Run Run
By Bennett Konesni
An original running song by Bennett Konesni, written originally for 350.org and the effort to convince our elected officials to take the issue of global overheating seriously.
Lyrics
Run run, run run
Run tell your Congressman (Congressman)
Run run, run run
Run tell your Congressman (Congressman)
Run run, run run
Run tell your Congressman (Congressman)
Run run, run run
Run tell your Congressman (Congressman)
Step it up, Step it up
Step it up, Step it up
Step it up, Step it up
Step it up, Step it up up up
Other verses
Run run, run run
run 'til the end of the road
Run run, run run
Run in the middle of the road
You can add President, Representitive, Neighbors and Friends etc etc.
Whoever you want to encourage to step it up. This one is ripe for inventing more lyrics as you go!
Don't forget: this has a call-and-response structure. The leader sings a line while the group breathes and jogs; the group echoes while the leader catches their breath.
The Story
Kido Kidolezi grew up singing and jogging in the Shinyanga region of Tanzania. At Middlebury College, he brought that tradition to a jogging chorus and it changed how I think about movement and music. The Tanzanian tradition is a slow jog, not a speed workout but a cardio workout, and the singing drives the breath in and out of the body with extraordinary efficiency.
I wrote "Run Run" in that spirit, with a direct political message: go tell your elected representative to step it up. It's personal. It's active. It's time to get it together.
I dedicate this song to Bill McKibben who was one of my mentors in college.