'Save the Country' by Laura Nyro (1968) arr. Childs/Robbins

'Save the Country' by Laura Nyro - World Premiere arrangement
Performed by Choral Chameleon Ensemble
St Nicholas Roman Catholic Church, East Williamsburg, Brooklyn, Jan 2020

This choral adaptation for Choral Chameleon of Nyro's legendary 1968 protest song, by Ensemble tenor Matt Robbins, is built on Billy Childs' arrangement of the song on his 2014 Album 'Map to the Treasure: Reimagining Laura Nyro'.

Lyrics:
Come on, people
Come on, children,
Come on down to the glory river
Gon’ wash you up
Gon’ wash you down
Gonna lay the devil down
Gonna lay that devil down

Come on, people,
Come on, children,
There’s a king at the glory river
And the precious king, he loved the people to sing
Babes in the blinking sun sang “we shall overcome”

I got fury in my soul
Fury’s gonna take me to the glory goal
In my mind, I won’t study war no more
Save the people
Save the children
Save the country

We shall overcome
We shall overcome
We shall overcome someday
Oh, deep in my heart, I do believe
That we shall overcome some day

Come on, people,
Sons and mothers,
Keep the dream of the two young brothers
I’m gonna take that dream and ride that dove
We could build a dream with love
We could build a dream with love, I know
We can build a dream with love

Ensemble:
Annie Beliveau
Mia Farinelli
Matthew Finkel
Kameron Ghanavati
Kelly Baxter Golding
Jared Graveley
Rod Hines
Tegan Miller
Vince Peterson
Molly Rabuffo
Matt Robbins
Alyssa Venora

Video by Jacob McCoy

www.choralchameleon.com
Ensemble I Chorus I Institute