The Solidarity Sing-Along gathered once again in the Wisconsin Capitol Rotunda on Thursday, December 15, continuing its tenth month of performances inside and outside the building. Expanding upon its repertoire of folk and labor classics, participants have been singing a variety of holiday songs this festive season, each with new lyrics referencing the ongoing political conflict consuming Wisconsin and the campaign to recall Gov. Scott Walker.
The chorus is getting ready to face down a new set of state policies that regulate and put a price on assembly and free speech at the Capitol, and anticipates a large turnout both Friday and the following Monday.
A Sing-Along slideshow follows, set to the tune of "Recall Now," a reimagined version of "Jingle Bells."
The photos in the slideshow above were shot at the Solidarity Sing-Along on Wednesday, December 14, while the audio was recorded at the gathering on December 15. The turnout was significantly larger on Thursday, and participants are calling for even more people to turn out for the outdoor sing-along on Friday, and back inside the Rotunda on Monday, December 19, when the new Capitol regulations will be in effect and open to enforcement.
Here are the lyrics to "Recall Now," written by Bill Dunn and Linda Hedenblad.
Going door to door,
Wrapped in Scarves and furs,
Though our feed are sore,
We gather signatures.
Bells on clipboards ring,
Making spirits bright,
Oh, what joy to grin and sing,
Our recall song tonight:
Oh, Recall Now, Recall Now,
Send him on his way,
Oh, how loud will be those yells,
When Scotty's gone away.
Recall Now, Recall Now
Send him on his way,
Oh, how loud will be those yells,
When Scotty's gone away.
We've been here ten months,
To tell you how we feel,
And now it is our turn,
Your laws we will repeal.
So pack your bags right now,
And make our season bright,
'Cause we are not giving up,
Till you're clean out of sight:
Oh, Recall Now, Recall Now
Send him on his way,
Oh, how loud will be those yells,
When Scotty's gone away.
Recall Now, Recall Now,
Send him on his way,
Oh, how loud will be those yells,
When Scotty's gone away.
The Solidarity Sing-along Holiday Songbook features many more tunes, from "Holly Jolly Recall" and "Have Ourselves a Merry Little Recall," to "It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Freedom" and "Sing Along Is Coming To Town," all set to familiar seasonal songs. It is available here (PDF), and includes the lyrics to 26 total tunes. More details about the standard songbook are available in a guide provided by the Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice.
Another performance is captured in a video shot at today's sing-along, featuring the group performing "O, Come All Wisconsin," set to the tune of "Adestes Fideles" and with lyrics by Rebecca Alwin.
The final entry in the songbook is "Welcome Recall, Recall Day," lyrics by Steve Burns and Jim Murray, which is set to the tune of "Welcome Christmas" from the 1966 animated classic How the Grinch Stole Christmas!. The song appears twice in the program, in the opening, and again at its climax, when the Grinch's heart grows three sizes larger while watching the Whos singing around the center of Whoville on Christmas morning. This scene of song-in-the-round has become a sentimental reference point for Solidarity Sing-Along participants, given the Rotunda setting centered on the Wisconsin Capitol Christmas Tree, and "Welcome Recall, Recall Day" was the last holiday song to echo around the dome during today's chorus.
