We’d make adults play more outside. Kids for President in 2012! 2. Portabella Pesto Pasta I’m a vegan! I don’t eat chicken, cows, or bears. When I tell people this, I get incredulous stares. They can’t believe I’m living, They eat mostly dead meat. So I made up this list To tell them things I like to eat. Well I eat eggplant-lentil-sweet-potato pizza, Coconut curry and tehini with miso, Bread bowls filled with green split-pea soup, Portabella pesto pasta. And I eat barbequed tempeh black bean tacos, Guacamole dip with crispy nachos, Strawberries dipped in sweet dark chocolate, Portabella pesto pasta. (I’m a vegan!...I don’t eat chicken.) Well I eat hummus and tabouli with a drop of olive oil, Roasted garlic that I wrap in tin foil, Basil and tomato with balsamic vinegar and oil, Portabella pesto pasta. I’m a vegan... 3. Everybody Has a Body Some people have feet attached to their toes. Some people have eyes above their nose. Some people have thumbs and knuckles And knees and legs And a mouth to shout, “wahoo!” Some people’s feet don’t touch the ground. Some people’s eyes don’t look around. Some people’s ears don’t hear Or their mouths don’t talk, Or their knees don’t straighten and bend. chorus: But everybody Has a body, And everyone’s body Has someone in it. And the way our bodies are is just One of many possible Ways they might have been. Nobody has a pizza for a face. Nobody can jump to outer space. But wouldn’t it be silly if Everybody had a Basketball for a butt. We’d learn to bounce With our knees up high, Down flights of stairs Or off of chairs Or somewhere safe outside. Some people’s ears are filled with hair. Some people’s heads are mostly bare. Some people can roll their tongue or Cross their eyes or win Races in a chair. Some people use fingertips to read. Some people have braces on their teeth. Some people have skinny arms, fat lips, Short legs, wide hips, Or freckles on their toes. [chorus] Nobody’s body is made of sand. Nobody has a light bulb for a hand. But wouldn’t it be silly if Everybody had an Eye at the end of their thumb. We’d be able to look In difficult places, Like under the bed, Behind our heads, Or right back at our faces. Some people have feet attached to their toes. Some people have eyes above their nose. Some people have thumbs and knuckles And knees and legs And a mouth to shout, “wahoo!” 4. Words are Just Sounds One, two, three, four, five, six Seven, eight, nine, ten. There are numbers everywhere, They go on without end. Numbers can be useful, Or they can just be fun. Now let’s turn around and count back down From ten, nine, eight…to one. Ten, nine, eight, seven, six Five, four, three, two, one. That’s how we count when rockets launch Or racers start to run. Sometimes Dad counts tiles, Mom counts the eggs in dough. We count the years since we were born And the inches of the snow. But some people still are babies. When they hear us count, The words are just as meaningless As silly, jumbled sounds, Like flip flopple gloop glop Frizzle bizz bo bum Wappy tappy yoopy doo Chackawhack chick chock ho hum. Sometimes bigger people Forget words are just sounds Or spots of ink or graphite or chalk If we decide to write them down. But when we say “I love you,” or “Waiter, there’s a hair!” It’s hard to think that all we do Is send sound waves through the air. But number names and letters, Promises, lies, and news, They’re all just patterns of the sounds That we know how to use, Like flip flopple gloop glop Frizzle bizz bo bum Wappy tappy yoopy doo Chackawhack chick chock ho hum, and… One, two, three, four, five, six Seven, eight, nine, ten. Counting up is fun to do, So let’s count up again. (Spanish) Uno, dos, tres, Cuatro, cinco, seis, Siete, ocho, Neuve, diez. (French) Un, deux, trois, quatre, cinq, six, Sept, huit, neuf, dix. (Igbo) Ofu, ịbụa, ịtọ, ịnọ, ise, isii, isa, Ịsatọ, itenani, ili. (Hindi) Ek, do, teen, chaar, paaNnch, chhah, Saat, AATh, nao, das. (German) Eins, zwei, drei, vier, fünf, sechs, Sieben, acht, neun, zehn. (Hebrew) Echat, shtayim, shelosh, arba, Chamesh, shesh, sheva, shmoneh, Tesha, eser, V’shuv lahatchalah... One, two, three, four, five, six Seven, eight, nine, ten. Counting up is fun to do, So let’s count up again... 5. The Balpha-et Song J Q B D Y F L H A O M S U I R N E W K P X Z V C T G. Me with sing you won't time next. JQBs my know I now. 6. Be Still Be still like the moon’s Reflection in a quiet pond. Be still like the room When everyone is gone. Be still deep inside you, In between your heart and stomach. Be still in your spine, And be still in your mind. Inhale in your dreams, And exhale out your troubles. Inhale in your hopes, And exhale out your fear. Be still like the moon’s Reflection in a quiet pond. Be still like the room When everyone is gone. 7. People are Animals People are animals, but not bugs. People are animals who like hugs. Some animals walk, and some animals cry. Some animals talk, and some animals sigh. People are animals, but not bugs. People are animals who like hugs. Some animals creep, and some animals frown. Some animals sleep hanging upside down. People are animals, but not bugs. If bugs liked hugs, there’d be six-legged bug hugs. Some animals think, and some animals dream. Some animals drink, some swim upstream. People are animals, but not bugs. People are animals who like