Being part of a community based on sharing music through Creative Commons licenses has changed my life in enormous ways, expanding my world artistically, creatively, socially, professionally. I believe in the strength of our community’s voice to get this message across!

I would love to see these words picked up, not only in remixes, but if someone were to cover this track — that would be fabulous! (I would be thrilled to hear this as a rap. Originally, I wrote it as a rap but being so far from able to perform rap, you will find I provided something that is more like a chant with some harmonies.)

Not a lot of melody here but recorded with a scratch track chugging along in A.

All vocal parts uploaded individually (as well as a .zip file containing all for the sake of convenience).

FREEDOM IN MY VOICE

Pencil pushers pinching dimes
take my words take my rhymes
confuse the left with my right
my right to share or give away
my right to say how I say
it’s mine to give my words my art
it’s mine to give my songs my heart
not an invite to abuse
just permission to reuse
incorporate or to refine
chop it up and recombine.

These new choices I embrace
don’t shut me down this time of change
sing along and rejoice
there’s freedom in my voice.

These words are heard
these words are seen
connecting with communities
crossing time zones and vast seas
this is opportunity
a chance for discovery
rewards that rise through open source opening many doors.

This is gain not sacrifice
license as a device to decriminalize
let us realize together we can redefine the line between what’s yours and mine.

Special thanks to Echoed whose track Beat_08 was the click for recording.