Promise Me (for Families Belong Together march)
Channel: Jen McClung
Date: 2018-07-01

Copyright 2018, Jen McClung
www.jenmcclung.com

June 30, 2018

Today, thousands of people from all faiths gathered together across the nation in support of migrant children who have been separated from their parents after Trump's "zero tolerance" policy went into effect in April. 

I was asked to sing a few songs at the Marshalltown, Iowa rally and ended up writing "Promise Me" as I sat and reflected the night before on how we arrived at such a sorry state of affairs where migrant children of all ages are forcibly removed from the care of their parents by our government and detained in warehouses and make-shift chain-link cages. 

As a mother, it breaks my heart in ways that are hard to put into words. I will never have to experience such loss firsthand because of the color of my skin and the privileges I have so I cannot say, "I understand". But my mother's heart floods with empathy and tries to comprehend in the best ways it can. 

This song belongs to the people, to anyone whose heart is breaking from wherever they stand within this issue - as a witness, as an ally, as someone who has been separated from their child. Please use it in whatever ways you find useful. Add verses, change the words I've already written, share it, sing it in your own way and in your own spaces, create a bridge or an extra line here or there. This song is yours just as much as it is mine. The story is all of ours.

xo
~Jen

Lyrics & Chords:

(capo at second fret)

Verse:
F / Am / F / C / G
These are crazy times when
We have to hide and
Reach out our hands in the dark
But light has a way of
Finding its way
Into the darkest of hearts

Chorus:
F / G / Am / C
Promise me you won’t let go (repeat)

Verse:
I am still here when
You’re over there and
Can’t hear the sound of my voice
Standing with love though
They’d rather hope grow
Love is my choice, it’s my choice

https://www.familiesbelongtogether.org/