Homelessness
Tune & Lyrics by Lou and Peter Berryman, 2005
I never dreamed I’d ever be without a home to comfort me
’Til a friend of mine this very spring, lost his whole house and everything
So now I know that life is strange, that all is luck, and luck can change
And don’t forget it’s sad but true, the next time ’round it could be you!
One runaway truck, one slip in the muck, one stretch of bad luck/ Homeless
One family feud, one litigious old prude, one long bad mood/ Homeless
One toaster too hot, one investment that’s not, one tiny blood clot/ Homeless
One decision on gin, one pay check too thin, one dumb night of sin/ Homeless
My poor old pal is on the street; it’s extra sad ’cause he’s so sweet
But even if he were a creep, the lug should have a place to sleep.
So anyway it’s really true, the next time ’round it could be you
And when you say how can that be, it could be worse, it could / be / me!
One letter too strong, one adventure gone wrong, one sick leave too long/ Homeless
One knock on the door, one slippery floor, one nuclear war/ Homeless
One slip of the pen, one downsizing trend, one backstabbing friend/ Homeless
One identity thief, one flaky belief, one slice of bad beef/ Homeless
Once I did agree with you that fiscal plans make dreams come true
Now I know that that was nuts, that fate is king and fate’s / a / putz!
For now I’d say that you’d be smart to squirrel away a shopping cart
And if they ever change your locks …
Mi cardboard box, su card / board / box,
My cardboard box, your card … board … box!

Voting Rights
Tune: “Battle Hymn of the Republic”
Lyrics by Vicki Ryder, Marguerite Coyle, Rebecca Alwin
We’re the Raging Grannies and it’s turning our hair gray
These legislative plots to take our voting rights away
Our mothers fought to vote and now we fight again today!
Not one step back! No way!
Voting's how we make our choices, Voting's how they hear our voices
We want a true democracy with voting rights for all!
Not one step back! No way!
They want to take us back in time when owners ruled the land
When women, blacks, and poor folks from the voting booths were banned
But this is our democracy and this is our demand:
Not one step back! No way!
Voting's how we make our choices, Voting's how they hear our voices
We want a true democracy with voting rights for all!
Not one step back! No way!
We’ve got to get together, young, old, brown and black and white,
The unemployed and union folks, and work with all our might,
To show these power brokers that we’ll fight to keep our rights.
Not one step back! No way!
Voting's how we make our choices, Voting's how they hear our voices
We want a true democracy with voting rights for all!
Not one step back! No way!

Kidneys for Tuition
Tune: Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
Lyrics: Granny Gail Sredanovic, revised by Joy Morgen, Rebecca Alwin & Kathy Miner
If you can’t pay tu-i-tion, we have got a tip for you
Just go and sell a kid-ney, you need only one, not two!
You need an ed-u-cation, not a pile of student debt
Find a buyer for your kid-ney, financial needs will be offset
Tuition’s steep and though you save, it will not be enough
Tax cuts for the wealthy/ have made your life so very rough
The fu-ture is on the line here, and you need to be debt free
Getting an ed-u-cation, should not be a misery
Your kidney’s a small sacrifice, the rich can’t be de-prived
Or we won’t get that trickle down on which they say we all will thrive
So / thank you for un-derstanding Right Wing budgets can’t help you
Just go and sell a kidney, you need only one, not two!