
SUMUD
There is a word in Arabic
Sumud
It means
Steadfast
Perseverance
Particularly
In Resistance
To the occupation of your homeland
I just want that thing
When voices join in harmony
And in that fleeting moment
When meaning coalesces there
All dark dissolving
Clouds the alleyways no more
And fresh bread scent of home
Pervades the air
No sandal soles
In dust of broken homes
Peep bloody from the garment hem
And all the big parades
And shock and awe
And swagger on the carrier deck
And medals jangle helpless
In the face of what is fair
Give me an Oh Yeaaaaaaaaaah!
Yeah! Give me an Oh Yeaaaaaah!
Oh yeah Oh , Oh yeah
Give me an Oh Yeaaaaaaaah
Join us, Join us in harmony
I remember you well
Where you stood where you fell
You were brutally slain
But your spirits remain.
Rachel Corrie and
Shireen Abu Akleh
Marielle Franco
Sophie Scholl
Ann Frank
Iman Al Hams
Many sisters from many lands
Oh my sisters,
Help me to open their eyes
From up in the Penthouse
We must all look like ants to them
Wake up motherfuckers
We are women and men
Well up unashamed
My bleeding heart
Give me an Oh Yeaaaaaaah.
Give me an Oh Yeaaaaaah.
Oh Yeah. Oh Yeah, Oh Yeah,
Give me an Oh Yeaaaaah!
Join us, join us,
Join us in harmony.
–
And then across the great divide
Come men and women unafraid
To dash in loss
Their bracelets at the wall
When voices join in harmony
And we turn the final page
When man evolves beyond the crass
And reason comes of age.
And Dogma
And Witchcraft
And Cant
And Propaganda
And Palantir
And Lockheed
And Grumman
And Chevron
And Exxon
And Pffizer
And the Oligarchs and Misers say
We’re sorry that we done it Mummy
We only done it for
The fucking money
Oh yeaaaaaah, just for the money
Oh yeaaaaaah, just for the cash.
When voices join in harmony
We will make a joyful sound
We will follow
Our own moral compass
We won’t let their sleight of hand trump us
We will find ten thousand new voices
In every crowd
And when all those new voices
Join us in harmony
Standing shoulder to shoulder
From the river to the sea
People from every nation
Will hear that joyful sound
Ordinary people
Just standing their ground
And together
These ordinary people,
Together
They will turn this ship around.
Oh Yeah
Together
Oh yeah
Together we will turn this ship around.
(Roger Waters copyright 2025)