hugs. Some animals sing, and some animals slurp. Some animals sting, and some animals burp. People are animals, but not bugs. People are animals who like hugs. 8. Thirty-five Things I Do When I Don't Watch T.V. Thirty-five things I do when I don’t watch T.V. My brain likes these things more than T.V. for me. Watching T.V. is so passive, you can do it in bed. Here are thirty-five things that I like to do instead. I like to eat watermelon and Spit out the seeds, Look up at the stars While I spin till I’m dizzy. I like to play hopscotch And card games and Clue, And I like to do art Made of sticks, leaves and glue. I like cooking from recipes And making leftovers soup. I like writing letters And practicing my hula hoop. These thirty-five things I do when I don’t watch T.V., They don’t have commercials to make me want more things. They don’t keep me complacent with pop culture hype, And they don’t promote unhealthy stereotypes. I put glue on my feet, And then I make glitter footprints. I like to melt chocolate And dip chunks of fruit in it. I like to drum pots Or sing by a fire, And I like to ride bikes After inflating my tires. I cut pictures from magazines, And I collect cool rocks. I make wind chimes from recycling And puppets from socks. Perhaps those who watch television don’t know What goes on in their brains when they’re watching their shows. I don’t much like T.V. I got rid of mine. Now many more wonderful things fill my time. I swing on tall swing sets. I read books by myself. I play the banjo, And I once built a small bookshelf. I make fruity nut-bars, And I tie-dye my clothes. I do hundred-piece puzzles, And I facepaint my nose. I like to walk barefoot Through puddles in rain. And I like to fly kites And paper airplanes. Thirty-five things I do when I don’t watch T.V. My brain likes these things more than T.V. for me. Living real life is better than watching it on screen, Throw out your T.V., and you’ll see what I mean. 9. The Last Drop Save the last drop of oil for me! Cause I’m gonna wanna be free To ride in a car, Vacation afar, And eat vegetables from overseas. How could that be less than fair? What do you mean we take more than our share? To sustain life like this, It’d take Earth times six, But we haven’t got five Earths to spare. Wait! Maybe there’s a solution. After all, we’re the chief cause of pollution. So let’s change our ways Like our attitude towards gays, Stop pretending we’re the end of evolution. We’ll harness the sun’s energy. We’ll stop with our frenzied spending. Make sensible choices, And use our voices For participatory democracy. We’ll value the valuable. We’ll practice sustainable. Instead of greed, we’ll be giving, Life will be more worth living, And we’ll understand reasonable. We’ll take our place among nations, Stop guzzling petroleum from gas stations. Then we’ll be free, We’ll be all we can be, And life itself will be like a vacation. 10. Flush Flush, flush, flush the poop away. Flush, flush, flush the pee away. Flush, flush, flush the poop away. Flush down the toilet paper too. You probably flush Each time you use a commode, But did you ever wonder, “Where does it go?” What’s underneath the toilet? It can’t just disappear. In fact, what you made this morning Must still exist somewhere... Well, it’s traveling through the ground Under houses streets and cars. It got there from long pipes that run Like straws inside your walls. It’s headed to the water treatment Plant where it will be Disinfected by bacteria And then returned to streams. The water’s in our homes for a small Fraction of a journey, From lakes and streams into our tubs, And then back out to sea. The clouds and rain are also made Of water from that cycle. So when you flush, remember that The water gets recycled. And flush, flush, flush... …Of course, some toilets don’t flush at all- They’re big holes in the ground. And some toilets you use by squatting, Not by sitting down. And while toilet paper’s viewed as So important in the West, Others clean themselves with water, Bet that leaves them feeling fresher. Some toilets compost poop, And that can help the garden grow. Even you can make “waste” less wasteful, Let it mellow when it’s yellow. So next time you’re on the pot, Take time to stop and think. And appreciate the water As it takes away your stink! 11. Neon and Rainbows Way, way back when you were in utero, People began asking, they needed (we need) to know! The answer to that troublesome, ill-defined question, Is it a boy or a girl? You see, people view people divided in two: Pretty in pink, or handsome in blue. Well it’s all so ridiculous if you ask me, Cause I’d rather wear neon and rainbows! chorus: Neon and rainbows on a skirt or a vest. Neon and rainbows on a suit or a dress. Neon and rainbows, I’ll wear what I please. Neon and rainbows, chromosomes won’t define me! We’ve made only two options where there could have been eight Imposed black and white boxes on kaleidoscopic traits Such as chromosomes and hormones, and hairiness and weight, Stature and posture, skin texture and strength. There’s the pitch of one’s voice, which for most kids is high, And there’s whether your goodies hang inside or outside. We’ve stamped out our queerness, let’s let it fly free! Let’s discard the labels and be who we wanna be. And I’m gonna wear... Neon and rainbows! [chorus]