Keep On Moving Forward / Sigamos Adelante

17 Nov Keep On Moving Forward / Sigamos Adelante

This song was part of Lisa’s 2020 The World We are Dreaming Playlist project, and all contributing artists gave their permission to have their songs from that playlist be added to this library. Individual parts recordings are not yet available.

Composer & Copyright

Original song copyright Emma’s Revolution.

Recording

Recorded by Emma’s Revolution with Melanie DeMore & Robin Burdulis.

Lyrics

Gonna keep on moving forward
Keep on moving forward
Keep on moving forward
Never turning back
Never turning back

Sigamos adelante
Siempre adelante (x2)
Sin volver atrás (x2)

Gonna keep on loving boldly
Keep on loving boldly (x2)
Never turning back (x2)

Amaremos con pasión
Siempre con pasión (x2)
Sin volver atrás (x2)

Gonna reach across our borders
Reach across our borders (x2)
Never turning back (x2)

Vivamos sin fronteras
Siempre sin fronteras (x2)
Sin volver atrás (x2)

Reunite the families (x3)
Never turning back (x2)

Familias reunidas
Siempre reunidas (x2)
Sin volver atrás (x2)

Gonna keep on moving forward
Keep on moving forward (x2)
Never turning back (x2)

Additional Credits

Spanish translation by Liliana Herrera and others
Recording by Emma’s Revolution (Pat Humphries and Sandy O) with Melanie DeMore and Robin Burdulis.

A Note About the Song from Pat Humphries: 

In the Summer of 1984, I headed East from the Cuyahoga Valley in Ohio and my  contract job organizing cultural programs with the Park Service to go to a little music  camp in the Hudson Valley. My job at the Park was becoming a full-time permanent  position and my boss wanted to know “what I wanted to do with my life.“ I was already  playing gigs on weekends singing traditional folk songs and songs written by Hazel  Dickens and others of my favorite songwriters at the time. But my dream was to  explore my lifelong desire to write songs. I told him I thought I wanted to be a  songwriter.  

I was planning to play at a “Take back the Night March” in Akron Ohio, when I got back  home from the camp. The rally was organized to bring attention to incidents of  violence against women and I hoped to write something at the music camp that I  could bring back to sing there.  

The songwriting workshop would be facilitated by Si Kahn and the building it was  housed in was perched on top what seemed like an insurmountable hill. Nervous  about what I might find there, l silently chanted to myself all the way up the path “ You  can’t turn back, you can’t turn back.” Once at the top, I found a circle of would-be  songwriters buzzing with excitement and curiosity. We sat in a circle and Si instructed  us each to say our names, where we had come from and what we hoped to achieve in  the workshop. After everyone had declared themselves, Si said “Take the next two  minutes and write a song “. A subtle panic overtook the otherwise enthusiastic  participants. Then we reluctantly complied. I quickly wrote down the long list of  important issues I wanted to write about, completing the list with the words, “Never turning back, never turning back.”  

The two minutes passed in a grueling instant as we each prepared to sing our “song”  to the class. One by one, each person in the circle performed their two-minute creations for the class. The songs varied from simple snippets of ideas to fully  developed song cycles. Si thoughtfully reviewed each new creation and asked the  class to sing along on the more coherent passages cementing the concept as a  workable piece of music. I didn’t hear the song from the person next to me as I was  frantically inventing a melody to fit my random list of concerns. When at last my turn  came, I mumbled my improvised tune ending the unformed phrase with a crystal  clear, melodic refrain, “Never turning back, never turning back.” Si asked me to repeat  the last two lines and invited the group to sing with me in harmony. In that moment,  we all knew we had something. When everyone had had a turn singing their new  song, Si said “Now, take the next ten minutes and finish the song.” With such a wealth  of time we all scattered across the surrounding landscape to complete our  compositions. Most of mine came in a lightning strike. Just the words I needed to  hear, “Gonna keep on walking forward, Keep on walking forward, Keep on walking  forward, Never turning back, Never turning back.” 

How Is this Song Creating the World We Want? 

To create the world we want, we have to create and build our commitment to that  vision, personally and collectively. We have to love ourselves and each other boldly,  believe in ourselves and each other passionately, sing loudly, take action and never  turn back from that vision. 

Teaching Notes

Coming soon!