`Ballad of Harvey Milk'

(chorus)
He knew the straights would kill him
And many people sobbed
His murderer walked the street
But Harvey Milk lives on!

(verses)
He came from the East out to San Francisco
He hung with the people on a street they called Castro
He rapped with all the youth who marched against their War
He spread his love around, he mingled with the poor. (chorus)

He fought to be himself, he fought for the right to love
He linked arms with the people and sensed their vibration
He fought the Establishment, he went to City Hall
He united all his brothers and sisters and the poor. (chorus)

But the straights are all sore losers and their right-wing thugs have guns
And there are many men like Dan White who do not know how to love
And they want to push the people back into closets and off the streets
For they want us to be passive slaves and mask our deep feelings. (chorus)

So Dan White snuck into City Hall and gunned Harvey Milk right down
And although Harvey was not armed, his killer freely walked around
And the people then hit the streets, but the media made the jury blind
And Dan White got just 5 short years for taking Harvey’s life. (chorus)

He symbolized liberation, he symbolized equality
He symbolized the powerless and all those not yet free
They cut him down like cowards to stop the march of history
But the spirit of Harvey Milk still lives in you and me. (chorus)

The Ballad of Harvey Milk was written during the 1980s after seeing a documentary film about Harvey Milk’s life and his assassination during the 1970s.

To listen to the Ballad of Harvey Milk protest folk song, click on either of the following links:

http://www.last.fm/music/Bob+A.+Feldman/Biographical+Folk+Songs/Ballad+of+Harvey+Milk

http://www.mp3.com/artist/bobafeldman/summary/

For more information about Harvey Milk’s life and death, you can check out the following sites:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-U_owSvbn00

http://thecastro.net/milkpage.html

To listen to some other biographical protest folk songs, you can check out the “Columbia Songs for a Democratic Society” site at the following link:

http://www.myspace.com/bobafeldman68music

Next: The Village Voice Alternative Media Monopoly’s Hidden History—Part 1